Memories of Dien Bien Phu through the stories of frontline laborers

During the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Thanh Hoa was the province that contributed the most manpower and resources, and was also the largest rear base. To serve the "biggest siege" - the Dien Bien Phu campaign, tens of thousands of Thanh Hoa laborers worked day and night, regardless of hardship, carrying rice, clearing roads, transporting weapons, ammunition... to serve the fiery battlefield. 70 years have passed, the "memories" of Dien Bien Phu are like slow-motion "films" told by the laborers on the front lines of the past.

Memories of Dien Bien Phu through the stories of frontline laborers Despite her poor health, Mrs. Do Thi Mo still does not forget the days of participating in the frontline labor force serving the Dien Bien Phu campaign.

When mentioning Mrs. Do Thi Mo, a resident of Luong Thien village, Luong Son commune (Thuong Xuan), many people still remember the story of Mrs. Mo - asking to escape poverty a few years ago. The story of an old woman in a mountainous commune of Thanh Hoa, despite her old age, still confidently earned a living by her own hands and honest labor, making many people admire her. The story of Mrs. Mo later became an inspiration, spreading widely. However, perhaps not many people know that, 70 years ago, the girl Do Thi Mo spent her youth, along with tens of thousands of Thanh Hoa people, contributing to the "fire line" of Dien Bien Phu.

Compared to the last time we met a few years ago, Mrs. Do Thi Mo is now much weaker. Old age has made her less agile, and the constant illness has also made her health unstable. However, when mentioning the days of participating in the frontline labor force serving the Dien Bien Phu campaign in the past, she said she still remembered them very well. However, before telling the story of the war 70 years ago, she did not forget to say: "I am old now, there are things I remember, things I don't, some things I remember, some things I forget, so I will tell you as much as I can remember."

Born in the coastal commune of Quang Hai (Quang Xuong), in early 1954 - when she was only 19 years old, following the encouragement of the Party and the State, the girl Do Thi Mo enthusiastically joined the frontline labor force to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign with the spirit of "all for the frontline, all for victory".

Mrs. Do Thi Mo recalled: “I went to the frontline as a civilian laborer to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign for about 3 months. That day I left very happily, without worry or fear. We went in groups, with a great enthusiasm like a festival. The job of a civilian laborer at that time was to carry rice. The route went along the Luong River (a branch of the Ma River) to the upstream of Thanh Hoa, following the forest and mountain paths, just like that. Carrying rice regardless of day or night, through the forest, over the mountains. In addition, to avoid being discovered, each person had to disguise themselves, using forest leaves to cover themselves carefully... It was so hard, but no one complained. Because everyone wanted to contribute their efforts to the Fatherland. During those days, everyone felt they had a part of the responsibility...”.

Sipping green tea, Mrs. Mo continued: “She remembers, for many days, one time while carrying rice, she was so tired and thirsty that she felt like fainting. Looking around, she could only find fig trees laden with fruit. She picked the figs, ate so many that she passed out and was taken to Station 8 for emergency treatment (according to Mrs. Mo - PV). After waking up, due to poor health, she had to return home earlier than everyone else in the group... After returning home for only 2 days, she heard the news of the Dien Bien Phu campaign's complete victory... Everyone in the village cheered with joy and excitement, very happy.”

Time flies, the girl Do Thi Mo has now become a toothless, white-haired old lady respected by her children and grandchildren and loved by the people. She confided: “Many things that happened just five years ago, I can’t remember now. But for some reason, I still can’t forget the three months I spent as a civilian laborer serving the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Even though, the memories of an old person can’t be clear and distinct.”

In the process of “searching” for the former frontline laborers who served in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, I happened to meet Mr. Tran Duc Thinh (96 years old), from Cua Ha village, Cam Phong commune (now Cua Ha quarter, Phong Son town, Cam Thuy district). Despite his rare old age, his memory is still sharp. At Cua Ha wharf, he told us about those historic days.

Ben Cua Ha (on the Ma River) is the intersection of National Highway 217 and the Ma River. This is an important traffic hub from the East to the Northwest and Upper Laos. Therefore, this place not only has an important military position, but is also a solid rear base for resistance wars.

Entering the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring campaign, the Northwest - Upper Laos were identified as the main attack directions. At that time, Cam Thuy - the gateway to the West of Thanh Hoa with convenient river and road traffic became a solid rear base. The army, laborers, along with food, guns and ammunition... gathered here day and night, ready to go to the front.

After the Politburo decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu campaign, in early 1954, the people of Cam Thuy officially entered the logistics front line to serve the historic campaign - "the biggest siege battle". Hundreds of thousands of tons of food, provisions, guns, ammunition, medicine... were gathered at the Cam Thuy warehouse on Cua Ha wharf, from here transported to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.

“Following the call of the Party and the State, nearly 100% of households in Cam Phong at that time joined the frontline labor force. There were families where both husband, wife and grown children went. At that time, bicycles were still an expensive means of transportation, but in Cam Phong, many wealthy families had bicycles. Therefore, when Cam Phong people went to serve the frontline, in addition to carrying poles, they also had a large number of bicycles,” said Mr. Tran Duc Thinh.

According to local documents, there were porters on foot serving on the midline transporting food from Cam Thuy to Van Mai station 10 (bordering Hoa Binh); there were porters transporting food, provisions, and medicine by boat across the Ma River to deliver goods at Quan Hoa; and two groups of porters on bicycles serving the fire line.

Mr. Tran Duc Thinh recalled: “It took our group nearly 3 months to reach Dien Bien Phu. During the campaign, we did not hesitate to do any work, from transporting rice, transporting guns and ammunition, to clearing the road due to the French bombing. To avoid being detected by the enemy, we had to hide in the forest for many days, and only moved quietly at night. In those days, we did not care about the sun or rain, we were not afraid of mosquitoes, snakes, and even rice balls mixed with mud were not uncommon... But everyone had the same spirit of unity, determination and hope for victory.”

Exactly 70 years have passed with a Dien Bien Phu "Becoming a red wreath, becoming a golden history", the young man Tran Duc Thinh of that day has now become an old man with dim eyes and weak limbs. In his trembling but solemn voice, I somehow feel the enthusiasm of the generations of fathers in the years when they were ready to sacrifice themselves for the Fatherland... To this day, going through pain, hardship, and fatigue, the two words of complete independence have been sung in the hearts - minds and love for the nation, the pride of every Vietnamese person.

Article and photos: Khanh Loc

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