First victory – a shining milestone in history

On August 5, 1964, the army and people of Quang Ninh won the first battle in the US imperialists' air war of destruction in the North. 61 years have passed, but the glorious memory of the victory in the US imperialists' air and naval war of destruction against the North is still a source of pride for the army and people of Quang Ninh. The heroic spirit and lessons of that victory have become a great spiritual motivation for successive generations to strive to learn, achieve many glorious feats, and together with the whole country defeat the invading imperialists, liberate the South, and unify the country.

Naval forces, anti-aircraft artillery, militia, self-defense forces of Hon Gai Port, armed police of Quang Ninh... in the heroic battle on August 5, 1964 on the Cua Luc River. Photo archive.

61 years ago, on August 2 and 5, 1964, in its first combat deployment, the Vietnam People's Navy drove away the US destroyer Madoc. After the Madoc was driven out of our country's waters, on the night of August 4, 1964, the US imperialists staged the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" to launch a "retaliatory" campaign called "Operation Pierce Arrow".

On August 5, 1964, the US used dozens of modern fighter and attack aircraft, divided into 3 waves, to simultaneously attack economic targets, bases, warehouses, and ship shelters of our country along the coast from Gianh port (Quang Binh); Cua Hoi, Vinh, Ben Thuy (Nghe An); Lach Truong (Thanh Hoa) to Hon Gai, Bai Chay (Quang Ninh) in order to destroy our Navy, opening a large-scale sabotage war plan against the North.

In Quang Ninh province, at 1:35 p.m. on August 5, 1964, many groups of modern American jet planes from the 7th fleet rushed in to bomb and shell our naval port in Bai Chay and some places in Hon Gai town. With a high sense of vigilance and combat readiness, from the very first minute, naval units and anti-aircraft artillery bravely fought back enemy aircraft. Infantry soldiers, armed police, and militiamen closely coordinated with anti-aircraft artillery troops, creating a dense, multi-range anti-aircraft fire network.

The moments of fierce and heroic fighting in the past battle are always engraved in the hearts of every officer and soldier of Air Defense Battalion 217 - the unit that was then ordered by the Ministry of Air Defense - Air Force to carry out the mission of being ready to fight back enemy aircraft in the first battle, protecting the Hon Gai - Cam Pha Industrial Park.

Veteran Pham Khac Dinh reviews artifacts about the first victory at Quang Ninh Museum.

Veteran Pham Khac Dinh (86 years old), 61 years ago, when the US escalated the war to the North, he had just graduated from the 3rd class of the Anti-Aircraft Department, Artillery Officer School, and was assigned to fight at Battalion 217 of the Air Defense - Air Force Service. When the battle on August 2 and 5, 1964 took place, he was the platoon leader of the 141st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company in the Command Headquarters, directly receiving orders from the company commander to transmit information to the relevant platoons.

Recalling the historic moment of the past, CCB Pham Khac Dinh shared: When the alarm was given from the command post, the battery squads immediately went into combat positions. The battery brothers calmly pressed the trigger, turned towards the "flock of eagles in the sky" that were diving down to attack the navy ship and closely followed the other planes, waiting for them to dive down into the right firing range. At that time, we fought more and more fiercely. That day, after the fight, both companies 141 and 143 reported that they had shot down the planes but it was not yet determined whether they had crashed. In the evening, we received information from the Ministry of National Defense in the Bai Chay area that they had shot down 3 planes and the battalion was recognized for shooting down enemy planes.

Also a witness to that glorious victory, Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung (92 years old), a former Vietnamese military expert who witnessed many changes in Quang Ninh from war to peace, still remembers the glorious victory in the first battle surrounding the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" in August 1964.

adf — Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung, a former Vietnamese military expert, recounted the heroic moment of the first battle surrounding the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" in August 1964 with reporters from the Provincial Media Center.

Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung shared: In the memory of our people and army in general and of Quang Ninh province in particular, the victory of the first battle on August 5 was a resounding victory, of great significance to the era. In the first test of fire, the army and people of Quang Ninh shot down 3 American planes, of which 2 crashed on the spot. Among them, Lieutenant E. Alvarez, piloting the A4D plane, was shot down by the 14.5mm gun platoon at 14:43 on August 5, 1964 and was captured alive at Hon Moi lagoon - Ha Long Bay. Immediately after the battle, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong visited and praised the first victory of Battalion 217. The Prime Minister advised: "Our victory is very great but it is only the first battle. We must learn from experience to fight better and win greater victories." The victory of the first battle was the victory of the people's war policy, the victory of the courage of our army and people against foreign invaders. I think, now we must say clearly, this is the victory of the army and people of the North in general and the army and people of Quang Ninh in particular.

The victory of the first battle on August 5 is a great pride of the army and people of the whole country and of Quang Ninh province. It is closely linked to the great history of our people, our people defeated the destructive war of the American Empire, brought the resistance war against the US to complete victory, liberated the South and unified the country. This is a brilliant milestone in the history of the resistance war against the US to save the country of the people of all ethnic groups and the armed forces of Quang Ninh province. It will forever go down in the history of fighting and winning of the resilient land and will never fade in the hearts of the people of the heroic mining region.

Truc Linh

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