"I will not return until the homeland is at peace."
During the 1979 Northern Border War, 50 individuals from Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Yen Bai , Ha Giang, Cao Bang, etc., were posthumously awarded or granted the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces. Among them, Hai Duong had 4 individuals posthumously awarded this title: martyrs Pham Xuan Huan (Hai Duong City), Tran Trong Thuong (Thanh Ha), Nguyen Xuan Kim (Kinh Mon), Do Chu Bi (Nam Sach), and 1 person awarded the title: Mr. Dao Van Quan, born in 1950, from Cong Lac commune (Tu Ky district). Later, Mr. Quan served as Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission's Inspection Committee and Vice Chairman of the Hanoi City Veterans Association.
On the other side of the border were two military regions: the Guangzhou Military Region, commanded by General Yang Shiyou, attacking towards Lang Son, Cao Bang , and Quang Ninh; and the Kunming Military Region, commanded by General Yang Dazhi, attacking towards Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Ha Giang. They mobilized 32 infantry divisions, including 6 tank regiments (equivalent to 550 tanks); 4 artillery divisions (equivalent to 480 cannons) and 1,260 mortars. Along with these were 1,700 aircraft and 200 warships from the South China Sea Fleet ready to provide support.
History records that on the morning of February 17, 1979, the invading army's artillery unexpectedly bombarded targets within Vietnamese territory, marking the beginning of an unjust war. Over 500,000 enemy troops, along with thousands of tanks and armored vehicles, launched a simultaneous attack from Pa Nam Cum (Lai Chau) to Po Hen (Quang Ninh), spanning 1,200 km. However, they encountered fierce resistance from our people and army.
The battle to defend the northern border of Vietnam officially began. Soldiers who had just returned from the long war against the US continued their fight with the spirit of "We will not return until the Fatherland is at peace." Vietnam's main army corps from the southwestern border mobilized to the northern border to fight, and along with pressure from the international community, forced the expansionist forces to retreat. However, the enemy still occupied some high points in the provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, etc.
From April 1984 to May 1989, hundreds of thousands of expansionist troops poured down to occupy the Vi Xuyen border. The entire Vietnamese nation had to endure a war against border encroachment until the day the guns fell silent and the nation's border was reunited.
The border stretches as one continuous strip.
As someone once said: "The Vietnamese people of the 20th century are a legendary generation." Indeed, through the great wars of national defense in the 20th century, these generations all deserve to be called heroes!
In Pò Hèn, the names of heroic martyrs from Hai Duong province are still inscribed on the memorial: Lê Đình Quảng (Đại Hợp, Tứ Kỳ), Nguyễn Văn Dụng (Văn Đức, Chí Linh), Lê Đình Phương (Hưng Thái, Ninh Giang), Đỗ Văn Thức (Phú Thái, Kim Thành), Trần Thế Tâm (Quốc Tuấn, Nam Sách)... Or in the "century-old lime kilns" of Hà Giang, there are the names of heroic martyrs from Hai Duong province: Nguyễn Đình Doanh (Phượng Hoàng, Thanh Hà), Nguyễn Văn Đức (Nhật Tân, Gia Lộc)...
During the three wars of resistance, Vietnam still has 200,000 uncollected graves of fallen soldiers and 300,000 whose identities remain unknown. Many of these heroic martyrs have been reunited with their mothers, even though "They bid farewell to their sons in their physical form / And welcomed them back as sons who had become part of the nation." But many more remain on the battlefield.
These days, on the first day of spring meals in tens of thousands of families, there are still bowls and chopsticks left unused. This is not only a concern, but also a debt that the entire nation owes to the previous generation, who spared no blood, sweat, or youth, readily sacrificing everything to protect the independence and self-reliance of the nation, to firmly defend the borders of the Fatherland and the sovereignty of the sea and islands.
The war is long over. Green has covered the former battlefields. This spring, peach blossoms burst forth in vibrant pink under the spring sunshine along the long border from Pa Nam Cum to Po Hen. The national territory has been built and firmly consolidated with the blood and bones of tens of thousands of compatriots and soldiers. The blood and bones of our uncles and aunts have become one with the plants and trees, etched into the sacred spirit of the mountains and rivers an immortal epic in the righteous struggle to protect our beautiful land.
In those places, towering monuments and memorials have been erected, reminding us and future generations to cast aside the past and look towards the future, while always remembering the sacrifices of our ancestors with all our hearts. And, let us be vigilant, not allowing the Fatherland to be caught off guard or surprised, because national sovereignty is inviolable, the Fatherland comes first!
TIEN HUYSource
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