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| Mr. Pham Ngoc Dai (right cover) and his teammates participated in the battle to defend Ghenh bridge. |
This year, he has turned 74 years old, his health has declined a lot due to the effects of Agent Orange, but Mr. Dai is still very clear-minded. Born in Tu Tan commune, Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province, and like many young people of that time, in October 1968, when he turned 17, Mr. Dai volunteered to join the army and was trained at the Water Special Forces unit (D5, Water Special Forces Command). In January 1971, he was sent to the South to fight in the Tay Ninh and Dong Nai battlefields.
When his unit received the order to capture and hold Ghenh bridge, he was the Deputy Political Commissar of unit C3-D23-E 113 Southeast Special Forces. On the night of April 27, 1975, he directly commanded a force to hold Ghenh bridge so that the main force could advance into Saigon.
| Mr. Pham Ngoc Dai confided: “For the past 50 years, I have wished to one day return to the old battlefield of Dong Nai and visit Ghenh Bridge again, but I have not had the chance. However, through watching the news on the radio and television, I see that the locality is developing more and more, life is getting better, the population is dense, the streets are bustling, so I am very happy”... |
He recounted: “The unit received orders from superiors to open fire at G-hour at 3am on April 27 and early morning on April 28. The enemy all fled, our troops quickly occupied the bridge, but on April 28 and 29, the enemy sent helicopters to counterattack and fire rockets, causing many of our soldiers to die. When the shooting started, my unit had 31 officers and soldiers, of which 26 were killed; by noon on April 30, 1975, there were only 5 people left, and of the 5 people still alive, 3 were slightly injured, including me.” Despite facing a life-and-death situation, he and his comrades fought bravely, steadfastly holding on to ensure our troops advanced to liberate Saigon on the historic day of April 30.
When asked about his feelings on the day of victory on April 30, 1975, he recalled: "The emotions were hard to describe when we heard the news that the President of the Republic of Vietnam had announced surrender on the radio. We hugged each other and cried tears of joy, happiness and sorrow for our comrades."
After 1975, his unit continued to be stationed in the Southeast region, sometimes on duty, stationed at Bay Hien crossroads, Lang Cha Ca crossroads and several other places. In 1979, he and his comrades were ordered to march to the Southwest border to fight in the Cambodian battlefield and in October 1982, he was discharged from the army, transferred to work at the Tax Department of Thai Binh province until 2011 when he retired.
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| Mr. Pham Ngoc Dai took a photo in front of Ghenh Bridge in May 1975. |
These days, Mr. Dai is preparing his luggage for the trip to attend the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the Reunification of the Country. He cherishes old photos that have been stained with time, taken during his time in the army. And among them, the most precious are still 2 photos of him sitting near the Ghenh Bridge and another half-portrait of him and 3 comrades who survived the battle at Ghenh Bridge. He notes the names of each person in the photo "from left to right Tien - Bang - Hong - Dai). The remaining person is a nurse of the unit named Thanh who was injured and had to go to the hospital for treatment, so he is not in the photo. These black and white photos were taken by a reporter from the People's Army newspaper in early May 1975, just a few days after the complete liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, and when his unit was still assigned to protect the Ghenh Bridge for a few more months...
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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202504/ky-uc-50-nam-0e55e8e/
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