Look back at the heroic history of the nation so that no one is allowed to forget. Remember to live better, remember to love peace more and remember to draw lessons in diplomatic behavior.
45 years have passed, looking back at the war to protect the northern border once again affirms the historical truth and the justice of the Vietnamese people. Enough time has passed for both China and Vietnam to calmly and objectively look back at this war in a scientific, complete and truthful manner in order to find the optimal way to handle the problems left by history and draw many valuable lessons.
VietNamNet has started publishing a series of articles on the 45th anniversary of the war to protect the northern border to provide more information and documents to readers, so that everyone can remember and not forget.
Mr. Hoang Nhu Ly (born in 1952, from Binh Lieu district, Quang Ninh) was a former soldier of Station 209 (now Po Hen Border Post) and was one of the few surviving witnesses after the battle in the early morning of February 17, 1979.
Although 45 years have passed, the memories of the fierce war are still vivid in his mind. Mr. Ly said that in February 1972, he was transferred from the Quang Ninh Provincial Armed Police to the Po Hen Border Guard Station.
At this time, Po Hen Border Guard Station had only 15 people under the command of Station Chief Vu Ngoc Mai and Deputy Station Chief in charge of military affairs, Mr. Do Si Hoa.
With a small number of soldiers, everyone in the station had to take on many jobs. On cold winter nights, he and other soldiers still went through the forest to patrol the landmarks and check the situation.
At the end of 1978, Po Hen Border Post mobilized more forces, the total number of soldiers at this time was more than 90 people, most of them were new recruits aged 18 to 20 from neighboring localities.
"Back then, there were no good roads like today. To get to the station, we had to walk through the forest all day. Food shortages were common since the entire station only had two pack horses. We still had to dig for bamboo shoots to stave off hunger," Mr. Ly recalled.
Having said that, Mr. Ly took a deep breath to suppress his emotions, preventing tears from welling up when the story reached the part about the day his comrade passed away.
He said that on the afternoon of February 16, 1979, his station and Hai Son Forestry Department organized a cultural and sports exchange and agreed to play a friendly soccer match the next morning. Everyone was so excited that they couldn't sleep because it had been a long time since the two units had met.
At 5:00 a.m. on February 17, 1979, 600,000 Chinese troops simultaneously crossed the 1,400km-long border into 6 Vietnamese provinces: Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Tuyen (Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang), Hoang Lien Son (Lao Cai and Yen Bai), and Lai Chau.
The Chinese army used artillery to fire continuously at the outposts and headquarters of Po Hen station. It was dark but the mortars lit up the whole area for half an hour.
When the war eased, Mr. Ly asked to be demobilized and return to his hometown. At the end of 1979, he married Ms. Do Thi Thom (born in 1954) and decided to live in Mong Cai city.
In 1980, Mr. Ly applied to work in the construction team of Mong Cai Forestry. During the day, he went to work, and at night he worked extra jobs by repairing batteries, winding copper transformer wires to listen to the radio, or working as a construction worker on weekends to cover living expenses.
Wedding for two fallen comrades
Mr. Ly's war story choked up when mentioning two martyrs, Bui Van Luong and Hoang Thi Hong Chiem. Both were his comrades, fighting side by side in Po Hen.
Honored to be the "matchmaker", on February 5, 1979, Mr. Ly led two comrades to meet with Station Chief Vu Ngoc Mai to ask to return home to hold a wedding ceremony. However, due to the difficult border situation, the plan was not successful. Then Mr. Luong and Ms. Chiem sacrificed themselves on the same day, February 17, 1979.
"That was a sad note in my heart that made me feel uneasy. When I returned, I owed my two comrades a wedding, which should have been the most simple thing they deserved. I had cherished the idea of organizing a wedding for my deceased comrades for many years," Mr. Ly confided.
In 2017, the families of two martyrs Bui Van Luong and Hoang Thi Hong Chiem met through Mr. Ly's connection on War Invalids and Martyrs Day, July 27.
At this time, both parents of the two martyrs had passed away, leaving only their siblings and relatives, who all agreed to this unprecedented wedding. So after 38 years, the wedding of the two martyrs was held. On August 6, 2017, the family of martyr Bui Van Luong led a wedding procession from Ha Long City to Mong Cai to pick up the bride.
"I was chosen as the representative to give a speech. The ceremonies were all held like a normal wedding. Only when the names of my two teammates were read, everyone cried. My voice choked up because I had finally fulfilled my wish of so many years," Mr. Ly said emotionally.
The portrait of martyr Hoang Thi Hong Chiem was brought back by the groom's family to be placed next to the portrait of martyr Bui Van Luong. The couple, after many ups and downs, were finally together...
As the years passed, every February 17, Mr. Ly and his comrades returned to the Po Hen National Monument to visit the old battlefield and burn incense in memory of those who had heroically fallen. This was also the day when everyone met, asked about their health and recalled memories of the time they fought together to protect every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland.
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