Dedicated to the campaign
During the campaign, the French deployed forces and set up outposts at all the roads leading to the battlefield; fighter planes circled the Muong Thanh basin and surrounding areas to prevent any reinforcements from our rear.
At that time, the life of Muong Phang people was very difficult and deprived, but with the spirit of "All for Dien Bien Phu", all Muong Phang people tried their best to increase production, save and eat a lot of corn and potatoes to save the best rice to support the front line. As in the case of Lo Thi Doi, a female militia member of Muong Phang commune's self-defense team, although she has "gone forever", her contributions during the campaign are always remembered.
That day, Mr. Doi mobilized women and villagers to support and supply rice, vegetables, and meat to the Campaign Command. To have food, Mr. Doi went to each house to mobilize people to support the army. At first, there were many difficulties, because the people of Muong Phang and some neighboring communes were poor, but after listening to the explanation, they all supported. People with rice donated rice, households with buffaloes and cows donated buffaloes and cows... Not only that, many people volunteered to transport military supplies.
Thanks to that, the movement of “emptying the pot and emptying the basket” spread to every household, to “give everything for the great victory of Dien Bien Phu campaign”. After a short time (about 5 months) of mobilization, the people of Muong Phang supported the Campaign Command with 9 tons of rice and 5 buffaloes, in which Mr. Doi’s family also supported many buffaloes, cows, and green vegetables.
Not only contributing food, Muong Phang people were also loyal to the revolution. To ensure the secrecy and safety of the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters, thousands of people volunteered to participate in setting up multi-layered, interconnected protective corridors, both proactively preventing enemy infiltration and conveniently supplying the stationed forces. The headquarters area was more than ten kilometers away from the center of the Dien Bien Phu stronghold, the French army regularly sent planes to search and send troops to sweep and destroy our headquarters and main force. But from the time we moved and gathered here until the day our army liberated Dien Bien Phu, this place was guaranteed absolute safety.
We visited Mr. Lo Van Bien, son of Mr. Lo Van Bong - former liaison officer and guard of the outer perimeter of the Dien Bien Phu campaign headquarters 70 years ago. Now nearly 70 years old, Mr. Bien turned to show us a collection of documentary photos that his family has kept as treasures for many years. These are photos of Mr. Lo Van Bong meeting "ai pu tap xac" (grandfather fighting the enemy - the affectionate name of Muong Phang people for General Vo Nguyen Giap). Mr. Bien quoted the elders as saying that in 1954, Mr. Bong was then a 24-year-old boy, selected to join the outer perimeter guard of the headquarters. Given a rifle, he spent days and nights in the area mobilizing the villagers to prevent spies and participate in protecting the headquarters of the campaign. Mr. Bong mobilized a large number of people to participate in ensuring the absolute safety of the headquarters.
Muong Phang's love
The Dien Bien Phu victory, “famous in five continents, shaking the world”, is closely associated with the name of General Vo Nguyen Giap. The victory day has passed 70 years ago, but the feelings and hearts of the people of Dien Bien in general and Muong Phang in particular towards the General are still intact and deep. After the Dien Bien Phu victory, the campaign headquarters was preserved intact by the people of Muong Phang. The image of the General is always deeply engraved in the minds of the people here. The feelings that the General had for the people of Muong Phang have become the driving force for the people to unite and join hands to build a developed and prosperous village.
On the porch of the stilt house at the end of Bua village, Muong Phang commune, every day Mr. Lo Van Bien spends time cleaning the radio that the General gave to his father, Mr. Lo Van Bong, during the General's visit to Dien Bien in 2004. Mr. Bong was very happy and proud to have the radio. In 2013, Mr. Bong passed away. On his deathbed, his wish was to see and touch the radio for the last time and to instruct his children and grandchildren to preserve this keepsake carefully. After 20 years, the radio has become a priceless keepsake of Mr. Bien's family. For Mr. Bien's family, if one day they do not clean and see this keepsake, that day feels like something close and familiar is missing.
Mr. Lo Van Bien still remembers clearly the General's visit to Muong Phang: In 2004, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, Uncle Giap visited Muong Phang. From early morning, many people were present, waiting to meet the General. After visiting the trenches, fortifications, and camps in the Command Headquarters, when returning, Uncle Giap spent a lot of time meeting, visiting, and talking with the people. He advised the people to unite, try to do business, develop the economy , and build a more prosperous and spacious village.
Leaving Bua village, we went to Phang 2 village (Muong Phang commune) to meet Lo Van Anh - the person who still kept the photo of General Vo Nguyen Giap taking a photo with the Muong Phang people. Lo Van Anh shared that the photo was the moment when Lo Thi Doi (his grandmother) and many Thai people in the commune were taken with General Vo Nguyen Giap when the General visited Dien Bien in 2004. When he was alive, Doi treasured this photo very much. He often took it out to look at and told his children and grandchildren about the General and the campaign. He instructed his children and grandchildren in the family and clan to make efforts to build the homeland of Muong Phang and preserve the Command Headquarters relic site. The day he heard the news of the General's death, Doi was very sad. All that day, he sat leaning against the door, holding the photo of the Muong Phang people taking a photo with the General, looking towards the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters and crying.
70 years have passed, to the people of Muong Phang, the General is like a father, a grandfather. With his affection for Muong Phang, the General wrote a letter to the Politburo , the Government and the Central ministries and branches to request the construction of Loong Luong irrigation lake to provide water for people's production. The name of the project is Loong Luong but since its inauguration until now, the people of Muong Phang still affectionately call it the General's lake! The people here always remember the General's advice when he visited Muong Phang for the last time, which is to keep the forest in the area of the General's tunnel well, to focus on poverty reduction, to let their children study properly and to preserve the solidarity of the ethnic groups!
In the blink of an eye, 70 years have passed since the place name Muong Phang has entered poetry, music and painting, becoming a source of pride not only for the Vietnamese people but also for progressive humanity who loves peace and independence. Despite facing many challenges, continuing the spirit of Dien Bien Phu in the past, remembering the advice of General Vo Nguyen Giap, the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in Muong Phang have made constant efforts in economic development to escape poverty. In 2018, the commune was recognized as meeting new rural standards; the material and spiritual life of the people has been increasingly improved. Muong Phang today not only has "General's Forest" but also "General's Lake" and "General's School".
Lesson 3: Promoting the tradition of revolutionary homeland
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