Come to Bolaven, listen to the story of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers

Veterans of Regiment 19, Division 968 visit the Laos - Vietnam Fighting Alliance monument.

About the old battlefield

The space of the 1971 restaurant in Pasong, Champasak province is very similar to a military museum. Outside the restaurant are displayed 105mm artillery, 120mm mortars, 81mm mortars, cluster bombs, Cleymore mines... of the US army. The walls are mottled and riddled with bullet holes. More than 50 years have passed, but the space here has hardly changed. The war relics lie there, quietly telling stories.

The weather is chilly, the whole bean coffee is processed on the spot. In the shop, there are veterans of the 968th Division who are returning to visit the old battlefield. They participated in fierce battles and were lucky to return safely, despite many injuries.

They hope to return to visit the land of Champa flowers and meet the people of the Lao tribe again, remembering the time when they shared each handful of sticky rice, each piece of sugarcane...

Champasak was a fierce battlefield in the campaign to liberate the Bolaven plateau in 1971. The 968th Division was the main mobile unit of Military Region 4, along with other units, contributing to the defeat of the US-puppet Lam Son 719 operation. The liberated area of ​​Southern Laos was expanded and firmly consolidated.

Reading “Soldier’s Memories” by writer Vu Cong Chien, we will understand more clearly about the heroic and tragic days of the Vietnamese and Pathet Lao soldiers. After the rainy season comes the dry season in Bolaven, the battle of Ba Lao Ngam; the battle in Saravan; the Paksong battlefield in Tet 1973…

Monument to the Lao-Vietnamese Fighting Alliance

The Laos-Vietnam Combat Alliance Monument in Paksong village is one of four monuments built in Laos in the provinces of Udomxay, Xieng Khoang, Attapue and Champasak.

The cultural work has profound humanistic significance, is a noble and vivid symbol for future generations to better understand the solidarity, courage and sacrifice of the army and people of Vietnam and Laos to bring peace to the Bolaven Plateau.

Veterans of the 19th Regiment, 968th Division revisit the old battlefield.

Not only the monument, every road in Bolaven bears the mark of friendship. For example, road 909 - formerly the western Truong Son road. On this road, about a kilometer is the old Ho Chi Minh trail, now fenced with two low iron fences about half a meter high to preserve for visitors.

In Dong village, Sepon district, Savannakhet province, there is the Vietnam - Laos Combat Alliance Traditional Museum. Here, each artifact, historical document, and heroic fighting story vividly recreates the war against the US.

There, the story of the battle against the enemy at Ban Dong by Vietnamese troops in coordination with the Pathet Lao troops in the Route 9 Southern Laos Campaign in 1971 has entered the heroic history of the two nations.

There are countless stories about the hearts of the Lao people towards the Vietnamese soldiers - they are like Champa flowers, beautiful, fragrant and gentle in the Lao forest. The veterans also returned to the places where they were stationed, such as Wang Nhao village - this is the place where in 1972 - 1973, Regiment 19, Division 968 carried out medical treatment for wounded soldiers and Lao people.

They collected some gifts for the villagers to build a more spacious school. During the difficult years, the “thien na” - huts to look after the fields and plantations of the people had rice, squash, and gourds that were saved by the Lao tribes for the soldiers. At the intersections and along the river banks, the villagers built simple wooden houses - called sa la - for the soldiers to avoid the sun and rain.

Come back to bring your teammates back

There are soldiers who, after being discharged from the army, miss the Khooc and Le forests and return to this land. Veteran Nguyen Thong is such a person. After being discharged from the army, he stayed and built a family in Khongsedone. Currently, Veteran Nguyen Thong is the Vice President of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Salavanh. He and his family have searched for and collected hundreds of martyrs' remains and brought them back to Vietnam.

1971 Restaurant in Pasong, Champasac Province

In Laos, during the years of fighting against foreign invaders, more than half a million Vietnamese volunteers and experts fought side by side with the Lao army and people. And there were more than 50,000 wounded and 40,000 martyrs.

Visiting the pagodas in Bolaven, with incense smoke, they prayed that their comrades would be found and brought back to their motherland. Veteran Hoang Xuan Chinh said that he buried 5 comrades with his own hands next to each other in Khongsedone, next to a small stream... He still remembers the names and faces of his comrades clearly. When each martyr was buried, he had a bottle of Penicycline with a small piece of paper with his name, age, and hometown in his breast pocket.

This information was sent to the K53 team - the team that is on the mission of searching, collecting, excavating, and repatriating the remains of volunteer soldiers. Mr. Hoang Xuan Chinh, the military medic of the transport unit that directly buried the martyrs 52 years ago, is ready to return to this area with the collection team to search and bring them back. Those who visited Bolaven that day were full of hope!

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/den-bolaven-nghe-chuyen-quan-tinh-nguyen-viet-nam-3146397.html