Memories of the flight over Ba Dinh and the historic parade of the heroic pilot

(Dan Tri) - Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia was the one who carried out the special mission of flying over Ba Dinh 56 years ago. He also participated in the flying formation of the victory parade in 1975.

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Special mission flying over Ba Dinh

On the morning of September 9, 1969, after the eulogy reading ceremony for President Ho Chi Minh , a formation of 24 planes of the Vietnam People's Air Force solemnly flew over Ba Dinh Square.

“Sitting in the cockpit of the MiG-21, I tried to hold back my emotions and joined my teammates in a majestic and orderly formation to bid farewell to Uncle Ho,” People's Armed Forces Hero Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia, former Political Commissar of Air Division 370, recalled the special flight over Ba Dinh Square ( Hanoi ) 56 years ago.

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia shared that in 1969, the government planned to hold a parade, both to celebrate the 24th anniversary of National Day on September 2nd and to make Uncle Ho happy at the age of 79.

The air force was honored to be assigned to fly in this parade, so everyone was excited. However, unexpectedly, beloved Uncle Ho, the father of the nation, passed away on September 2, 1969.

Comrade Le Duan, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, read the eulogy at the memorial service for President Ho Chi Minh on September 9, 1969 (left) and the Vietnam People's Air Force bowed its wings to salute President Ho Chi Minh (Photo: VNA).

On September 3, 1969, the superiors decided to change the formation of the National Day parade to fly to see off Uncle Ho. The funeral was held on September 9, 1969 at Ba Dinh Square.

“With the seriousness of the mission and the pilots’ affection for Uncle Ho, we were thoroughly informed of the flight mission. The fighter formation had 24 aircraft, including 12 MiG-17s and 12 MiG-21s.

12 MiG-17s in a formation of 3 squadrons led by People's Armed Forces Hero Nguyen Van Bay and 12 MiG-21s in a formation of 3 squadrons led by People's Armed Forces Hero Nguyen Hong Nhi.

On September 8, 1969, the joint training and rehearsal flight was carried out. The joint training flight was timed very closely so that when General Secretary Le Duan finished reading the eulogy, the formation of 24 planes had to fly over Ba Dinh Square.

“On the day of the joint training flight, General Secretary Le Duan was so emotional that he took longer than expected to read the eulogy. The Air Force used that time to calculate the speed so that at “G” hour they had to be present at Ba Dinh Square in neat formation,” Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia recalled.

On September 9, 1969, the weather was favorable, 24 MiG-17 and MiG-21 aircraft flew over Ba Dinh in a solemn formation at an altitude of 200m to bid farewell to Uncle Ho.

According to the colonel, the use of pilots in this flight had some changes compared to the flight formation prepared for the parade.

He said: “The superiors carefully considered the arrangement of the flight to see Uncle Ho off, especially the pilots from the South. Uncle Ho could not visit the people of the South as he wished.

Those who were always by Uncle Ho's side deeply understood his feelings, so they carefully calculated the number of pilots who would fly to pay their respects to him. Two heroic pilots from the South, Nguyen Van Bay (from Dong Thap) and Nguyen Hong Nhi (from Binh Dinh, now Gia Lai) were chosen as the two squadron leaders of the MiG-17 and MiG-21.

Pilot Nguyen Van Nghia is one of Vietnam's ACE-class pilots (Photo: Character provided).

“Uncle Ho paid a lot of attention to the air force. Right from the early days of the establishment of the Vietnam People's Air Force, Uncle Ho visited and gave very sincere advice. The feelings of air force soldiers towards Uncle Ho are very sacred.

That flight was very emotional for me - a pilot born in the South - and my teammates. Everyone was sad and missed Uncle Ho, so we told ourselves to complete the mission well to send our greetings to our beloved Uncle Ho," Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia shared.

Parade flight celebrating the Great Victory of Spring 1975

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia is one of the ACE class pilots (Ace - shot down 5 or more planes in combat, during the war against America, the Vietnamese Air Force had 16 ACE pilots). He shot down 6 enemy planes during the resistance war against America.

He recalled that the Great Victory of Spring 1975 liberated the South, ending the resistance war against America, and the North and South reunited as one family.

On the night of May 12, 1975, the 927th Air Force Regiment assigned Company 3 (now a squadron) of the 927th Regiment to carry out a transfer flight from the North to take over Bien Hoa airport. Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia called this a "historic transfer flight".

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia in his youth, he was the first pilot to shoot down an aircraft in the Dien Bien Phu battle in the air (Photo: Character provided).

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia led a squadron of 12 planes, took off from Kep airport (Bac Giang, now Bac Ninh) landed at Da Phuc airport (now Noi Bai airport) to refuel and then took off to Da Nang.

The flight path to the airport was calculated in advance by the pilot, flying by eye along the coast. On May 14, 1975, 12 planes landed safely at Bien Hoa airport.

During his career as a pilot, the colonel made hundreds of flights. For him, each flight was a story, an unforgettable emotion.

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia shared that he himself also has deep memories of participating in the parade celebrating the country's reunification in 1975. He was a pilot in the parade team celebrating the Great Spring Victory in 1975.

“On May 15, 1975, participating in the victory celebration, the Vietnam People's Air Force had 2 squadrons of 12 MiG-21s flying in a parade to show off their strength. One day later, a squadron of 4 MiG-21s continued to fly in a show of force over the city,” Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia recalled.

In the atmosphere of the Great Spring Victory, the MiG-21 fighter planes of the Vietnam People's Air Force, which had defeated the US Imperial Air Force, flew majestically and majestically over the sky of the city named after Uncle Ho.

The roar of the MiG-21 aircraft engine tore through the air, demonstrating the power of the victorious army, connecting the joy of victory between the people of the North and the South. The air force troops successfully completed their mission on this important holiday.

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia (fourth from left) with his teammates (Photo: Provided by the character).

“War is fierce and brutal, a battle in the vast sky, without trenches, only attacks. The line between life and death is very fragile. In the war in the air, there is no room for timidity or incompetence. I have experienced that challenge to survive, with my own determination and ability, participating in the battle until the day of victory,” the colonel shared.

In the historic autumn days of August, Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia recalls the glorious years of the Vietnam People's Air Force. Legendary pilots who grew up in hardship like him contributed to the achievements of the air force in the history of the Vietnamese people's resistance against foreign invaders, during the Ho Chi Minh era.

Colonel Nguyen Van Nghia (far right) met with American pilots during the 2022 reunion of former US-Vietnam fighter pilots in the US (Photo: Character provided).

In the upcoming National Day parade on September 2, the air force will have an impressive performance with many types of aircraft.

The colonel hopes that, continuing the heroic tradition of the Vietnam People's Air Force, the flight squadrons will successfully complete their missions, demonstrating the strength and pride of the Vietnamese army in particular and the people of the whole country in general.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/ky-uc-chuyen-bay-qua-ba-dinh-va-le-dieu-binh-lich-su-cua-phi-cong-anh-hung-20250817140220605.htm