'The Nhan Dan newspaper was my companion as I went to battle.'

Torn by bullets, scorched by fire, his body no longer intact, but the Nhan Dan newspaper that soldier Dinh Xuan Ly clutched to his chest remained untouched until the day of his victorious return. That Party newspaper, featuring a picture of President Ho Chi Minh, was the driving force that propelled him through all hardships on the battlefield and served as his essential companion upon his return to peacetime.

Veteran Dinh Xuan Ly recounts his battlefield memories to students at Dinh Hoa High School.

Having regularly read Party newspapers since his youth, Mr. Dinh Xuan Ly carefully preserved most of the major national events published in Nhan Dan Newspaper from the 1960s onwards, like a collector. Whenever the country commemorates an anniversary, he retrieves these articles to compare, reflect upon, and study them, enriching his life experience. Reading them led him to self-taught writing and poetry, which he then submitted to various newspapers as a refined hobby. This is veteran Dinh Xuan Ly, a hero who twice shot down enemy aircraft, residing in Ho Sen residential area, Cho Chu town (Dinh Hoa district).

In 1971, when ordered to enlist in the army to fight for the liberation of South Vietnam and reunification of the country, besides his minimal personal belongings, Mr. Ly did not forget to wrap two issues of the Nhan Dan newspaper, published on September 5, 1969 and September 10, 1969, reporting on the day of President Ho Chi Minh's death and the memorial service, in a plastic bag to carry with him.

For over 50 years, veteran Dinh Xuan Ly has fondly recalled the days he spent flipping through those newspaper pages on his way to the battlefield. He slowly recounted: "That year I was 20 years old, like many young men my age, yearning to go to the battlefield and take up arms to defend the Fatherland. We were so proud to be sons of the revolutionary ATK (Anti-French Resistance Zone), growing up in Thai Nguyen , the cradle of revolutionary journalism (the Huynh Thuc Khang School of Journalism and the place where the first issue of Nhan Dan Newspaper was printed and distributed on March 11, 1951)..."

I remember the eulogies printed in newspapers bidding farewell to President Ho Chi Minh, which were particularly significant during a time of war when the country was still divided between North and South. The majority of the eulogy consisted of five solemn oaths: "Farewell, our beloved President, we swear to fight and defeat the invading American enemy, liberate the South, protect the North, and unify the country; to continue striving to realize the ideals of socialism and communism; to maintain the unity and solidarity of the Party, strengthen the Party's fighting capacity, serve as the nucleus of national unity, and ensure the complete victory of the revolutionary cause of the working class and the Vietnamese nation; to cultivate pure international sentiment, actively contributing to the struggle of the world's people for peace, national independence, democracy, and socialism; and to study his ethics and conduct throughout our lives."

The vows of farewell to Uncle Ho, made over the past half-century, have been and continue to be fulfilled by the entire Party and people, and by generations of Vietnamese people. The eulogy read at his funeral is a particularly valuable historical document, a heroic and moving piece of writing. Page 3 of the newspaper reports on the funeral ceremony of President Ho Chi Minh at Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi. The article speaks of the brilliant life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh, his noble character, and the image of him reading the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square in 1945…

In the early days of his military service, Mr. Dinh Xuan Ly received infantry training, and later became a soldier in the 320th Division, marching along the Truong Son mountain range to the front lines. There were times when he would open and pass around copies of the Nhan Dan newspaper to read with his comrades, as if giving them unparalleled strength.

All three times Mr. Ly was wounded, bullets tore through his backpack and lodged in his back and abdomen, but miraculously, the newspaper remained intact. "During the times we were transferred to the military medical station for treatment, I would flip through the pages of the newspaper and read along with the wounded. At that time, we all forgot the pain and longed to join the troops on the battlefield as soon as possible," Mr. Ly recounted.

On the battlefield, even as an infantry soldier who had only recently become familiar with the 12.7mm machine gun, facing the enemy meant only one order: to fight and win. In a battle to capture an enemy outpost in Duc Co district, Gia Lai province, in 1972, Mr. Ly was assigned to a machine gun crew and given the role of number 1 gunner.

After our troops had gained the upper hand, suddenly four American AD6 jet fighters flew in from the sea off Da Nang and bombed the battlefield. The entire battlefield fell silent as if deserted. He nervously raised his gun, aimed directly at the planes, waited until they were close, locked onto the target, and pulled the trigger. In an instant, the planes wobbled, smoke billowed, and plunged into the sea. The remaining three planes also panicked and turned to flee. The entire unit cheered, embracing the artillery crew and shouting with joy at the miraculous victory as the infantry shot down the planes…

In 1973, while his unit was defending the liberated zone in Gia Lai, the enemy launched another attack using HU-1A helicopters. Caught off guard, the 12.7mm gun crew quickly moved into position. Ly waited for the helicopter to approach, and only after counting 12 paratroopers and the pilot on board did he decide to open fire. The first two shots quickly shot down the aircraft.

In November 1975, veteran Dinh Xuan Ly completed his duties and returned to continue his university studies and work until retirement. Despite being a Class 4 war invalid and a victim of Agent Orange, he continued to diligently write articles and poetry. His poetry publications have left a lasting impression on readers, including: "The Military March Resounds Forever," "Praise," and poems like "My Son Returns to Khau Ty," "Tears on the Day of Reunion," etc.

In 2017, he donated some battlefield relics and two issues of Nhan Dan Newspaper to the Thai Nguyen Provincial Museum for safekeeping. Now 74 years old, he still visits the exhibition every year where his battlefield backpack and the two issues of Nhan Dan Newspaper that accompanied him throughout his years on the front lines are displayed, as a way to remember his comrades and the youthful days when he traversed the Truong Son Mountains to save the country.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/to-bao-nhan-dan-lam-hanh-trang-theo-toi-ra-tran-18f28d9/