Truong Son memories in the hearts of soldiers - Lang Son Electronic Newspaper

- During the resistance war against the US to save the country, Lang Son had thousands of cadres and soldiers participating in the fight, contributing their efforts to the cause of national unification. The war has passed but the heroic echoes are still there, leaving in the hearts of every Truong Son soldier countless memories and emotions.

Lang Son City Truong Son Traditional Association organized a visit to the old battlefield.

In mid-May 2024, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with former Truong Son soldiers who are living in the province. Talking about the days of "cutting through Truong Son to save the country", the eyes of those soldiers lit up, each memory was strung together into very proud stories.

Forever living memories of Truong Son

Captain Hua Viet Tri (born in 1954, residing in Dong Kinh ward, Lang Son city) enlisted in March 1972. After a few months of training in Bac Giang , he was assigned to take a short-term driving course at the Viet Bac Military Region Driving School. After completing his studies, the young soldier received orders to march to the Southern battlefield. He was assigned to Battalion 871, Regiment 17, Division 571, tasked with driving vehicles carrying food, military equipment, weapons, and ammunition to serve the battle.

Telling us, Mr. Tri still remembers clearly: That year, the Truong Son battlefield was fierce, enemy planes roared, bombing continuously, the Truong Son road was bumpy because of bombs and bullets. In order not to be detected by enemy planes, we had to drive at night, on roads with high mountains on one side and abysses on the other, the car lights were absolutely not allowed to be turned on, the guiding light for the convoy was the fog lights, turtle lights and the "fire" of love for the Fatherland in the heart. Each car had to be carefully camouflaged, sometimes the camouflage was as heavy as half the load of goods on the car. Yet the car still moved forward.

While telling us, Mr. Tri hummed verses from the poem "The Truck Squad Without Windows" by poet Pham Tien Duat: "No windows, no lights/No hood, scratched truck bed/The truck still runs because the South is ahead/As long as there is a heart in the truck".

With a resilient and courageous spirit, despite the rain of bombs and bullets, the Truong Son driver that year still held the wheel firmly, performing the assigned task well without a moment of fear. For Mr. Tri, the goods on the vehicle were what the battlefield needed, so keeping and protecting the vehicle safe was the number one priority.

Having traveled many roads and served in combat for many years, Mr. Tri was exposed to Agent Orange. However, he was always proud of having contributed to protecting the Fatherland. Serving in combat until the end of 1975, after the Ho Chi Minh campaign was completely victorious, Mr. Tri went to Hanoi. In 1980, he was assigned to attend officer training, then worked at the Provincial Military Command until 1993 when he retired. Now, although he is 70 years old, Mr. Tri is still actively involved in social activities. He is currently the Chairman of the Association of Agent Orange Victims in Dong Kinh Ward, Lang Son City.

As for the information soldier Pham Van Luan (born in 1955, residing in Bac Son town, Bac Son district), the days of serving in combat in the wild forests and poisonous waters of the Truong Son battlefield were extremely difficult, the meals of wild vegetables, stream fish, hasty sleeps on hammocks or the chilling malaria... are unforgettable memories of the fierce and arduous years. Mr. Luan enlisted in the army in August 1973, after 2 months of enlistment, he marched to the southern battlefield. He was an information soldier of Battalion 35, Regiment 99, under Command 559, his daily task was to receive and transmit information to the units.

In January 1975, Mr. Luan transferred to Battalion 73, Road and Bridge Department under Command 559, with the task of building ferry bridges and pontoon bridges for convoys and troops to move and support the battlefield. Mr. Luan recalled: At that time, the enemy bombed day and night, scattered bombs and mines, causing the bridges across the river to be destroyed. To ensure that the mechanized infantry and convoys could promptly transport weapons and ammunition to the front line, we had to move with the troops to the areas to build pontoon bridges across the river. The task required speed, urgency, and not to hinder the progress of our troops, so we had to build bridges regardless of day or night.

Constantly moving, passing through many places destroyed by the enemy, Mr. Luan was exposed to Agent Orange. However, for him, dedicating his youth to protecting the Fatherland was an extremely great honor. Serving in combat until after the victory of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975, Mr. Luan returned to the North to study and worked at the Lang Son Provincial Military Command until 2000 when he retired.

Not only the two veterans above, during the years of resistance against the US to save the country, thousands of children of the homeland of Lang Son contributed to participate and serve in combat. Among them, hundreds of young volunteers participated in opening the Truong Son road; the frontline labor force participated in transporting goods, weapons and ammunition to support the battlefield; the signal force and engineers directly fought and served in combat. Thanks to that, during the 16 years of resistance against the US to save the country (from 1959 to 1975), the Truong Son soldiers steadfastly resisted over 733,000 bombing raids by the US air force, millions of tons of bombs and ammunition of all kinds; created a traffic system consisting of 5 vertical axes, 21 horizontal axes, nearly 17,000 km of motorized roads, destroyed 78,000 bomb craters, killed and captured 17,740 enemies... creating the legend of the historic Ho Chi Minh trail.

During the 16 years of fighting against the US to save the country (from 1959 to 1975), Truong Son soldiers steadfastly resisted over 733,000 US air strikes, millions of tons of bombs and ammunition of all kinds; created a traffic system consisting of 5 vertical axes, 21 horizontal axes, nearly 17,000 km of motorized roads, destroyed 78,000 bomb craters, killed and captured 17,740 enemies... creating the legend of the historic Ho Chi Minh trail.

Promoting the tradition of Truong Son soldiers

Now, when recalling those years, the Truong Son veterans living in the border land of Lang Son feel luckier than their comrades who sacrificed their lives to return and witness their homeland and country renew and develop day by day. Returning to normal life, they have continued to promote the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", regardless of their position, they are exemplary, striving to contribute and compete to build and protect the Fatherland.

Mr. Ly Danh Nong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Tradition Association of the province, said: Responding to the legitimate aspirations of hundreds of Truong Son veterans, in August 2016, the Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Tradition Association of the province was established with the aim of creating a space for veterans to exchange, share, and review the process of participating in the battle in Truong Son, and above all, to support and help each other emotionally, materially and spiritually. Currently, the association has over 550 members who are former Truong Son soldiers in the districts and cities of the province. Every year, we regularly organize activities to contribute to improving the lives of members; propagating and educating historical traditions, preserving and promoting the tradition of heroic Truong Son soldiers.

The Truong Son soldiers of the past were always exemplary and advised their family members and relatives to strictly follow the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's laws; actively participate in socio-economic development, ensure national defense and security in the area; participate in the local political system. Currently, the whole province has 38 Truong Son soldiers participating in Party committees and authorities at all levels; every year, over 95% of member families meet the cultural family standards; the number of well-off and rich member households accounts for over 40%... In the past 5 years, members have contributed to building and repairing 20 gratitude houses for members with difficult housing circumstances; supported natural disaster prevention, storms and floods, and COVID-19 prevention and control with over 170 million VND; and given nearly 350 gifts to members in difficulty with a total value of over 100 million VND.

Mr. Nong Quoc Toan, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Tradition Association of Lang Son City, said: The city's association currently has 120 members. Promoting the tradition of Uncle Ho's soldiers, 100% of members in the area are exemplary in complying with all policies and guidelines of the Party and laws of the State; actively contributing and helping members in difficult circumstances through forms such as giving Tet gifts, warm blankets, giving savings books... Thereby, encouraging and motivating members to overcome difficulties and improve their lives.

Every year, to recall memories and commemorate fallen comrades, the Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Tradition Association of the province organizes from 1 to 3 delegations to revisit the Truong Son battlefield, visit the National Martyrs' Cemetery of Route 9 (Quang Tri); Truong Son Martyrs' Cemetery. The Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Tradition Association of the province also regularly coordinates with schools to organize traditional storytelling; establish the Truong Son Army's art club to organize art exchange activities, sing about Truong Son in residential areas... Thereby, to encourage today's generation to constantly compete, practice, and contribute to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

The war has long gone, but the years of fighting in the Truong Son battlefield are still imprinted in the minds of every soldier who fought and served in the Truong Son battlefield. Their feelings and emotions for their comrades have never faded. Remembering those glorious years, they try to contribute more effort and intelligence to build their homeland and country to become more prosperous and strong in peacetime.

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