This year, 76 years old, his health has declined a lot due to the after-effects of his wounds, but Mr. Lai Dang Thien, the suicide soldier who was given a memorial service twice, still talks about his past exploits with heroic spirit.
Mr. Lai Dang Thien with relics from the war-torn period. (Photo: VNA)
The feat of fighting against the US imperialists who blockaded the rivers and seas of the North with torpedoes and magnetic bombs has been over for 50 years (June 27, 1973 - June 27, 2023), but the memories of the years participating in clearing dozens of magnetic bombs, ensuring ferry traffic for vehicles transporting goods and ammunition to the battlefield in the South are still intact in the mind of the suicide soldier Lai Dang Thien who was given a memorial service twice.
Mr. Lai Dang Thien was born in hamlet 6, Nghia Binh commune, Tan Ky district, Nghe An province in a family of 4 children who all participated in the resistance war against France and America.
This year, 76 years old, his health has declined a lot due to the consequences of his injuries, but Mr. Lai Dang Thien still talks about his past exploits with heroic spirit.
Twice received a memorial service from teammates
In 1965, the war against the US to save the country was at its fiercest stage. The US dropped a large number of bombs and magnetic mines to cut off the ferry and river ports that were the “blood vessels” for us to transport goods and ammunition to support the battlefield in the South.
Following the sacred call of the Fatherland, Mr. Lai Dang Thien enthusiastically enlisted in the army, assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion of Military Region 4, with the task of clearing bombs and ensuring the supply route to the South was clear.
During the 8 years from 1965-1973, Mr. Lai Dang Thien and his comrades fought life and death battles at fierce key points such as: Hoang Mai bridge, Ben Thuy ferry (Nghe An); Linh Cam ferry, Nghen bridge (Ha Tinh), Gianh river ferry, Long Dai ferry ( Quang Binh )... until the US empire completely stopped bombing the North.
Mr. Lai Dang Thien recalled that Battalion 27 (a unit twice awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces during the anti-American war) were all brave, resourceful and courageous soldiers. When assigned to drive a canoe on the river to clear bombs, everyone did not care about life or death, only thinking that they had to complete the mission by any means. He participated in clearing bombs and mines many times, but the most memorable in his life were the two times his comrades held a live memorial service for him.
The first time was in November 1967, when he was assigned to ensure traffic at Long Dai ferry (Quang Binh province).
At that time, the American invaders dropped dozens of tons of bombs destroying bridges and roads, traffic was disrupted, and dozens of tons of goods going to the South were stuck on the North bank.
In particular, American planes also dropped hundreds of magnetic bombs on the riverbed, so destroying the magnetic bombs and ensuring the safety of the ferry and shipments became a very important and urgent task.
Faced with that situation, the leaders of Military Region 4 ordered Battalion 27 to use all means to clear the ferry. The battalion commander decided to use a canoe to detonate a magnetic bomb. The canoe crew, including Mr. Lai Dang Thien and three comrades, Ha Huy Ty, Nguyen Van Thuong and Dau Anh Coi, had a live memorial service held by the unit.
Mr. Thien emotionally recalled: “Before carrying out the mission, my teammates and I used the blood from our fingertips to write a suicide letter. When the battalion commander's eulogy ended, we raised our hands and shouted in unison, "Death for the Fatherland." From that moment on, for us, life and death were no longer a distance. We drove the canoe into the river, the continuous explosions seemed to tear the river apart. When all the bombs in the riverbed were detonated, realizing that we were still alive, the whole team jumped ashore, hugging each other and laughing through tears. That time, I drove the canoe to clear 16 bombs.”
Lai Dang Thien's diary talks about the time he was given a memorial service at Linh Cam ferry on June 25, 1968. (Photo: VNA)
The second live funeral took place on June 25, 1968. The canoe crew, including Mr. Lai Dang Thien and 3 teammates, were ordered to drive the canoe to clear Linh Cam ferry (Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh ). Linh Cam ferry is located between the Ngan Sau-Ngan Pho river junction, blocking the road to the South or to Laos. After 2 days and nights of being controlled by magnetic bombs, the task of clearing the road was put first.
Before carrying out the mission, the Engineering Department of Military Region 4 and his comrades held a live memorial service for Mr. Lai Dang Thien and his 3 comrades. The mission was completed with 12 bombs detonated, the engineering force built a pontoon bridge, a green signal flashed in the sky signaling the road was clear, and convoys of vehicles crossed the river carrying goods and ammunition to the southern battlefield. However, the loss during that mission was too great, Mr. Lai Dang Thien and his comrade Dau Anh Coi were seriously injured, and his comrade Vu Ngoc Chuong died in the riverbed.
For those brave actions, Mr. Lai Dang Thien was awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal by the State, the Certificate of Merit for Excellent Bomb Disposal Hero and Emulation Fighter. The brave spirit of him and his teammates was also recreated in the articles “Swearing to the Sea” (September 1, 1968) and “Leading the Ferry Through the Fire” (December 5, 1968) published in the People’s Army newspaper, encouraging the fighting spirit of the army and people throughout the battlefield.
In addition, during his time in the army, Mr. Lai Dang Thien and his teammates also completed the task of clearing bombs on the route where General Vo Nguyen Giap and General Dong Sy Nguyen surveyed the battlefield, and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong visited Vinh Linh Regional Party Committee during Tet in 1972.
Promoting the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers
On the day the country was reunified, suicide soldier Lai Dang Thien was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown with many injuries on his body, a type 4/4 disabled veteran.
Promoting the qualities of a soldier of Uncle Ho's army, Mr. Lai Dang Thien continued to study hard and was admitted to class Y16, specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Nghe Tinh Medical College.
After 2 years of studying, he volunteered to work at Nghia Binh Commune Health Station in his hometown.
At that time, there were no advanced medical examination and treatment equipment, so examination and diagnosis of pregnancy encountered many difficulties, so the experience and responsibility of the doctor was always put first.
During his 13 years as the Head of the Health Station of three mountainous communes, Nghia Binh, Tien Ky and Nghia Dung, Mr. Lai Dang Thien has been the "midwife" for more than 400 cases of "safe mothers and safe children."
In 1991, Mr. Thien retired and returned to his fields and gardens. Since then, he has spent most of his time composing poetry, which has been his passion since his youth. His poems are simple, honest, and breathe the breath of everyday life. He loved poetry and writing poetry since he was in the army. During his time as a bomb and mine clearance soldier, he wrote a collection of "Poetry Diary" with nearly 100 poems. The poems mainly praise the Party, homeland, comrades, and love of nature, mixed with poems about love. Currently, he still composes and participates in the Poetry Club of Nghia Binh commune, and is a member of the Literature and Arts Association of Nghe An province.
From 2011 to present, Mr. Lai Dang Thien's poetry works have been published in 4 poetry collections (nearly 300 poems) including: "Cung Tram," "Thi Tho Loi Que," "Lang Le Mien Tho" and "Diary of Poetry 1965-1975," along with many works co-published with other authors./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ky-uc-mot-thoi-cua-nguoi-linh-hai-lan-duoc-truy-dieu-song/871315.vnp
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