Dien Bien Phu Martyrs Cemetery: Witness of history

An old woman over 80 years old, holding a portrait in her hand, slowly walked between the graves, occasionally stopping close to the tombstone to read information about the deceased as if hoping for a miracle to happen...; a couple of old friends searched each name in the list of martyrs with an anxious, expectant look...; an old man wiped the tombstone, sobbing because he missed his comrades... many emotions intertwined during the days of March "returning" to Dien Bien Phu Martyrs' Cemetery (A1).

Dien Bien Phu Martyrs Cemetery: Witness of history A1 Martyrs Cemetery.

Gratitude to heroic martyrs

Ms. Hoang Thi Nam, currently living in Ho Chi Minh City, went with the Tan Phu District Veterans Association to visit Dien Bien on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory. Perhaps unlike many people who go to learn about history, Ms. Nam went to Dien Bien with the hope of fulfilling her husband's wish to find information about the resting place of her uncle - martyr Le Van Hai, who participated in the Dien Bien Phu campaign and sacrificed his life here. Unable to hold back her tears, Ms. Nam choked up and said: "My husband had a wish to somehow find the remains or grave of his uncle. There was a death certificate from 1954, but due to the war and many other conditions, the family could not find it. My husband could not fulfill that task, so before he passed away, he told his relatives to try to find his uncle Hai's grave to bring him back." “When my husband was still alive, I couldn’t find Uncle Hai’s photo. When he passed away, while packing, I saw a precious photo of him so I had it developed, enlarged, and went to Dien Bien with the wish that if he was sacred, he would let me know where his grave was so I could paste it in.” But then, knowing that it was impossible, Mrs. Nam only hoped that God would witness that she would soon find Uncle Hai’s grave, so that when she died, her wish would be fulfilled.

Lighting incense sticks for his comrades, Mr. Tran Duy Nam (89 years old), from Nam Dinh, could not stop the tears from rolling down his wrinkled cheeks. Mr. Nam said: “The French soldiers called Hill A1 “the meat grinder”, our soldiers sacrificed a lot here. Coming here, I miss my comrades even more. My comrades have passed away forever, but their souls will live forever in the hearts of every Vietnamese person and will last forever with the nation”.

At the A1 Martyrs' Cemetery, comrade Nguyen Viet Ba, Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Hoa Newspaper, and comrades in the Thanh Hoa Newspaper delegation also learned more about Dien Bien Phu - the sacred land with the Dien Bien Phu battle, which recorded the heroic history of the nation. To leave such a mark that "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world", thousands of outstanding children of the Vietnamese people, including the great contributions of the army and people of Thanh Hoa, devoted their youth and lives to the independence and freedom of the country, to the campaign until the day of total victory. "The Dien Bien Phu victory has become a symbol of inheritance, so that today's and future generations can follow the tradition of their ancestors, building the country to be more and more dignified, more beautiful, more prosperous and prosperous", said comrade Nguyen Viet Ba.

The hot weather of these days seems unable to stop the footsteps of groups of people coming to offer flowers and incense to pay tribute to the heroic martyrs. From students to the elderly, veterans who participated in the Dien Bien Phu battlefield or other battlefields, all share the same sincere heart, gratitude to the heroic martyrs who did not hesitate to shed their blood and sacrifice to gain independence and freedom for the nation.

Engrave the glorious history

In the book "Legend of Dien Bien" published by the Labor - Social Publishing House (2014), there is a passage that says: "Dien Bien Phu Valley is probably one of the places where the most immortal souls in the country have gathered from ancient times to the present. In the cemetery, at the foot of A1 hill, there are only 4 heroic martyrs whose names are on their tombstones: To Vinh Dien, Be Van Dan, Tran Can, Phan Dinh Giot, the remaining 600 tombstones are all nameless. The martyrs rest in Him Lam Cemetery, Doc Lap Cemetery and there are thousands of martyrs who have not been found. After the liberation of Dien Bien, our Party, State and People chose the most beautiful valleys as burial places for the martyrs, with plaques inscribed with the names of each person with all respect and love. No one expected that the strong floods that swept through the valley only a few months later, the cemeteries were devastated by the floods, all the tombstones were gone, so the graves of Dien Bien soldiers are now nameless. There have been so many The heroic martyrs shed blood on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield and forever left behind memories for the living...".

Dien Bien Province currently manages 8 martyrs' cemeteries with nearly 7,000 graves, located on the main road of National Highway 279, Muong Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City. A1 Martyrs' Cemetery is a national martyrs' cemetery, gathered from 1958 to 1960 with 644 martyrs' graves. The cemetery has a surrounding wall structure, in the middle of the wall is an architectural platform like Khue Van Cac. The front of the wall is embossed with two relief clusters. One cluster represents the 56 days and nights of our army and people fighting at Dien Bien Phu, the other cluster represents the 9 years of long resistance. The left corner of the cemetery is the cemetery manager's house designed in the style of a Thai stilt house in the Northwest. The memorial house in the cemetery is designed like a stilt house, the roof is covered with white stone, inside there is a stele and a bronze incense burner. The cemetery is shaded by rows of camphor trees and bauhinia trees. Along the path are planted areca, pine, chrysanthemum, lily... blooming and spreading fragrance. This is both a historical and cultural work and a park cemetery.

Currently, at the martyrs' cemeteries in Dien Bien province, there are over 800 graves of heroic martyrs who are children of Thanh Hoa. Among them, at Dien Bien Phu Martyrs' Cemetery, there is the grave of Heroic Martyr To Vinh Dien - a son born in Nong Truong commune, Nong Cong district, now Trieu Son district, who heroically used his body to block artillery fire during the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954. In recent years, with the policy of gratitude, demonstrating the traditional morality of the Vietnamese people, the Central Government and provinces together with the social community have done many practical things to renovate and embellish cemeteries, take care of martyrs' graves, in which, Thanh Hoa province has spent 5 billion VND to pave the entire front area of Dien Bien Phu Martyrs' Cemetery. The project was carried out and completed on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2014), not only showing the affection and gratitude of the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in Thanh Hoa province to the heroic martyrs, but also marking the good relationship between the two provinces of Thanh Hoa - Dien Bien.

A1 Martyrs Cemetery in particular and the cemeteries in Dien Bien province in general are one of the eternal symbols of remembrance, gratitude and honor for the soldiers who sacrificed for national independence and unification. Because these cemeteries are not only the resting place of martyrs but also cultural and historical works with deep humanistic values, recognizing the great contributions of heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the peaceful life of the People. In the silent incense smoke, I suddenly remembered the poem "Please don't call me an anonymous martyr" by author Van Hien, that: "Please don't call me an anonymous martyr/ I have a name like many other faces/ Near battlefields, far battlefields chasing the enemy/ The village name, the land name follow me/ Peace after the war/ I return nameless, ageless/ The white rows of tombstones, the stars don't speak/ The grass grows under my feet/ Please don't call me an anonymous martyr/ I used to have a name like many other faces/ The Fatherland has not lost my name/ I just silently accept the pain of the years".

Article and photos: Tran Hang

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