One heart follow the Party

Having spent his entire youth fighting heroically to protect the Fatherland, when he was over 90 years old, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy (Tan Lam Huong commune, Thach Ha, Ha Tinh) - a former prisoner of Phu Quoc - wrote a memoir about the years of blood and flowers, always reminding his children and grandchildren to "close the past but never forget the past".

Following the commune cadres, we came to the small house of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy (commonly known as Mr. Huan - born in 1927) in Yen Trung village, Tan Lam Huong commune (Thach Ha). With white hair, a resolute face but a very bright and warm smile, he told us about his life of revolutionary activities, the hardships and sacrifices of his generation.

Mr. Huy was born and raised in a poor family. The family had many children, was poor, and his father died early. From a young age, he had to work as a servant for many families in the area to have food. Having witnessed the famine in 1945 that took the lives of many family members, relatives, and neighbors, he nurtured the will to leave and contribute to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

Portrait of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy when he was young, along with memoirs recording the difficult days of life and death for him and his teammates.

In 1950, responding to the youth movement to join the army, he enthusiastically joined the army. After 2 months of training, he was sent to his local reserve to await orders. At the end of 1952, he got married, but only 3 months after the wedding, he was transferred to the 101st Regiment (of the 325th Division). Then he went away to battle, and in 1959, his wife died without having any children together.

His unit at that time was tasked with decoying the enemy at the Central Laos and Upper Laos fronts to coordinate with other units to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign. He and his comrades participated in many fierce battles on the battlefields of Lower Laos and Northeastern Cambodia. After the Dien Bien Phu victory, his unit withdrew to Quang Binh to consolidate regular forces ready to fight the Americans.

At the end of 1955, he was honored to be admitted to the Party. “That was an important milestone in the lives of soldiers on the battlefield like me. When joining the Party, we carried pride and responsibility in every battle, every march. From that moment on, I vowed to follow the Party's ideals and beloved Uncle Ho for the rest of my life,” Mr. Huy recalled.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy tearfully recalled memories of his years of revolutionary activities.

In December 1962, he was given leave and married his second wife. During a short leave, they gave birth to a son. In October 1964, when his son was one month old, Mr. Huy received an order to transfer from his military base in Quang Binh to the battlefield in the South. He and his comrades participated in many fierce battles in the battlefields of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen provinces...

In February 1967, while operating in Binh Dinh, he and a comrade were unfortunately captured by the enemy. They took them to Pleiku prison (Gia Lai), then transferred them to a Saigon cell and exiled them to Phu Quoc prison after 1 month of detention on the mainland. Nearly 60 years have passed, but Mr. Huy still cannot help but feel emotional when recalling the dark, tormenting days in this "hell on earth". Phu Quoc prison is famous for its brutal and savage torture. Mr. Huy and his comrades were repeatedly beaten, had their limbs clamped, had nails driven into their knees, and were locked in tiger cages...

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Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy talked about the difficult war days with cadres and young generation of Tan Lam Huong commune (Thach Ha).

“In our camp, every day, prisoners were given a small amount of rice to cook for themselves. But because the water used to cook rice was very dirty and smelly, and when cooked, it was inedible, so I thought of a way to roast rice to make it fragrant to eat. When the warden discovered me, they accused me of roasting rice as a reserve food to escape from prison and locked me in solitary confinement for torture. They beat me for hours, passing out and then waking up. My two feet were crushed, my right arm was broken, and my body was covered with injuries. After that, they put me in a barrel and left me in the sun for 3 days and nights. At that time, I thought I could not survive, accepting death, but in my heart I still felt a pain because the country was not at peace, the promise of independence to return to my wife and children had not been fulfilled. Thanks to my comrades who went on a hunger strike and protested, after 7 days of detention and torture, they accepted their demands and took me back to the concentration camp.”

The beatings made him “live a life worse than death” and even now, when he remembers them, his eyes still well up with tears. Looking at the scars still imprinted on his old arms and legs, we are truly choked up with admiration and deep gratitude.

Mr. Huy lives happily in his old age with his children and grandchildren.

For more than 10 years, he went to the battlefield and was exiled to Phu Quoc prison, which was also the time his family had no news, but his wife still waited with a strong belief that after the war, he would return. And that love and belief were duly rewarded. In March 1973, after the Paris Agreement was signed, Mr. Huy and his comrades were returned to the North to recuperate. A year later, he was demobilized and returned to his hometown. He participated in many positions such as cooperative, police officer, and actively participated in the movement to build his hometown...

With his contributions to the revolutionary cause, he was honored to be awarded: Anti-French Medal; First Class Resistance Medal; 3 Southern Liberation Medals; Veteran Badge; many certificates of merit from the unit...

Noble titles awarded by the Party and State to honor Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy's contributions.

Reuniting with the family, the couple had 4 more children. At an old age, although he retired from social work, with his prestige, he was still trusted by the villagers to do village covenants and ceremonies during festivals and holidays. He and his wife lived happily in their old age with 5 children (2 boys, 3 girls), 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. For many years, his family has been awarded the title of "Cultural Family" in the locality. In 2020, his wife passed away, he lived alone in a small house but was still taken care of and fed by his children and grandchildren every day.

This year, Mr. Huy turned 97 - a rare age but still very clear-headed and active. In order for his descendants to know more about his revolutionary life, the difficult days of life and death of him and his comrades, as well as to educate the next generation about the tradition of "remembering the source of water when drinking", he wrote a memoir of his life.

Although he is 97 years old, Mr. Huy is still very clear-headed. He wrote memoirs about his life to preserve for his children and grandchildren the story of his difficult but glorious life.

“This book must be kept for a hundred years for grandchildren to know the brief biography of the late Huan. There are many sweet and bitter moments!” - the first line in the memoir is a reminder for grandchildren and the younger generation to preserve history for future generations. Although the memoir is not long, it records important historical milestones in the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans; the battles, the heroic sacrifices, and the dedication to noble ideals.

Holding the memoir in her hand, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet - Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Tan Lam Huong commune shared: "The stories of living witnesses like Mr. Huy are always a valuable source of information for the younger generation, because if they do not hear them, they certainly cannot imagine how much their fathers and grandfathers sacrificed and contributed. That is also the motivation for us to promote our responsibility, strive to contribute our youth, and build our homeland to be more and more beautiful."

This spring, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy received another great honor when he was awarded the 70-year Party membership badge.

Mr. Huy mused: “I write memoirs not to rekindle the loss and pain of war because the past should be closed to move towards the future. However, I still remind my children and grandchildren, remind the next generation that, closing the past but absolutely must not forget the past, must not forget the blood and bones of so many people who have died, so that from there we can be more responsible for our homeland and our country.”

To him, the national flag is so precious, because it is soaked in the blood of so many loyal soldiers and party members like him.

In the dry winter sun, Mr. Huy hung the red flag with a yellow star in front of the alley. That image suddenly made my heart feel strangely moved. I understood how precious that flag was to him because it was soaked with the blood of so many loyal soldiers and party members like him. This spring, he received another great honor when he was awarded the 70-year Party membership badge. And I believe that, in the joy of welcoming the new spring, the people of the whole country in general, and Ha Tinh in particular, will never forget the great sacrifices of generations of fathers and brothers.

Article and photos: Kieu Minh

Design: Huy Tung

6:03:02:2024:08:30

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/xay-dung-dang/mot-long-theo-dang/261150.htm