The road to Da Nang in the memories of a soldier.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Phong joined the Quang Nam battlefield in 1973, fighting in the 31st Regiment, 2nd Division, 5th Military Region, participating in major campaigns such as the liberation of Nong Son - Trung Phuoc and the liberation of Tien Phuoc - Phuoc Lam. More than 50 years have passed, but the memories of the great victory in Quang Nam in March 1975, especially the journey back to Da Nang on that historic day of March 29th, remain deeply etched in his mind.

Tanks of the 203rd Brigade, 304th Division, 2nd Corps, advance to liberate Da Nang on March 29, 1975. Photo: VNA

Before retiring, Mr. Nguyen Chi Phong was a lecturer at the University of Technology (Da Nang University). In the memory of this teacher from Hien Ninh commune, Quang Ninh district, Quang Binh province (formerly), the days of directly participating in the Spring Offensive of 1975 remain vivid.

Following in the footsteps of the troops marching into Da Nang

Mr. Phong recalled: “On the morning of March 24, 1975, Battalion 8 advanced to liberate Tam Ky, seizing the logistics area of ​​the puppet 2nd Division. At that time, I was a platoon leader, along with another company commander, assigned to be deputy heads of the Tam Ky town military administration committee, headed by the deputy commander of Regiment 31. The division's formation continued its advance towards Da Nang, while our military administration unit, with 36 people, remained in the area to stabilize the situation in the town. On March 28, 1975, we received orders to prepare to participate in the liberation of Da Nang, but the exact departure date was unclear. At 2:00 AM on March 29, the deputy commander of the regiment issued the order to march.”

Without any means of transportation, the entire platoon marched on foot all the way from Tam Ky town to Huong An. By then, it was already dawn. Mr. Phong still remembers the bridge that had been destroyed by the enemy earlier. Our artillery piled up on the southern bank of the river, including 105mm, 122mm, 130mm cannons, anti-aircraft guns… While groups of soldiers were transported across the river by local people in boats, our heavy artillery continuously poured shells towards Son Cha port and Da Nang airport. The roar of the artillery further spurred the officers and soldiers on their hurried march.

Phong's platoon marched to the southern bank of the Thu Bon River only to find the Cau Lau bridge destroyed by the enemy. Boats were mobilized to transport the soldiers across the river. Along the way, people carried baskets of rice wrapped in banana leaves and handed them to the soldiers. With such a rapid march, how could the unit's cooks possibly have time to prepare meals?! Truly, the power of the people is immense; the people's war strategy is invincible!

A military defeat is like a landslide.

As the troops crossed the river and continued on, they saw enemy vehicles and artillery scattered along both sides of the road. There were GMC trucks, Dodge trucks, low-bed Jeeps, high-bed Jeeps… Some vehicles still had their cannons towed, while others still had their engines running at a low hum by the roadside. Many types of weapons, military equipment, and supplies were also abandoned. It was truly a devastating defeat! Further on, towards Vinh Dien, they began to see enemy soldiers running in droves. Some were wearing only shorts; others wore military trousers and civilian clothes; some wore military trousers and tank tops… No one had hats or caps, even though it was raining.

Liberation Army forces take control of puppet regime institutions in Da Nang city. Photo: VNA.

Seeing enemy soldiers deserting and running in droves, the deputy regimental commander in charge of the marching group ordered them stopped and asked if any of them knew how to drive. Finally, three agile and strong Saigon soldiers were chosen. “Go find a vehicle that can carry a platoon, with a full tank of fuel, and bring it back here to take us to Da Nang. Once we arrive, we will give you certificates of merit for assisting the Liberation Army,” the deputy regimental commander ordered. The three soldiers went for a while and returned with a GMC truck with a full tank of fuel. Phong's entire platoon got into the truck, and upon reaching Vinh Dien Bridge, a group of Liberation Army soldiers stopped them, advising them not to proceed further because they did not yet have control of the area and the situation was uncertain.

Mr. Phong continued: “Hearing that, the three Saigon soldiers panicked, saying, ‘Please, Liberation Army soldiers—they don’t use the term Viet Cong anymore—please let us go home, it’s too dangerous to continue. We have wives and children…’ So we had to encourage them for a long time before they got back in the car and continued driving.”

As Phong's platoon approached Hoa Cam, they saw soldiers pouring out of the Hoa Cam military training ground in long columns. Later, they learned that the day before, a group of soldiers from the training ground had mutinied and fled, but many were still there. They continued heading south towards the area under our control. At the Hoa Cam intersection, the three soldiers driving the vehicle refused to go any further, saying, "Comrades of the Liberation Army, we have served you well since this morning, bringing you from Vinh Dien to here. We request that you issue us a certificate of confirmation so we can return."

The deputy regimental commander immediately pulled out his briefcase, took out several small, pre-printed sheets of paper, about the size of three fingers, asked each person for their name, wrote it down, signed it, and handed it to them. The soldiers of the Saigon regime took the paper, their faces showing concern, and said, "Sir, please stamp it with a seal. How can paper without a red seal like this be valid?!" The deputy regimental commander replied, "Due to the wartime situation, to ensure secrecy, we cannot stamp it. The important thing is the number written on the edge of the paper. When you take this paper back to report, they will see the number and know which unit issued it. Are you reassured now?!"

The moment of entering the Headquarters of the 1st Army Corps.

With no vehicles available, the entire platoon marched on foot. At that time, the road from Cam Le down to the Army Corps intersection, where the Fifth Military Region Command is now located, was called Vo Thanh Road - named after a general of Gia Long during the war against the Tay Son. Because they were unsure of the enemy situation, the entire platoon did not dare march on the main road but instead followed the villages to the right of the road to reach the headquarters of the First Army Corps.

“The first thing we did was climb to the third-floor rooftop, where the ‘pigeon coop’ was, and pull down the three-striped flag of the Saigon regime, the flag of the puppet army, and the flag of the 1st Army Corps, throwing them to the ground. It’s a pity we didn’t keep them as artifacts back then. Then we fanned out to occupy various places. After that, we entered a large room. In the middle was a very beautiful, wide table with a mica top covering a large map marked with green and red arrows, showing the course of the battle in Tactical Zone I up to March 28, 1975. Maps were also hung all around the walls. Back in the jungle, I was only used to seeing the meeting tables of commanders made of pieces of wood, so seeing the briefing room of the 1st Army Corps generals and officers was overwhelming. I remember there was a plate of sticky rice and a half-eaten boiled chicken on the table, along with a plate of salt and pepper. A soldier was about to eat more of the sticky rice, but I stopped him: ‘No, you’ll die!’ There were also many telephones in the briefing room; some were still beeping, and our soldiers were playing around with the receivers.” I heard someone say, "Hello, hello."

Then we went to the office of Lieutenant General Ngo Quang Truong, commander of the First Tactical Zone. Three stars were pinned to the wall of the main entrance. I thought: strange, a lieutenant general with only three stars, then I remembered that the South Vietnamese army also had brigadier generals. The commander's office was empty except for a duty officer's logbook, probably left behind by a subordinate. Then we went to their exhibition area. That place is now the Museum of Military Region V. There, we saw that during the fighting, they had captured quite a few of our weapons, large and small guns, even 120mm mortars. Some submachine guns even had labels clearly indicating the names and ranks of their users. That's shocking! Even our unmarked ships, which were sunk, were salvaged and brought back to "show off their spoils of war." This shows just how much sacrifice and loss our path to complete victory had to be paid for!

To give an example, throughout the campaign, from the liberation of Tien Phuoc on March 10th to the advance into Tam Ky town on March 24th, 1975, Mr. Nguyen Chi Phong witnessed countless comrades' bloodshed. The liberation of Da Nang on March 29th, 1975, was relatively smooth, to the point that many later remarked, "not a single light bulb broke, not a single leaf fell." The war is over, and reflecting on that was also a blessing for the soldiers. More than half a century has passed, but for Mr. Phong and the heroic soldiers of the 2nd Division, the impression of that historic moment of advancing to liberate Da Nang remains vivid, sacred, and full of pride.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/duong-ve-da-nang-trong-ky-uc-nguoi-linh-3329980.html