July - the season of gratitude, the season when many people want to express their hearts and feelings towards the generations of fathers and brothers who sacrificed to protect the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.
This is an opportunity for us to review the glorious tradition, continue the spirit of "going to war means winning" on the socio -economic development front, and contribute to building our homeland to become increasingly prosperous.
Lesson 1: A heroic time of fire and flowers
Every time the War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27) is celebrated, comrades of the 29th Heroic Regiment organize meetings to recall the glorious past of a time of war and war. This year, something special is that the ceremony to honor the Vietnamese Heroes and Martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Laos and Cambodia is held at Duc Co Cemetery, Gia Lai Province. In the intimate and warm atmosphere at the T500 Guest House, 34th Corps, wartime stories are told by everyone, helping to relive the sacred, beautiful, and proud moments of youth.
The 29th Regiment was established on November 8, 1971 in Pha Lan District, Savanakhet Province, in the Central Laos region. The regiment is part of the 968th Division, under the 559th Command. Its main mission is to organize attacks against the enemy to protect the western corridor of Route 13, a vital route, later the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and to carry out international missions in Central Laos.
In 1978, the southwestern border of the country was invaded by the Pol Pot army, causing much suffering to the people. In response to the demands of national construction and defense, the Ministry of National Defense decided to establish the 307th Division, the main mobile division of Military Region 5. The 29th Regiment was honored to be in the division's formation.
In January 1979, the 29th Regiment participated in the campaign to liberate the northeastern provinces of Cambodia. The battlefield was fierce and fierce, but each officer and soldier always upheld their fighting spirit, overcame difficulties and hardships, stuck to their goals, and excellently completed their assigned tasks. However, every victory has its sacrifices and losses, many soldiers of the 29th Regiment fell, forever remaining on the battlefield. Those who remain today still remember their comrades. On the day of the meeting, memories flooded back to each person. The meeting of comrades who had fought side by side in every battle was truly emotional. Ten years of international missions to help friends, countless moments of life and death, many happy and sad memories were shared by the soldiers.
Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Trong recalled that in 1984 he commanded an attack on the Pol Pot army's stronghold in the Dang Rech range, Preah Vihear province. In particular, Pol Pot chose Hill 547 to build the strongest military base of the northeastern wing. The Pol Pot army defending Base 547 had two divisions, 612 and 616.
There were also two artillery battalions and one to two aircraft squadrons. They divided base 547 into two defensive levels. The lower level was filled with anti-infantry and anti-tank mines; the upper level hung thousands of mines on trees and cliffs. The two sides fought fiercely, the enemy relied on their dangerous defenses to continuously cause difficulties and losses for our troops. Three times at each important checkpoint, our troops faced a shortage of water and food.
While hiding and waiting for orders to attack, Pol Pot's army suddenly fired mortars, and Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Trong was hit. His comrades dug him out of the dirt and rocks and brought him back to the rear base in an unconscious state.
Two days later, when Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Trong woke up, the last thing he remembered was a loud explosion right next to the bunker, everything collapsed, burying him in an instant. The two soldiers who rescued and treated Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Trong only had time to tell him: You are from the transport company, named My and Giap.
That was all the information. And, for the past several decades, the old lieutenant colonel, the soldier who escaped the clutches of death that year, has been tirelessly searching for his benefactor. Going north, going south, meeting anyone who fought on the Cambodian battlefield that year, he asked, but all were lost. “40 years later, I thought everything had fallen into oblivion. When social networks began to develop, I created a Facebook post: Who saved me at Hill 547? The touching article spread among the ranks of former soldiers... And recently, through information from a comrade named Pham Thanh Chung, I learned the address of the comrade who saved me that year...”, Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Trong said sadly.
At this point, the old soldier's hands trembled, he stopped, choked up: "But my family told me that my benefactor that year, Doan Tan My, sacrificed himself on the battlefield of Preah Vihear province in Cambodia four months later." The audience fell silent, everyone was moved to express their condolences to the brave soldier who sacrificed for his homeland and country! Present at the meeting, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dung, wife of Heroic Martyr Doan Tan My shared: "I am very happy and moved to meet my husband's comrades again. The war has ended, but the emotions in me are still there, my family is always proud of the heroic sacrifice of my husband as well as the Heroes and Martyrs for the cause of national liberation and protection of the Fatherland".
According to Ms. Dung, her family and herself were moved when the story was told by her comrades, this is a source of motivation, belief, and pride for her children and grandchildren to follow in their tradition on the path of self-reliance and career building. The meeting was filled with emotions. The soldiers of the past, now with gray hair and wrinkled skin, together with the young people, raised their voices to sing the heroic song: "Sing forever the military march".
Being present here, listening and witnessing the stories of a heroic time of war, Ms. Trinh Thi Mai, Market Development Director, Word of Life Group, representative of the unit accompanying the program, could not hide her emotions. She confided: Her generation was born when the country was at peace, but she and everyone always felt that the peace we have now was exchanged for the blood and bones of many people who came before. "As a generation living in peace, I always remember the merits of the previous generation and vow to live up to that sacrifice. Every kind deed, every small contribution to today's society, is the way young people show gratitude to the generation that fell, sacrificed blood and bones for the Fatherland to blossom with Independence...", Ms. Mai confided.
(To be continued)
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ky-uc-mua-tri-an-383590.html
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