The untold story of the hero Phan Đình Giót

My uncle, a former soldier at Dien Bien Phu , is now 90 years old but still sharp-minded and healthy. This past Tet (Lunar New Year), he took his granddaughter to visit her paternal grandparents, whose house is at number 3, Phan Dinh Giot Street, Ha Tinh City. Looking at the street sign, my granddaughter suddenly asked, " Grandma! What did Phan Dinh Giot do to have a street named after him ?" Grandma calmly replied, " Phan Dinh Giot was a soldier at Dien Bien Phu, just like your grandmother was back then ."

Martyr Phan Đình Giót was born in 1922 in Tam Quang hamlet, Vĩnh Yên village (now village 5), Cẩm Quan commune, Cẩm Xuyên district, Hà Tĩnh province. He was born into a poor farming family, living in a dilapidated, leaky thatched hut. His father died early, and his widowed mother raised him alone. Due to poverty, at the young age of 7, as the eldest son, Phan Đình Giót had to work as a servant for a wealthy landowner's family to earn a meager living.

Two mementos of the hero Phan Đình Giót.

Speaking about Phan Đình Giót's youth, Phan Đình Giát, Giót's younger brother, recounted: "Giót was three years older than me. His wife was Nguyễn Thị Rạn. They got married without a formal wedding ceremony because their family was too poor. They just went to the girl's house to talk and then brought her home to live with them."

Later, she gave birth to a baby boy, but at that time, an epidemic was raging, and medicine was scarce. The baby, only 7 months old, had a fever and lay on a bamboo bed in a rickety thatched hut. Following advice from the villagers, Giót ran around the neighborhood asking for folk remedies to boil and use as a steam bath for his son. But due to his weakness and lack of milk, the baby died in Giót's arms.

Mr. Giát added: "It's a pity. If only the child were still alive, we could have offered incense and prayers for my brother."

When the nationwide resistance war broke out, heeding President Ho Chi Minh's call, "Every Vietnamese person must rise up to fight the French colonialists to save the Fatherland," Phan Dinh Giot and his peers bid farewell to their wives, abandoned their lives of slavery and misery, and enthusiastically joined the village self-defense force to fight.

In 1950, he volunteered to join the main army. During his military career, he participated in many major campaigns such as the Tran Hung Dao Campaign, the Hoa Binh Campaign, the Northwest Campaign, and finally the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

In all the battles in which Phan Đình Giót participated, he achieved many outstanding victories. On one occasion, he even pricked his finger in his blood to write a "Letter of Determination," which he sent to the Division Command, expressing the unwavering will of a revolutionary soldier.

In the winter of 1953, his unit, consisting of 500 soldiers, was ordered to participate in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. They had to cross many high mountain passes and deep streams, carrying heavy weapons, but Phan Dinh Giot persevered, encouraging and helping his comrades reach the finish line on time.

In addition to combat duties, his unit also participated in cutting through mountains and building roads to haul artillery up and down mountain passes to the battlefield. Phan Đình Giót always upheld the spirit of an exemplary Communist Party member, encouraging his comrades to persevere and resolutely obey orders from superiors.

The younger brother of the hero Phan Đình Giót was Phan Đình Giát.

Recounting the story of the armed forces hero Phan Đình Giót, writer Phạm Ngọc Cảnh (at that time a stage actor of the Propaganda and Literature Troupe of the General Political Department) said: “The Propaganda and Literature Troupe went to the Điện Biên Phủ battlefield to perform before the start of the historic campaign. At that time, Phan Đình Giót was a squad leader, Company 58, Battalion 428, Regiment 141, Division 312. Meeting his comrades and fellow countrymen, Giót was very happy... Giót invited me to a corner of the trench and asked: “Cảnh, are you going home soon? Can I send a letter to your wife?”

The love letter, spanning two pages, was written by Giót at Cảnh's request, and the words were deeply moving. In truth, Giót was literate, having attended literacy classes, so previously, when writing home, he usually only wrote a few short lines: "I'm still healthy - as long as everything is peaceful at home, I'm at ease."

But this letter is quite long. It seems that soldier Phan Dinh Giot had a premonition of something, so in the letter he gave many instructions to Mrs. Ran: "If anything happens to me, you can remarry at home," and he even joked , "I haven't gone astray, so I'm sure you won't be angry."

The story goes that: On the afternoon of March 13, 1954, his unit was ordered to open fire and destroy the Him Lam stronghold. At the start of the battle, a barrage of artillery fire from our side resounded over the enemy, shaking the entire battlefield, shrouded in smoke and gunfire. The soldiers of Company 58 charged forward to clear the way, continuously firing until the eighth explosive charge.

Next, Phan Đình Giót fired the ninth shell, sustaining a wound to the thigh, but he did not retreat; he volunteered to fire the tenth shell. Our soldiers had to fight the enemy to capture each stronghold and each hill in Điện Biên Phủ. Meanwhile, the French troops rained bullets down on our positions from their loopholes, causing many casualties and injuries among our soldiers.

Along with other wounded soldiers, Phan Dinh Giot was transferred to the rear, where nurse Phan Cong Thanh bandaged his wounds. The bandaging was finished, and before the bleeding had stopped, wounded soldier Phan Dinh Giot was filled with the spirit to fight the enemy and avenge his fallen comrades.

At 10 PM, braving the hail of bullets, he charged forward and detonated two more explosive charges, tearing through the last barrier and clearing the way for his comrades to advance and destroy the bridgehead bunker.

Taking advantage of the enemy's extreme panic, our troops switched to using hand grenades to attack the bunkers. At the opportune moment, Phan Đình Giót rushed to bunker number two, threw a hand grenade, and provided covering fire for his unit to advance. However, he was wounded again in both shoulder and thigh, bleeding profusely. His comrades carried him back to the rear, where he was again treated by medic Thành. His health had deteriorated significantly.

At that very moment, enemy fire from bunker number 3 suddenly intensified, raining down on our formation and halting the assault force. Many soldiers who charged forward perished in the face of enemy gunfire. Despite being severely wounded and exhausted, Phan Dinh Giot suddenly rose up, grabbed his explosives, and rushed to bunker number 3 with the sole thought of silencing the enemy's gunfire!

He mustered all his remaining strength, raised his submachine gun, fired forcefully into the embrasure, and shouted, "I will sacrifice myself for the Party... for the people..." Then he lunged forward, gathering momentum to throw himself straight into the embrasure of the enemy's bunker, sealing it off. The most dangerous firing point of the French army had been neutralized.

Soldier Phan Đình Giót passed away forever... at 10:30 PM on March 13, 1954. His entire body was riddled with enemy bullets. Phan Đình Giót's remains completely blocked the embrasure. The French soldiers inside the bunker were unable to fire from it.

Seizing the opportunity, the entire unit launched a massive, whirlwind assault, completely destroying the Him Lam stronghold on March 13, 1954, securing victory in the opening battle of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

The Vietnamese people are very proud of the image of the heroic martyrs of Dien Bien Phu, which has not only been immortalized in children's books and stirring songs, but also in revolutionary poetry, most notably in the poem "Hail to the Dien Bien Phu Soldiers" by the poet To Huu:

Comrades buried alive to make gun mounts / Heads blocking loopholes / Crossing mountains of barbed wire / A raging storm / Comrades using their backs to save cannons / Their bodies shattered, eyes closed, still clinging...

And he is the hero.

Phan Đình Giót was like a great mountain, his chest full of love for life crushing the machine gun emplacement.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted 56 days and nights of "digging tunnels in the mountains, sleeping in bunkers, enduring torrential rain and meager rations, blood mixed with mud." Even now, 70 years later, we are still deeply moved and remember the heroic martyrs who bravely sacrificed themselves. The sacrifice of hero Phan Dinh Giot has become known to all progressive humanity, a testament to the victory that "shook the world and resonated across five continents."

Soldier Phan Đình Giót was one of 16 Heroes of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces, honored for his meritorious service in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. On March 31, 1955, Phan Đình Giót was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces. Later, he was also posthumously awarded the Second Class Military Merit Order.
To commemorate the heroic deeds of Phan Đình Giót, the Museum of the First Army Corps still preserves two precious relics of his: the canteen and the submachine gun he used in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Notably, besides Ha Tinh city, Phan Đình Giót's hometown, many cities and towns in provinces throughout the country have streets named after him.

(Source: Tien Phong Newspaper)

Link: https://tienphong.vn/dieu-chua-ke-ve-anh-hung-phan-dinh-giot-post1631471.tpo

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