Nghe An: Truong Bon Historical Site

During the great resistance war against the US, Truong Bon, located in My Son commune, Do Luong district, Nghe An province, became a "red address," a sacred land, a shining symbol of revolutionary heroism in the fight against foreign invaders.

Việt Nam•01/01/2025

The Truong Bon historical site bears witness to the brutal crimes of the enemy and the glorious victories of the combined strength of our army and people, of the brave, resourceful, and courageous youth volunteer cadres and soldiers who, with unwavering courage, maintained the vital transportation route supplying the front lines, embodying the motto "Our hearts may stop beating, but the road cannot be blocked." Truong Bon has gone down in history as an epic of unwavering determination, embodying the motto "All for our beloved South," "For the independence, freedom, and reunification of the Fatherland," and "For the noble international duty."

Located in the frontline of Military Region IV, the strategic Route 15A, nearly 200km long, connects from National Highway 1A – bordering Thanh Hoa province – passing through the districts of Quynh Luu, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Do Luong, and Nam Dan. One branch leads to Linh Cam ferry terminal and Dong Loc Junction; the other leads to Vinh city, via Ben Thuy ferry, into Ha Tinh province . This was a vital transportation artery for transporting personnel and supplies to support the Southern battlefield when American planes bombed and blockaded the railway, river, sea routes, and National Highway 1A passing through Nghe An province. On this strategic route, Truong Bon was a particularly important transportation hub.

The Truông Bồn strategic point, 5 km long, is located on Route 15A, also known as Route 30. During the war against the US, it held a particularly important strategic position, being the only point connecting vital transportation arteries: Kilometer 0 of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, National Highway 1A, National Highway 7, and Route 46, facilitating the supply of manpower and resources from the North to the South. The route through Truông Bồn has extremely complex terrain: muddy, narrow, and steep, traversing a range of interconnected hills and mountains interspersed with deep valleys. From Om Bridge to the beginning of Truông Bồn is the U Bò slope, with the Vực Chỏng ravine in the middle, and the end of Truông Bồn is the Kỳ Lợn slope. 1968 was the most brutal year of the war against the US, following the Tet Offensive and Uprising by our army and people. Having suffered major defeats on the battlefields, the enemy shifted their bombing plan from unrestricted to limited bombing, concentrating their air and naval power to launch fierce attacks on four provinces in the former Zone IV. The enemy discovered that Truong Bon was a vital transportation choke point on the ground, so they spared no bombardment, relentlessly bombing and destroying it. Almost continuously, aircraft circled over the Do Luong area, with 5,000 sorties from US aircraft bases in Utapao and Korat (Thailand) and Wusam Island (Philippines) to attack. On peak days, the US air force launched up to 131 attacks. The sound of bombs and gunfire never ceased day and night over Truong Bon. To destroy the road and clear the Truong Bon area to detect targets, the enemy employed various destructive tactics. Sometimes they used reconnaissance aircraft to pinpoint targets in waves, other times they concentrated their forces for massive, sustained attacks. During the day, they focused on blocking access routes; at night, they dropped flares and attacked our road repair forces and transport convoys. Of the 20,000 bombs, missiles, and rockets dropped by the enemy in this area, the majority were dropped on the Truong Bon strategic point. The quantity and types of bombs varied; they used demolition bombs, napalm bombs, phosphorus bombs, and defoliant bombs, as well as fragmentation bombs, cluster bombs, delayed-action bombs, and magnetic bombs... killing Youth Volunteers, soldiers, and militia, and causing difficulties and complications for us in protecting and repairing the road. Enemy bombs and bullets turned the once lush and fertile Truong Bon area into a desolate wasteland; thousands of hectares of forest were destroyed, 211 villages along Route 15A were devastated; hundreds of cargo trucks and hundreds of artillery pieces belonging to our troops were hit by bombs and caught fire; more than 1,240 cadres, soldiers, militia members, Youth Volunteers, and transport workers perished, including 372 Youth Volunteers.

Faced with the enemy's atrocities, to protect the strategically important Truong Bon, the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Administrative Committee focused their leadership and direction on mobilizing forces to secure Truong Bon, maintaining its vital transportation artery. The fighting forces included: Transport Unit 1, Battalion 1 of the Engineering Corps, D30 Engineering Battalion of Military Region 4, Engineering Company 27; Missile Battalion 67 of Missile Regiment 278, Missile Battalion 72 of Missile Regiment 236, Air Defense Regiment 222; 4 battalions of 37mm and 12.7mm artillery of the militia, Regiment 224 and Regiment 232 of anti-aircraft artillery, Transportation Unit 10, and the Do Luong Post Office Self-Defense Force. The youth volunteer units: 303, 304, 307, 316, 317, 318, 327, 332, 340, and the local militia and people's forces; observation teams, bomb counting teams, marker placement teams, mine clearance teams, road rescue units, along with the communication network, traffic management forces, and security and order maintenance forces were formed in the Truong Bon area. We shot down dozens of American aircraft, captured one enemy pilot; and defused thousands of unexploded bombs of various types. The army and people contributed 2 million man-days of labor, excavated millions of cubic meters of earth and rock, safely transported 94,000 motorized vehicles through Truong Bon, transported and cleared more than 1 million tons of goods; excavated dozens of kilometers of roads to pontoon bridges, dug hundreds of A-shaped tunnels, and thousands of meters of trenches; provided tens of thousands of casuarina trees, bamboo stakes, and other types of wood to prevent mud and build bridges for vehicles to pass through. Mobilizing 4,500 bicycles, 4,500 tricycles, ox carts, and 900 wheelbarrows.

In this fierce battle, all forces fought tenaciously, intelligently, and bravely. Truong Bon became the pinnacle of the people's war, representing the combined strength of many forces directly involved in combat and combat support, with the Youth Volunteer Force being the main force. Their unwavering determination, "Live clinging to bridges and roads, die bravely and resolutely," painted a magnificent picture of the Youth Volunteer Force, making a crucial contribution to protecting the vital supply route to the front lines.