The story of a Japanese soldier in Uncle Ho's army and the special sword
Báo Dân trí•25/09/2024
(Dan Tri) - The Chairman of the Quang Binh Administrative Resistance Committee gave Japanese Lieutenant Inoue Tanaka a new name: Le Trung, meaning loyal to Marxism-Leninism.
At the Military Region 4 Museum (located in Vinh city, Nghe An), a special sword is being preserved. The blade was rusted and chipped in some places. The artifact was typical of Samurai, and was issued by the Japanese Imperial Army to officers from the rank of lieutenant and above. A Japanese sword but an artifact of a soldier of Uncle Ho! This was what prompted Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Hoanh, an officer of the Propaganda Department of the Military Region 4 Museum, to investigate. Lieutenant Colonel Hoanh pored over the history of the 101st Regiment (1945-1995) published by the People's Army Publishing House in 1995, the book "Geography of Bao Ninh Commune" (Thuan Hoa Publishing House, 1986) and other documents, in order to clarify the portrait of a Japanese soldier who fought and sacrificed for the war to protect the independence of Vietnam. "Medical Lieutenant Inoue Tanaka, also known as military doctor Le Trung, is one of them," said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Hoanh. Inoue Tanaka (born in 1918), came from a family of Japanese samurai class. He graduated from medical school in 1944 and was mobilized to serve in the Japanese army in Indochina as a doctor. His unit was stationed in Dong Ha town (now Dong Ha city, Quang Tri). Witnessing the life and fighting spirit of the Vietnamese people, Medical Lieutenant Inoue Tanaka gradually sympathized with and supported the revolutionary movement. In August 1945, when he heard that Japanese fascists had lost in World War II, Inoue Tanaka mobilized 6 comrades to steal a canoe from a ship on the way to transport troops and flee, hoping to escape danger and one day find his way back to his homeland. The canoe carrying 7 Japanese soldiers landed on the shore of Truong Sa commune (now Bao Ninh ward, Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh). These people surrendered their weapons and asked the people to help contact the Viet Minh forces. Mr. Nguyen Tu, Chairman of the Dong Hoi Viet Minh, directed the people to hide and protect the Japanese soldiers from the fascists. After World War II ended, Inoue Tanaka and his six comrades were still safe, under the care and protection of the Vietnamese people. When the resistance war against French colonialism broke out, the six Japanese soldiers were present in military units, fighting side by side with the Vietnamese army to protect the young independence. Nguyen Mui was assigned by Mr. Hoang Van Diem, Chairman of the Quang Binh Administrative Resistance Committee, to be the Chief Physician in charge of the Quang Binh Provincial Military Hospital, located in Ba Don, Quang Trach District. "Mr. Hoang Van Diem himself gave Inoue Tanaka a new name, Le Trung, which means loyal to Marxism-Leninism. From then on, the name Le Trung was kept in the military records and resume, associated with this Japanese military doctor until his death," Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Hoanh informed. At the end of 1947, Dr. Le Trung was mobilized and appointed as the Chief of the Infirmary of the 101st Regiment of the Binh - Tri - Thien Army, stationed in the west of Tuyen Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, with the task of treating and caring for wounded and sick soldiers transferred from the Central Laos front. In 1948, Dr. Le Trung volunteered to lead the military medical task force to directly establish the Forward Infirmary of the 101st Regiment in Bualapha, Central Laos to promptly treat wounded and sick soldiers on international missions in the neighboring country. During the days of fighting side by side with Vietnamese soldiers against the French colonialists at the 101st Regiment infirmary, the love between doctor Le Trung and nurse Hoang Thi Kim Hue (from Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa) blossomed. Their feelings grew as they treated and evacuated wounded soldiers, and they decided to spend their lives together. In early 1948, under the leadership of the unit, the simple wedding of doctor Le Trung and nurse Kim Hue was held under the canopy of the forest on the Vietnam - Laos border. During the war, on the fierce front line, military doctor Le Trung and his teammates directly treated hundreds of seriously wounded and sick soldiers. Due to the difficult living conditions on the battlefield, at the end of September 1948, doctor Le Trung was struck down by a fever. On October 1, 1948, the Japanese soldier of Uncle Ho breathed his last on the Central Laos front, when his wife was only 3 months pregnant. After doctor Le Trung died, the unit created conditions and transferred nurse Kim Hue to work at the hospital in Tuyen Hoa district. In 1949, daughter Le Hoang Tuyen - the crystallization of the love between the Japanese doctor and the Vietnamese nurse - was born. After the victory of the resistance war against the French, Ms. Hoang Thi Kim Hue was sent to study at Nguyen Ai Quoc School and then returned to hold the position of Vice President of the Women's Union of Quang Binh province. In 1960, she was the Deputy Director of the Vinh Linh Special Zone Health Department. The only daughter of Dr. Le Trung and his wife was sent to study in the German Democratic Republic. After completing her studies, Ms. Le Hoang Tuyen worked at the Planning Institute of the Ministry of Construction. The only blood of the Japanese doctor died early due to a serious illness. After the country was reunified, Ms. Kim Hue wrote many petitions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam to help find her husband's hometown and relatives, but due to the limited information about his background, there were no results. What always worries Mrs. Kim Hue is that after nearly 50 years of sacrifice, Dr. Le Trung has not been recognized as a martyr. She met with her husband's former leaders and comrades such as Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen, Comrade Hoang Van Diem, Major General Phan Khac Hy... to confirm the information and ask for help. The contributions of the Japanese doctor to the Vietnamese revolution have been recognized. On August 22, 1997, the President issued a decision to recognize military doctor Le Trung as a martyr. On December 15, 1997, the remains of martyr Le Trung were collected and brought back to be buried at Ba Doc Martyrs Cemetery, Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh. During the excavation of his grave, officers and soldiers of the collection team found a Japanese sword wrapped in oilcloth. He brought the sword from Japan and always kept it with him as a way to remember his roots and hometown. The sword of martyr Le Trung was handed over to the Military Region 4 Museum for preservation and display to serve propaganda work. "Anyone who has visited Ba Doc Martyrs' Cemetery will look for grave number 1, row 70, lot number 4, on the tombstone is engraved the words: Martyr Le Trung; native place: Japanese nationality; rank, position: military doctor. In 1999, Ms. Hoang Thi Kim Hue passed away when her desire to find information about martyr Le Trung's relatives was still unfinished. Until now, his hometown is something that makes us worry, hoping to soon be able to identify it specifically, to contribute to expressing gratitude for the contributions of the Japanese doctor to the resistance war of national salvation of the Vietnamese people", Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Hoanh said.
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