To achieve complete victory

The head of the Provincial Military Command, leaders of the Department of Health , representatives of the Ben Tre City Party Committee, and Comrade Huynh Van Be presented a bronze statue to the family of Martyr Hoang Hanh on April 14, 2025. Photo by Dang Thach.

One of those unsung heroes was Martyr Hoang Hanh, alias Hoang Tuan, former Head of the Military Medical Department and Deputy Head of the Logistics Department of Ben Tre province (*). According to artifacts and documents preserved by his family, he was the son of a traditional medicine practitioner from Central Vietnam, belonging to the petty bourgeoisie but early on embracing the revolution. During the resistance against the French, he was active in Thanh Ngai and Phuoc My Trung communes, Mo Cay district. After 1954, he was one of the Party members assigned to stay and lead the local people in the political struggle against the US-Diem regime.

On January 17, 1960, the Uprising in the three communes of Dinh Thuy, Binh Khanh, and Phuoc Hiep achieved resounding victory, the provincial armed forces were re-established, and Comrade Hoang Hanh was assigned by the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee to be in charge of the province's military medical and logistical work. During this period, the work of treating wounded and sick soldiers faced many difficulties, lacking both medicine and medical equipment, as well as medical professionals.

Through perseverance, patience, and determination, at the Thanh Phong base in Thanh Phu district, Comrade Hoang Hanh proposed opening a military medical school, and for over two years he personally trained hundreds of medical personnel for units and localities in the province; he also directly admitted and treated many wounded and sick soldiers so that they could continue fighting.

According to Colonel Huynh Van Be, Hero of the People's Armed Forces, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and former Commander of the Provincial Military Command, in the early days of his revolutionary career, he received nursing training from the Provincial Military Medical School. His direct teacher was Comrade Van Anh (also known as Hero of the People's Armed Forces, Doctor Doan Van Thoi), whose teacher was none other than Mr. Hoang Hanh. During the war, many highly skilled military and civilian medical officers were trained in such early courses.

On June 25, 1962, while returning from a work trip near our liberated zone, Comrade Hoang Hanh was surrounded by enemy forces. Helicopters circled overhead, pursuing him, while infantry on the ground chased after him, firing relentlessly from behind. He was hit by bullets and bravely sacrificed his life, his backpack still containing medical supplies and 3,000 dong that he had just received from his superiors for his unit.

Martyr Hoang Hanh sacrificed his life at the young age of 35. The Military Medical Department and the Armed Forces of the province lost an officer who wholeheartedly dedicated himself to the country, the people, and the cause of treating wounded and sick soldiers. He can be considered the elder brother in the military medical sector of our province.

His sacrifices and contributions, as well as those of over 35,000 martyrs and nearly 18,000 wounded and disabled soldiers from the province, have made a tremendous contribution to the liberation of our homeland, the peace of the country, and the prosperous and happy lives we enjoy today.

In remembrance and gratitude to Martyr Hoang Hanh, the Provincial Military Command, the Logistics and Technical Department, and the Military Medical Department recently cast a bronze bust of Martyr Hoang Hanh and presented it to his family. This is a practical and meaningful act by the officers and soldiers of the Ben Tre Armed Forces towards the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Southern Vietnam and the reunification of the country.

Colonel Vo Thanh Son

Deputy Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command

(*) Now the Medical Department, Logistics and Technical Division, Provincial Military Command.

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/de-co-ngay-toan-thang-20042025-a145496.html