Meet the soldier who has been attached to the sea for nearly 30 years

In 1994, after graduating from the Army Officer School 1, Lieutenant Duong Van Hoan, Vinh Tru town (Ly Nhan) was mobilized into the Navy and assigned to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands at DK1 Platform, Brigade 171, Navy Region 2. Receiving the assignment, as a young soldier, not knowing much about the sea and islands, young soldier Duong Van Hoan was very excited. For him, the task of guarding the sea and sky of the Fatherland is a sacred and proud task... At first, when he first received the assignment to the platform, Mr. Hoan was unfamiliar with the harsh sun and wind of the weather here, but above all, with pride, youthful spirit and honor of being able to contribute... helped him overcome all difficulties.

Sipping a cup of tea, Lieutenant Colonel Duong Van Hoan enthusiastically told us about the life of a naval soldier, his love for his homeland, and the sacred duty of guarding the sea and sky. He talked about the structure of the platform, the way of living, guiding and supporting fishermen to go offshore... Working on the platform has to face many difficulties and challenges, especially storms. Every time there is a storm, the soldiers have to train their will and determination to perform well their tasks at sea. Along with that are the difficulties in daily life when all activities of officers and soldiers are only within the area of nearly 150m2 of the platform, lacking fresh water and vegetables. Sometimes when the waves are big, ships cannot bring boats to supply food to the platform, so the main food of officers and soldiers is canned food and dry food.

Lieutenant Colonel Duong Van Hoan introduces the image of the oil rig printed on his family's door.

During his career, Mr. Hoan worked at DK1/10, DK1/12, DK1/15, DK1/16, DK1/17, DK1/18, DK1/19, DK1/20, DK1/21 platforms. Each platform not only marked his career but also brought with it many memories of his military life. That was in 1998, when the historic storm No. 8, internationally known as Faith, suddenly made landfall in the waters of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, taking the lives of 3 officers and soldiers of DK1/6 Phuc Nguyen Platform. Lieutenant Colonel Duong Van Hoan sadly recounted: On the evening of December 12, 1998, heavy rain and strong winds covered the sky, and waves surged and crashed into the platform. At that time, there were 9 officers and soldiers on the platform, including: Captain Vu Quang Chuong, Commander of the platform; I was Deputy Commander of the platform in charge of politics ; information officer Hoang Van Thuy, doctor Nguyen Huu Ton, cryptography officer Ha Cong Dung, radar officer Le Hong Duc, electromechanical officer Nguyen Huu An, intelligence officer Phi Ngoc Thuat, gunner Nguyen Van Tho. By midnight, the platform began to tilt, many furniture, tables, chairs, rice racks... had fallen. Before that, Commander Vu Quang Chuong had a meeting, when there was an order to leave the platform, assigning each person a task and bringing food, shark repellent, life jackets, life buoys, rafts... As dawn approached, the waves grew bigger and bigger, the communication antenna was broken. At this time, Captain Chuong ordered everyone to leave the platform. When the platform collapsed, the waves broke the rafts, everyone was pushed down to the bottom of the sea and had to use all their strength to get up. After struggling with each fierce wave, I and 4 others managed to cling to the life raft but when we called the roll, we saw that 4 more people were missing. We did not know if they had been sunk by the waves or not. At around 5am, we saw gunner Nguyen Van Tho swimming with the current. We tried to push the life raft closer so Tho could cling to it with us. Just like that, the 6 of us drifted at sea for 15 hours. We searched around but could not find our comrades, including the Commander of the Platform - Captain Vu Quang Chuong. Then, at around 6pm on the 13th, we were found and rescued by a ship of Brigade 171. 3 comrades sacrificed themselves to protect the sacred sea of the Fatherland... The sacrifice of the soldiers has become a beautiful symbol of revolutionary heroism, turning into a sacred and immortal sovereignty landmark, standing tall in the middle of the ocean.

For a navy soldier, because he is stationed far from home, Lieutenant Colonel Duong Van Hoan rarely has the opportunity to celebrate Tet with his family. In order for him to complete his noble mission, there are contributions and silent hardships from his wife and family, which have become his solid rear. Now, when he retires, the nostalgia for the islands and the love for the platforms are forever deep in the heart of navy soldier Duong Van Hoan. There, despite hardships and sacrifices, the spirit and will of the navy soldier are always steadfast, with the determination to guard and protect every inch of the homeland's islands and seas, so that the platforms will forever stand tall and sturdy in the heart of the ocean.

Le Dung

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/xa-hoi/gap-nguoi-chien-sy-gan-30-nam-gan-bo-voi-bien-160588.html