Vi Xuyen - Sacred land at the northernmost point of the Fatherland

During the month of July, the Party Committee, government, and people of all ethnic groups in Vinh Phuc province, along with compatriots and soldiers nationwide, were enthusiastically engaging in activities to express gratitude and commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Day of War Invalids and Martyrs (July 27). We were fortunate to accompany the provincial delegation, led by Provincial Party Secretary Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, to Ha Giang province – a sacred land at the northernmost point of the country – to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs at the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs Cemetery.

Living clinging to the rocks to fight the enemy

After a journey of hundreds of kilometers along treacherous, winding mountain passes, we arrived in Ha Giang – the northernmost land of Vietnam. Nearly four decades ago, here, bombs rained down, and countless heroes and martyrs laid down their lives to defend every inch of this sacred land in the fight to protect the northern border.

Vi Xuyen National Martyrs' Cemetery - a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the people of various ethnic groups in Ha Giang province. Photo: Tra Huong.

Located right next to National Highway 2, the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs' Cemetery is nestled against the Tay Con Linh mountain range, facing the historic Lo River. It is the resting place of over 1,800 heroes and martyrs, including more than 100 from Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho provinces. It also symbolizes the indomitable spirit of the people of the ethnic groups in Ha Giang province.

The Vi Xuyen Front was a particularly fierce battlefield against the invading forces during the period from 1984-1989, with hundreds of intense battles taking place. Many cadres, soldiers from all over the country, and our people sacrificed their lives on this land. This was the largest-scale war of aggression since Vietnam defeated the American imperialists.

At its most intense, in just three days, the Chinese fired over 100,000 artillery shells from the Vi Xuyen area to Ha Giang town. Over five years, China fired more than 1.8 million artillery shells at the Vi Xuyen front.

On our sacred "motherland," our troops held firm on every hilltop, every rocky outcrop, every inch of land. Some hills witnessed dozens of battles fought back and forth between our forces and the enemy. Not a single rock, not a single meter of land in Vi Xuyen was untouched by the blood of Vietnamese soldiers. Thousands of soldiers fell or left parts of their bodies behind in the deep forests and mountains.

One of the fiercest battles of the border defense campaign took place on July 12, 1984. Due to various reasons, especially the large disparity in troop numbers between our forces and the enemy, along with the complex terrain, our side lost as many as 600 soldiers in a single day. The 356th Division suffered heavy losses, and therefore, veterans later commemorated July 12th each year as the anniversary of the division's battle.

After the war ended, we measured the terrain and found that some mountains had been flattened by more than 3 meters. The fighting was so fierce that our comrades called it the "century's lime kiln." Many battles to defend and protect land took place with extreme ferocity on high points 1509, 1100, 772, 685, Dai Hill, Co Ich... We annihilated and wounded tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers, forcing them to withdraw across the border.

The victory was glorious, but our losses were also immense. More than 4,000 cadres, soldiers, and civilians bravely sacrificed their lives, the majority of them under 20 years old. Thousands were wounded, hundreds of villages were wiped out. Thousands of hectares of fields, gardens, and hills were plowed up and littered with bombs, mines, and unexploded ordnance… To this day, thousands of martyrs still lie scattered across the Vi Xuyen battlefield, their remains yet to be found, and many graves remain unmarked in cemeteries…

Not only did Ha Giang province suffer heavy losses with 4,000 soldiers killed and over 9,000 wounded, but it also mobilized tens of thousands of civilian laborers and over 20,000 militia from the lowlands to dig tens of thousands of meters of trenches and roads, and provide food and supplies to build the defensive line. Therefore, it was a victory of determination to firmly defend border sovereignty . History will not forget, cannot forget, and no one is allowed to forget.

And so today, our generation can feel the heroic yet tragic symbol of the indomitable spirit of national defense of the Vietnamese people from the Memorial House honoring the heroes and martyrs of the entire Vi Xuyen front; and the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs of the Vi Xuyen front at Hill 468 - from where one can see Hill 772, 685 and gaze towards Hill 1509, the demarcation point of the Vietnam-China border.

Looking at the verdant mountain peaks peeking through the swirling white clouds, many veterans choked up as they shared stories of their comrades who lived clinging to the rocky mountains, hiding within the rocks, turning to stone after death, resting peacefully amidst the white clouds for millennia. But they, like the hearts of the Vietnamese people, will also be an immortal stone fortress, blocking the enemy's advance.

Death turned to stone, immortal

These days in July, the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs' Cemetery is always filled with the fragrant scent of incense. At this sacred borderland, veterans visit the graves of their comrades, wives visit their husbands' graves, children visit their fathers' graves, and groups of visitors from all over the country wish to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed for the Fatherland, and to remember those who fell victim to enemy artillery fire.

Members of the provincial delegation light incense to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs at the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs' Cemetery. Photo: Tra Huong.

Placing a bouquet of fresh flowers and lighting incense sticks before the Monument to the Nation's Heroes and Martyrs, and in honor of the heroes and martyrs, on behalf of the Vinh Phuc delegation, Provincial Party Secretary Hoang Thi Thuy Lan expressed her profound respect for those who selflessly sacrificed their lives and youth for the independence and freedom of the nation. "Living clinging to the rocks to fight the enemy, dying becoming immortal stones," the heroes and martyrs of Vi Xuyen have written glorious pages of history, illuminating the path for future generations to follow.

Significantly, the spirit and will of those who sacrificed themselves here will always live on in the love of their compatriots and comrades. Although unspoken, the members of the delegation all felt that "This is the enduring, immortal truth, the way of life that no force can subdue. Therefore, we will forever remember and be eternally grateful for that great sacrifice."

Today's beautiful borderlands are not only where thousands of young people in their twenties from all over the country sacrificed their youth to live for ideals, for the Fatherland, and to protect every inch of their homeland. Even in peacetime, that spirit remains immortal. More than 40 years have passed, and today's young generation continues that cause. On this land, young soldiers still hold their weapons firmly, fighting with the spirit of "not retreating an inch of land."

And so, every time we return to the sacred borderland of Vi Xuyen, those heroic yet tragic relics always remind each of us of our border sovereignty, of the territorial boundaries inherited from our ancestors for millennia; reminding every Vietnamese citizen of peace, independence, freedom, and self-reliance!

Thieu Vu

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