About one of the first pilots

Mentioning pilot Trinh Hong Thuan is mentioning many “firsts”. He was one of the first pilots and flight instructors of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA). And his family is probably also the first family in Vietnam to have three fathers and sons who are military pilots, and three generations following the pilot career…

Flying a private jet while fighting the American invaders

In 1956, the Vietnamese Air Force had a remarkable turning point: For the first time, a group of students flew abroad to study, specifically to Czechoslovakia. In September 1958, they graduated and returned to Cat Bi Airport (Hai Phong) to work, becoming the first pilots of the Vietnam People's Army. A year later, the Ministry of National Defense decided to establish the Aviation Training School at Cat Bi Airport, and they became the first flight instructors of our country. That cradle contributed to nurturing and training a powerful and elite air force, achieving many glorious feats in the resistance war against America.

Among the generation of "old trees", pilot Trinh Hong Thuan is one of the most prominent names. As one of the "hardest" pilots, he often flies military transport aircraft such as Li-2, An-2 and An-24 to transport high-ranking leaders of Vietnam on business trips such as President Ho Chi Minh , Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, General Hoang Van Thai... He is also the longest-serving pilot for the President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Souphanouvong and his wife.

Mr. Trinh Hong Thuan (right) took a souvenir photo with the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Photo: document

In addition to his private flights, Mr. Thuan also participated in combat in both Vietnam and Laos. The air battles with the US were often continuous and intense, so our army did not always have enough planes to fight. Therefore, the air force came up with an initiative: Improving military transport planes into attack bombers. The improved planes piloted by Mr. Thuan dropped bombs on American warships many times. For his achievements, he was awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal by the State.

Inspired by Mr. Thuan's example, his descendants have maintained an admirable professional tradition to this day. Of Mr. Thuan's three sons, two have followed their father's career as military pilots. The eldest son flies Mig-21 and Mig-21Bis fighter jets, while the second son flies Mi-8 and Mi-24 armed helicopters. Not only that, one of Mr. Thuan's nephews is also a pilot at Vietnam Airlines. Perhaps there are very few families in Vietnam that have three fathers and sons who are military pilots, and three generations who have followed the pilot career like Mr. Thuan's family.

Martyr Trinh Hong Thu - eldest son of Mr. Trinh Hong Thuan. Photo: document

Extraordinary health and courage

Mr. Trinh Hong Vinh - Mr. Thuan's second son shared that the thing that his children and grandchildren admire most about Mr. Thuan is his iron will. Until now, he still remembers the two times his father almost "touched death's door". The first time was not during a combat mission, but during a relief flight to help people in Quang Binh province affected by floods in 1971.

“The flight was completely smooth until our soldiers dropped life buoys for the people. Seeing the jet-black buoys (made from car tires) continuously falling down, they thought the Americans were dropping bombs, so they raised their guns and aimed at the plane my father was piloting and pulled the trigger.” Vinh said: “The plane was riddled with hundreds of bullets, but my father was still able to calmly fly it back to Gia Lam airport safely. He said that if just one of those hundreds of bullets hit the oil tank or the steering system, all of us would have been left in the floodwaters of Central Vietnam!”

The second time was when Mr. Thuan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer during Tet holiday in 1974. At that time, cancer was a death sentence for anyone. The doctor who directly treated Mr. Thuan, Dr. Ton That Tung, said that the only way to save his life was to give him a dose of chemotherapy with a survival rate of only 10%. After thinking for a while, Mr. Thuan agreed and calmly said: "If the doctor can save me, that is a blessing, but if not, then I have to accept it." He kept this matter completely secret from his family, only briefly saying, "If you don't see your father come home on the 4th day of Tet, come visit him." He probably thought that this time, death would hardly "miss" him.

Mr. Trinh Hong Thuan (2nd from right) took a souvenir photo with the late Lao President Souphanouvong and his wife after a flight he was the captain of in 1962.

But once again, Mr. Thuan defeated death, despite losing almost all his vitality. When his family visited him, he weighed only 52 kg after losing 40 kg. Yet 2 years later, he was qualified to fly again and continued to fly for another 12 years before retiring.

That miraculous recovery came not only from his strong will and fortitude but also from his natural health. In 1959, at the Sports Festival organized by the Left Bank Military Region (now Military Region 3), in the 50kg shot put event, Mr. Thuan achieved a score of 10.91 meters. An unbelievable achievement, although it only helped him win third place!

A Father's Heart

When talking about Mr. Thuan's feelings for his family, Mr. Vinh's eyes suddenly became blurred. He was always reserved and rarely shared with his relatives, just because he didn't want his family to worry too much about him.

“Before each battle, my father would visit the family of a sworn brother and tell him: “If you are not here by this time tomorrow, it means you have sacrificed yourself. If so, please ask the two of you to take me and my children back to Thanh Hoa for me.” Those were all “top secret” meetings, and we had no idea about it,” Vinh said. “It was not until after the liberation that my family heard the story from the two of them. After hearing it, my children and I were all in tears because we felt sorry for our father, but we all understood that we should not let him know.”

In April 1980, while on duty at Tan Son Nhat airport, Mr. Thuan received the bad news: Trinh Hong Thu - his eldest son had unfortunately died while on duty. After hearing the news, he said nothing but quietly went out to buy fruit to burn incense for his son. But when he just arrived at the airport gate, he suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. A man who was indifferent to falling bombs, stray bullets and cancer, but also had to collapse because of the pain of losing a loved one. When he regained consciousness, he immediately boarded a plane to Kep airport (Bac Giang) to arrange for his son's funeral. Mr. Thuan's teammates were still not reassured, so they had to send a doctor to follow his health 24/7.

But when he told the family the bad news, Mr. Thuan repeatedly told everyone: "Absolutely do not tell Vinh right away!" Because at that time, Vinh was studying for a preparatory flight course at Tra Noc airport (Can Tho) and was preparing for an important exam. "My father did not want me to know the news because he was afraid it would affect my spirit before the big exam. A month later, after the exam, I learned that Thu had passed away...", Mr. Vinh recalled...

In 1991, Mr. Thuan passed away at his home in Hanoi. The most precious relics he left behind were letters to his eldest son Trinh Hong Thu. Here are some excerpts from those letters:

“You know the situation at home. I can’t buy anything more because all my salary is spent on rice to provide for my siblings. So there’s a shortage of everything. I sympathize with the situation at home… I bought an elephant ear fan, 2 nylon towels, some precious medicines, and a square woolen towel for my mother, which cost about 3 or 4 dong. I bought a box of shoe polish for my father. Whatever you can afford, buy it, everything is precious. If you don’t have enough money, then don’t borrow anything.”

“Once again, my father (meaning my parents) tells me that the closer to the final stage of preparation, the more careful and thoughtful 'B' must be, don't be subjective and impatient, 'B' will definitely make it every trip. Don't force or force yourself. You still have to write to your father regularly, even on the day you leave for home. I will also send you letters until the day you return home.

As for your privacy, my father reminds you: you and her should just be friends.

Unfortunately, the letters that Mr. Thu sent to his father are still lost. If one day the letters are reunited, surely the souls of Mr. Thuan and his father in the afterlife will be extremely satisfied...

Tienphong.vn