Sunlight Across Vietnam: Fireworks Night to Celebrate Da Nang Liberation Day (Part 1)

Lesson 1: Fireworks night to celebrate Da Nang Liberation Day

Departing from Tan An City, Long An Province on the morning of March 28, our group of 3 headed straight north. It took us a few hours to get to Ho Chi Minh City, even though it was not rush hour, before we got on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway and continued on to the Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway.

The main road is open.

The Phan Thiet - Dau Giay Expressway has been open for nearly 2 years, but this is the first time I have experienced driving myself. It is an exciting feeling to drive on a modern expressway at a speed of 120km/h, through ravines, forests, etc. It took us less than 1 hour to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet, a distance that took the liberation army 11 days to travel in April 1975 to liberate Saigon. We stopped for lunch in Phan Thiet and then visited the Duc Thanh School relic site, where Uncle Ho stopped to teach on the way from Hue to Saigon more than 100 years ago.

50th Anniversary of Da Nang Liberation

We continued heading north, visiting the ancient, mossy Cham towers of Ninh Thuan to imagine the Champa civilization about 800 years ago. Before stopping for the night in Nha Trang City, we spent more than an hour visiting and offering incense at the Gac Ma Martyrs Memorial on the coast of Cam Ranh. The “ Immortal Circle ” with 64 immortal flowers is the heart of the mainland, of future generations towards the 64 martyrs who sacrificed to protect the sacred sea and islands, their bodies still lie in the Gac Ma sea, while here there is only a wind grave facing the ocean.

A friend, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Anh Tuan from Nha Trang University of Fisheries welcomed his fellow countrymen with a party on the coastal road. The music of the song Nha Trang in Autumn, the cool salty sea breeze, and the feeling of “meeting an old friend in a foreign land” blended together to give us a very interesting feeling on the first evening of our long journey across Vietnam.

Da Nang happy liberation day

Our group visited Ponagar Tower before leaving Nha Trang City. Phu Yen's Ghenh Da Dia welcomed us with a heavy, prolonged rain. Leaving the South in the middle of the dry, hot season, so when we "touched" the cool rain of the Central region, we felt very comfortable. But when the rain continued for the following days, the rain followed us all the way to Hanoi, the rain was no longer a good friend, but instead caused many difficulties for the journey.

Passing through Binh Dinh, then Quang Nam, the further we went, the more bustling the atmosphere to celebrate the 50th Liberation Day, and then when we arrived in Da Nang on the exact day of liberation 50 years ago (March 29, 1975), this livable city welcomed us with a truly magnificent Victory Festival.

General Secretary To Lam and many other Party and State leaders were present in Da Nang on March 29, 2025, to attend the 50th Anniversary of Da Nang's Liberation Day. Coincidentally, that day fell on Saturday, the day when the two dragons on the Dragon Bridge "breathe fire" at 9:00 p.m. every week. An hour later, at 10:00 p.m., a fireworks display to celebrate Liberation Day also took place on the Han River nearby.

So from the evening, tens of thousands of Da Nang residents and tourists gathered on both sides of the Han River to watch the “Fire-breathing Dragon” and fireworks. The open Han River bank with many lawns is where young people in Da Nang “camp” in an orderly and civilized manner all evening to celebrate Liberation Day. They have created a lively, civilized and modern image of Da Nang in the eyes of tourists.

We arrived in Da Nang on the exact day of liberation 50 years ago (March 29, 1975).

I have a friend in Go Cong Tay district, Tien Giang province, who participated in the Liberation Day of Da Nang and Saigon. So when I stopped in Da Nang, I suddenly remembered him. That was “Saigon pilot” Tran Van On, a teammate of pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung on both sides of the front line.

Mr. On said that when he was 20 years old, after finishing his "high school diploma", he was "mobilized" after Tet Mau Than, he had to give up his dream of becoming an engineer to enter military school. Thanks to his tall stature and good English, he was selected to join the air force and sent to train for nearly 2 years in the US. In 1973, when he returned to Vietnam, he was assigned to squadron 550 in Da Nang. When he visited his family in Go Cong, he saw his hometown devastated by bombs, many relatives were injured and killed by bombs, Lieutenant Tran Van On felt fed up with war.

In Da Nang, he had resisted orders to bomb densely populated areas, so he rarely flew. When Da Nang was liberated, many of Mr. On’s comrades “hugged” their planes and fled to warships at sea, while he presented himself to the military authorities because he could not leave his homeland and family.

When the liberation army took control of Da Nang City, they took over Da Nang Airport with about 10 A37s as spoils of war. We planned to use these planes to open another air front to attack Saigon. But the most difficult problem was the pilots because our pilots from Hanoi were only familiar with flying Migs. Even Nguyen Thanh Trung, after bombing the Independence Palace, was in Da Nang but was not really familiar with A37s because he specialized in flying F5s.

Suddenly, a disqualified pilot named Tran Van On, a “junior” who knew Nguyen Thanh Trung because they were both pilots trained in the US, asked to join the fight to liberate Saigon. The leaders of our air force trusted and accepted the “Saigon pilot” to join Nguyen Thanh Trung in training pilots to fly the A37 aircraft.

When the Quyet Thang Squadron was established on April 27, 1975, Tran Van On was named at position number 5. Ordered to take off at 4:30 p.m. on April 28, the squadron led by Nguyen Thanh Trung, with Tran Van On at the tail, went from Da Nang to Phan Rang, then flew low along the coast (to avoid enemy radar) towards Saigon...

The Quyet Thang Squadron's bombing of Tan Son Nhat Airport on the afternoon of April 28, 1975 shook Saigon. Tan Son Nhat Airport was not unfamiliar to Mr. On, so he easily selected the target of the aircraft parking lot and dropped the bomb accurately.

After April 30, 1975, Mr. On was assigned to the 937th flight group in Can Tho, both training pilots to fly A37s and directly flying planes to protect the southwestern border . After that, he was transferred to Nha Trang to train pilots. But because he was a single parent and his wife had a small child, he asked for leave and returned home to farm and take care of his wife and children. When he returned, he had a confirmation paper from the 937th flight group to submit to the commune, but then lost it.

The story of Mr. On's pilot life was thought to have been forgotten, but one day, unexpectedly, some men from Go Cong Tay District Team brought guests to find Mr. On. As soon as he saw them, he recognized his comrades from the Quyet Thang Squadron. They hugged each other, happy and sad. After that, he was taken to Phan Rang, Da Nang, and Hanoi as a pilot of the historic Quyet Thang Squadron. It was also not until then, after more than 30 years, that Tran Van On was awarded the First Class Liberation Feat Medal./.

(to be continued)

Nguyen Phan Dau

Lesson 2: On two sides of the border

Source: https://baolongan.vn/vet-nang-xuyen-viet-dem-phao-hoa-ky-niem-ngay-giai-phong-da-n-ng-bai-1--a195062.html