Return to the "lands of fire"

Lesson 1: Restlessness from the heart of the sand

Every July, the sandy plains of Quang Nam province seem to stir with tales of heroes.

Young people visit the Binh Tuy tunnel complex and listen to Mr. Truong Hoang Lam recount the villagers' history of fighting. Photo: TTTB

1. The unseasonal July rains could not deter the stream of people returning to the land once ravaged by fierce bombing. " In Quang Nam, wherever you set foot, you can hear echoes from the past – a tragic yet heroic past." In particular, in the sandy regions of Quang Nam, it seems that everywhere there are "cemeteries on the sand" erected in the hearts of the people.

There are still no statistics on the number of underground tunnels in the sandy soil of Quang Nam province. Even if there were, they probably wouldn't fully convey how these "bases of popular support" existed. It's also hard to believe that tunnels could be dug in sandy soil. But beneath the layers of gravel and gravel, and above that, the white sand of the coastal region, once sheltered many lives underground.

“In Quang Nam province, during the war, there always seemed to be villages that dug tunnels. Tunnels for shelter, for ‘armies to emerge from the depths of the earth and strike terror into the enemy.’ These are legends from the earth, and each story told shines with pride in courage and patriotism.”

In the eastern part of Quang Nam province, there were people who were not only skilled at plowing and tilling the land, but also adept at "diving deep" into the earth. It was they who discovered that, deep beneath the white sand lay solid layers of soil. The tunnels in Ngoc My village (Tam Phu, Tam Ky), Ky Anh (Tam Thang, Tam Ky), and Binh Tuy village (Binh Giang, Thang Binh) are examples of this. They are all underground tunnels, located deep beneath layers of sand.

I remember the days of 2014, when the people of Binh Giang discovered a system of tunnels that wrapped around Binh Tuy village. “In 1963-1964, when the American enemy carried out fierce and increasingly frequent sweeps, the trenches and shelters that the people had used for protection could not withstand the intensity of the bombing and shelling, so the issue of digging tunnels running along the bamboo groves was discussed,” – according to the revolutionary struggle history of the Party Committee and people of Binh Giang commune.

The Ky Anh tunnel system has a total length of approximately 32km. Photo: VL

The tunnel system, over 3km long and more than 3m deep underground, was dug along bamboo groves bordering the village roads. The Binh Tuy tunnels are associated with the heroic sacrifice of Heroine Truong Thi Xang, who rescued 300 people hiding in the tunnels during the American sweep operation in February 1965.

The image of Mr. Truong Hoang Lam - the younger brother of Hero of the Armed Forces Truong Thi Xang, a middle-aged man crawling deep into the tunnels after their discovery exactly 10 years ago, remains vividly imprinted in the minds of those who witnessed it.

After being discovered by local people three years ago, the Binh Tuy tunnel system was recognized as a provincial-level historical relic (in 2017). Now, in front of Mr. Lam's house, there is still a shrine dedicated to the Hero of the Armed Forces, Truong Thi Xang.

The underground tunnels are preserved to prevent collapse. And this elderly man still often welcomes groups of young people who come to this "historic site," listening to stories of the heroic struggle of his homeland.

2. In Quang Nam province, during wartime, there always seemed to be villages with "tunnels." Tunnels for shelter, for "armies to emerge from the depths of the earth and strike fear into the enemy." These are legends from the underground, and each story told shines with pride in courage and patriotism.

The Ky Anh tunnels – the third largest underground trench system in the country during the war against the US – are particularly remarkable because they were dug in sandy soil.

Quang Nam – a place with many "cemeteries underground" nestled within its people. In the photo, resistance fighters from Zone V light incense for their comrades buried in the land of Quang Nam. Photo: XH

Mr. Huynh Kim Ta, a local resident and guide at the Ky Anh Tunnel National Monument, shared that, unlike Vinh Moc (Quang Tri) or Cu Chi ( Ho Chi Minh City), the Ky Anh tunnels had to be dug through layers of hard soil, clay, and laterite to prevent collapse.

The people dug the tunnels entirely using manual tools and relying mainly on human strength, such as hoes, shovels, crowbars, and using baskets and containers to carry the excavated soil away.

The forces digging the tunnels were soldiers, local guerrillas, women, farmers, and young people. This shows that without unity and solidarity, it would be difficult to create legendary stories from the depths of the earth.

The heroic commune of Binh Duong (Thang Binh) celebrates its 60th anniversary since liberation (September 1964). And today, the sandy land of Binh Duong has dramatically transformed its appearance.

During the war against the Americans, Binh Duong was a small commune consisting entirely of sand. Its population during the war was less than 5,000 people, but after the war ended, Binh Duong had 1,367 martyrs and 272 Heroic Vietnamese Mothers.

In the days following peace, Binh Duong almost had to start from scratch. Even now, 60 years later, the time has passed long enough for those young volunteers who fought on the battlefield back then to come to terms with the events, some still alive, others gone.

But the transformation of this land is enough for them to be proud of the heroic title bestowed upon their homeland three times. Now, Binh Duong has almost become the economic driving force of Thang Binh district, with its advantageous location and potential.

Returning to the white sand dunes of Tam Thang, the sighs of despair over a once impoverished area – the outskirts of the provincial capital – have disappeared. It has become a fertile ground for investors, with factories and enterprises springing up on the white sands.

Moreover, a series of eco-tourism and cultural projects along the Dam River and the Ky Anh tunnels are extending further hope for the people of this region. Tam Thang, like the sandy areas of Thang Binh, is located in the eastern part of the region. New opportunities are continuously opening up in this eastern land, as if by the fairness of history.

During the war, the land and people of the East built "trenches in the heart of the earth." Now, grains of sand "transform" to create a miracle of peace...

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Lesson 2: Steel Land Under Bomb Rain

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tro-lai-nhung-vung-dat-lua-bai-1-thao-thuc-tu-long-cat-3138357.html