Mr. Le Van Doan and his wife, Mrs. Vo Thi Nong, persevered and fought steadfastly until the day of victory - Photo: M.D.
Unforgettable days...
I met Mr. Le Van Doan in his small house on the coast of Cua Viet. At 96 years old, Mr. Doan still retains the demeanor of a soldier from the Nguyen Thien Thuat Regiment of yesteryear, with his long, white beard, broad forehead, upright posture, and tall stature.
Born into a family with a revolutionary tradition, from a young age, Đoàn participated in many anti-invasion activities in his locality. “At the age of 17, witnessing the poverty and suffering of the villagers and the invaders devastating my homeland, I wrote a letter volunteering to join the resistance against the French.”
"I was assigned to the 95th Regiment (Nguyen Thien Thuat Regiment) - the first main force unit of Quang Tri province and one of the first main force units of the Vietnam People's Army," Mr. Doan recounted.
Throughout the nine years of resistance against the French, his unit defeated numerous large-scale enemy operations and sweeps, contributing to resounding victories on the Khe Sanh, Central Highlands, and Southeastern battlefields. With his courageous fighting spirit, he was entrusted by his superiors with many important tasks and always completed them excellently.
He recounted that back then, our army was very short of supplies but always full of fighting spirit. Although his recollections were sometimes interrupted due to his advanced age, Mr. Doan still vividly remembers the final days of the resistance war against the French.
He said: "We were delighted to hear news of enemy defeats on all battlefields. My unit fought glorious battles together, blocking the enemy's retreat, contributing with the entire army to the Dien Bien Phu Victory, 'renowned throughout the world and shaking the earth'."
In the glorious victory of the 95th Regiment back then, Mr. Doan contributed significantly, having faced life and death alongside his comrades. However, when recounting the story, what moved him most was witnessing so many brothers-in-arms fall on the battlefield when victory was only hours away.
After the end of the resistance war against the French, Mr. Doan and his unit marched rapidly to the South to continue participating with other units in the task of protecting the southwestern and northern borders of the Fatherland.
He recounted emotionally, "During a fierce enemy bombing raid, I was unfortunately seriously wounded in the leg and was sent by my superiors to Quang Binh for six months of treatment. After that, I returned to my hometown in Cua Viet with unforgettable memories of the battlefield..."
Mr. Le Van Doan recounts a time when he rowed a boat carrying soldiers and supplying ammunition and food across the Cua Viet River - Photo: M.D.
" As long as we're alive, we're fighting."
Returning home with numerous injuries and a painful leg, Mr. Doan still managed to walk normally like a true fisherman. Every day, he regularly took his boat out to sea, sometimes upstream along the Hieu Giang River, other times across the Thach Han River, to catch fish and shrimp. Few knew that he was secretly monitoring the movements of the enemy to report to the local troops.
“Initially, they suspected my leg had been hit by shrapnel during combat, so they tried every way to interrogate me. I consistently maintained that my leg injury was due to an accident while fishing at sea. But every few days, they would come to my house to search for evidence that I had ever been involved in the revolution, in order to find a pretext for arresting me,” Mr. Doan said.
Under enemy bombardment and gunfire, he repeatedly and secretly transported soldiers, food, and ammunition across the river using only a small boat.
Working silently on the Hieu and Thach Han rivers under the guise of a fisherman, Mr. Doan couldn't remember how many times he had been captured and tortured by the enemy. They interrogated him, sweet-talking him and promising him a comfortable life, but when he resolutely refused to confess, they used every cruel method to torture him to the brink of death.
“After beating and interrogating me for 5-7 days, they would helplessly throw me out onto the riverbank. I was lucky many times to be discovered in time by local fishermen who brought me home for treatment. With the spirit of a soldier, I always told myself that as long as I was alive, I would continue to fight and participate in the revolution,” Mr. Doan emphasized.
His wife, Vo Thi Nong (born in 1930), was also a loyal female guerrilla fighter in the area, always fulfilling her duties to the country while managing the household so that he could focus on his activities. Many times, seeing him return with numerous wounds from torture inflicted by the enemy's collaborators, she would shed tears and be filled with worry.
She confided, "I knew I could never stop him or break his spirit. So, I always encouraged him and tried my best to raise the children so that my husband could go on his mission."
For his contributions during the two wars of resistance, Mr. Doan was awarded numerous medals, decorations, and other prestigious titles. As I said goodbye to him, I saw deep in the eyes of this veteran a sense of joy and contentment. For him, having gone through two wars of resistance, even though he couldn't remember how many times he was wounded, simply being alive to see peace as it is today was a great happiness...
Minh Duc
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nguoi-di-qua-hai-cuoc-chien-196368.htm
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