Quang Binh fire line and "Unification road"

(QBĐT) - In my life, I was fortunate to meet the people I needed to meet in Quang Binh , including Mr. Lai Van Ly. His life was truly "torn" because of the routes on the Quang Binh fire line. He was the Head of the Department of Transport during the most fierce periods: 1965-1968 and 1972-1973 (Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and Head of the Department). Those were the two times when the US imperialists conducted two destructive wars in the North, in order to "cut off" the North's supply route to the large front line in the South. Quang Binh was at the "fire coordinates" receiving "rain of bombs and storms of bullets".

Recalling the occasion of preparing to compile (supplement) the book History of Quang Binh Transport, 1945-2015, I met him twice. His house is small and modest, in residential group 6, Dong Phu ward (Dong Hoi city). Knowing that I came to learn, revise and supplement the history of transport, Mr. Lai Van Ly happily talked to me.

Quang Binh has a "bloodline" system on the historic Truong Son route, but Mr. Lai Van Ly spends a lot of time talking about the "Unification Road" , which is Highway 16. "It has its origin and meaning, it's not called whatever you like" , despite his old age, he is still clear and concise.

Mr. Lai Van Ly, Head of Quang Binh Department of Transport (standing) speaking at the emulation conference of Quang Binh Department of Transport, 1968. Photo: Document

According to Mr. Lai Van Ly, at the Thach Ban intersection (Le Thuy), at the end of Highway 15A, there is a branch turning to the East of Le Thuy district, and a branch going to the West into the Truong Son range - this branch is Highway 16. In 1956, when the US-Diem regime carried out "white terror" in the South, hundreds of Bru-Van Kieu people in Quang Tri fled to this trail to take refuge. From 1958-1960, the Central Government expanded the trail from Thach Ban intersection to Lang Ho, 40km long and named Highway 16.

- Quang Binh has many strategic routes, such as: Road 12, Road 20, Road 10... but Road 16 has its own significance, directly connecting Quang Binh with Tri Thien- Hue . Therefore, this road is a "top secret" road, Mr. Lai Van Ly shared.

However, it was not smooth sailing from the start. Mr. Lai Van Ly recalled the early days of the road. He remembered what General Dinh Duc Thien, former Director of the General Department of Logistics, said to him: "In this era, if you still keep the cart like in the Dien Bien Phu era, how can you defeat the Americans?" . Mr. Lai Van Ly presented at the meeting, repeating the suggestion of Mr. Hoang Anh, Secretary of the Tri Thien Regional Party Committee (appointed by the Central Committee), wanting to have the shortest and fastest access route to the 17th parallel, using primitive transportation mainly to keep the highest secrecy.

With the participation of the 12A Construction Site, the Quyet Thang Youth Volunteer Team of Quang Binh and the Cu Chinh Lan Youth Volunteer Team of Nghe An, the construction site of Road 16 from Vit Thu Lu to Lang Ho, then gradually to Doc Khi was expanded. "Motor vehicles could now pass," he recalled. From Doc Khi, passing Pass 1001 to the North of Xe Bang Hieng River, the road was only 1.5m wide, mainly used for carrying goods. The force participating in carrying goods on the main route was 4,000 pack-carts of Thanh Hoa province's laborers.

- Route 16 was initially divided into two connecting routes, Mr. Lai Van Ly detailed. Route "Thong Nhat A" also included two sections, from Thach Ban to Doc Khi; the second section from Doc Khi to the North of Se Bang Hieng River; total length 84km. Route "Thong Nhat B" from the South of Se Bang Hieng River to the North of Route 9, was managed by Tri Thien Military Region.

The road, like life, has its own destiny and mission. Road 16 continued to be widened to 2.5m and then... 4m. At the end of 1969, the first commando reached the Se Bang Hieng River, carrying a delegation of Tri Thien Regional Party Committee cadres to the North for work. "We were so happy to see each other," Mr. Lai Van Ly's voice dropped. I understood that the past was appearing in his mind.

The transportation capacity on the “Thong Nhat B” route was also improved. According to Mr. Lai Van Ly’s recall, by the end of 1970, 4,000 tons of goods were transported to the Tri Thien war zone. In 1971, Route 16 was assigned to the 559th Group to manage and increase transportation, serving the Route 9 Southern Laos Campaign, contributing to the destruction of the “Lam Son 719” operation of the US and puppets.

- There are profound memories on the road, on each road section, each goods gathering area, I will never forget. Sipping a cup of tea, Mr. Lai Van Ly was moved.

"The Road of Reunification", the legendary road. Photo: Document.

He told me that once, Mr. Vo Hap, Chief of Logistics of Tri Thien Military Region, passed by a goods gathering area at Doc Khi and saw soldiers and drivers moving around busily, with blue and white plastic sheets covering the goods flashing; Mr. Hap shouted loudly: "You guys are too obvious. Like Dong Xuan market in Hanoi". Of course, we had to learn from this experience immediately, but from then on, this goods gathering area was called "Dong Xuan Goods Area" . There was another goods area called "Hang Co Station" , and there was a section of road that Hanoi soldiers called "Tran Hung Dao Avenue" ...

Those were really difficult days, but with the determination to "Split Truong Son to save the country" , the army and people of the whole country in general, and Quang Binh in particular, had extraordinary endurance.

- The hardship is beyond description, my dear. The wild banana trees along the road have also become withered. Many army units marching through here took the young bananas to dip in salt or cook with dried fish sauce. Hunger and malaria. Many soldiers marching through here got malaria and had to be sent back to the stations.

“The Unification Road” along with the routes of the Truong Son strategic road system has come to the day of liberation. From the first steps of the liaison units, then carrying goods on their shoulders with the motto “Go without traces, cook without smoke, speak without sound” , to the time when motor vehicles could run on Route 16 was a long step, full of sweat and blood. “The Unification Road” reminds Trong Tan-Anh Tho of the duet song “The Road of Four Spring Seasons”: “I asked you which road is the most beautiful?/You said: “There is only the Unification Road today”/The Truong Son Road with its vast forests or the national highway also as long as the country” (Do Nhuan).

In the process of industrialization and modernization, Quang Binh is also one of the localities that rapidly develop road traffic infrastructure. The strategic road named Truong Son in the past has long been called Ho Chi Minh road. Road 16 as a part of history, named after the aspiration of "Unification road" will forever be a "witness" and a "memory" of the heroic times. Before 1950, Mr. Lai Van Ly was a typesetter. He held the position of Vice Chairman of Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee, National Assembly delegate (term VII) and many other positions. In 1999, he retired.

In March 2015, Mr. Lai Van Ly passed away. He did not have time to join generations of officials and employees of the Quang Binh Transport sector in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Transport sector in August of that year. However, his name is still mentioned by anyone who has traveled through the main roads.

Ngo Duc Hanh

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