Still fighting like in the battlefield

Keep the team spirit intact

The war has been over for half a century, but in the mind of veteran and war invalid Nguyen Van Tinh (75 years old, Thanh Nhat ward), memories of a time of war and bullets are still deeply imprinted. For him, the luckiest thing is that he survived and returned from the battlefield, to continue living a simple, meaningful life.

During the war against the US, Mr. Tinh was a platoon leader of a firepower unit of the 28th Regiment, 10th Division, 3rd Corps. He directly participated in many fierce battles, from the Tay Nguyen Campaign to the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. There were battles that left wounds on his body, and images engraved in his memory - such as the scene of his comrades falling right before his eyes, which he could never forget.

Veteran Nguyen Van Tinh with war relics.

After the war ended, he returned with injuries that had been lingering for years. He was recognized as a 4/4 disabled veteran. In his small house, he reserved a solemn corner to hang a picture of Uncle Ho and preserve war memorabilia. “I gave some of the memorabilia to the museum, and I still keep some. Because I still remember the battles, my comrades, and the painful but resilient years that have passed,” he shared.

At the end of April 2025, veteran Nguyen Van Tinh moved many people when he drove his motorbike alone more than 330 km from Dak Lak to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025). He said: “When I received the invitation from the 3rd Army Corps to attend the celebration, I was extremely moved. The unit's car came to pick me up at my house, but that day, a veteran passed away next to his house. I decided to stay to burn incense and see him off on the last stretch of the journey. Partly because I also wanted to go by myself to stop at the cemeteries along the way, where many of my comrades are lying, to burn incense in memory of them.”

Coming to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the ceremony, for him it was also a return to memories, to his teammates and to himself. “I met nearly 70 teammates who had crossed mountains and forests together. Some had white hair, some were so thin that they were hard to recognize. We hugged each other and cried – hugs that took nearly half a century to complete...”, he choked up.

From a wise soldier on the battlefield, now in his old age, Mr. Tinh still maintains the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers, not faltering in the face of difficulties. He actively participates in social activities, and is currently a member of the ward's grassroots security and order protection team. In his family's lush green garden, he takes care of each row of vegetables, each clump of dong leaves, pandan leaves... Not only growing crops, he also opens a small tea shop by the garden, both to earn extra income and to have a place to welcome friends to visit. For him, doing business is not to get rich, but to live with dignity, not to bother his children and grandchildren, and to be able to share with those less fortunate.

Resilience through challenges

In 1965, young man Truong Cong Ho (Cu Mblim hamlet, Ea Kao ward) joined the resistance war against the US when he was only 21 years old. During ten years of direct fighting on fierce battlefields in the Central Highlands, he faced death many times. In 1968, while on duty to open a traffic route for his unit in the middle of a fierce war zone, he was suddenly ambushed by the enemy and shot in the back of the head. Alone in the forest, he stopped the bleeding with his shirt, dragged himself across streams and forests for more than 20 hours before being found by his comrades. That piece of shrapnel is still in his body to this day, causing pain every time the weather turns cold.

From nothing, Mr. Truong Cong Ho rose up to become a good businessman and stabilize his life.

After that near-death experience, in 1969, while on a mission to transport weapons, his unit was sprayed with Agent Orange by the enemy. At that time, none of them understood the harmful effects of this chemical. In 1977, he returned to Cu Mblim village to live and started building his small home. It was at that time that he realized the consequences of the war years when 3 out of 7 of his children were born with severe consequences of Agent Orange, of which 2 died early, and one is still unable to take care of himself. Although it was painful, he did not let himself fall. With the strong will of a soldier who had been through the war, he started to do business, building his family from scratch.

In addition to the land granted by the State, he reclaimed more than 1 hectare of upland to grow corn, cassava, and rice. Seeing that the coffee and pepper plantations were effective, he gradually learned and boldly changed crops. At that time, many households in the village did not know how to cultivate, so he did not hesitate to share his experience, instructing people on how to prepare the land, choose seeds, and take care of plants. He encouraged everyone to reclaim land and develop production. Thanks to his tireless efforts, after only 5-6 years, his coffee, pepper, and cashew gardens began to generate a stable income, earning 300-400 million VND per year.

Now, at the age of over 80, he no longer does heavy labor but still follows the lives of his children, grandchildren and villagers. “I always remind my children and grandchildren to live responsibly and to make efforts. In the past, we lacked everything but still managed to do it, so now that our children and grandchildren have better conditions, they have to try even harder,” Mr. Ho said.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/xa-hoi/202507/van-xong-pha-nhu-thoi-tran-mac-52d0cca/