The old veteran devoted himself to peacetime

In his youth, he was brave and devoted to the cause of protecting the Fatherland; in his old age, veteran Pham Dinh Thuyn (born in 1937, Hung Tri ward, Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh) still actively contributes to building his homeland.

The small house of veteran Pham Dinh Thuyn (born in 1937) and his wife, Phan Thi Quyen (born in 1944), in Tran Phu residential area, Hung Tri ward, is full of fruit trees and shade. Although they are over 80 years old, they are still very alert, active, gardening and participating in local movement activities.

Mr. Pham Dinh Thuyn and his wife, Mrs. Phan Thi Quyen, share their memories of the war.

Mr. Thuyn told us the heroic memories of his passionate youth. In February 1960, when the resistance war against the US was at its fiercest, he responded to the sacred call of the Fatherland and volunteered to go to the battlefield in the South. During his short 10-day leave at the end of 1961, he married Ms. Phan Thi Quyen - the girl he had made an appointment with before leaving.

After getting married, he returned to the battlefield, fighting bravely with his comrades in the battlefields of Quang Tri and the Eastern provinces; driving vehicles transporting food and weapons to the battlefields of Laos... He was honored to join the Party in October 1964. The war was fierce, letters sent home gradually became less frequent and his family lost contact with him.

He said: “In early 1969, when participating in a fierce battle in Phuoc Long town (Binh Phuoc province), our tank was hit by an American bomb. My 6 comrades and I were thrown into the air, all of them died, and I was seriously injured. After waking up after many hours of being unconscious, I tried to crawl out of the battlefield and was rescued and taken to the rear for treatment. After returning from the brink of death, I lost contact with the unit. That is why the whole unit believed that I had died with my comrades.”

The old veteran devoted himself to peacetime

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Tran Bao Ha and Secretary of Ky Anh Town Party Committee Dang Van Thanh visited and presented gifts to Mr. Pham Dinh Thuyn on July 27. Photo: Archive.

Although there was no official death certificate, when she received the news that her husband had died on the battlefield, Mrs. Quyen (at that time a cadre at the People's Committee of Ky Hung Commune, Ky Anh District, now Hung Tri Ward, Ky Anh Town) collapsed. However, with the ideal of sacrificing for the Fatherland, she turned her grief into action, she was even more determined to excellently complete the assigned tasks; taking care of her elderly parents-in-law. In September 1969, she was admitted to the Party.

As for Mr. Thuyn, after being treated, he was assigned to work as a political assistant for an armored unit in the East. During the fierce and chaotic war period, he could not contact his family. After the victory on April 30, 1975, when he was with a convoy of vehicles transporting wounded soldiers to the North for recuperation, Mr. Thuyn threw a letter to his family at Song Tri bridge (in Hung Tri ward, Ky Anh town today).

“Luckily, people picked up the letter and brought it back to his family. Seeing the familiar handwriting, I believed he was still alive. I was so happy!” - Mrs. Quyen emotionally recalled.

Nearly a year later, Mr. Thuyn was officially discharged from the army and reunited with his family. He actively participated in labor and contributed to his hometown as the hamlet production team leader, then became an official of the commune People's Committee. In 1977, he was elected to the commune Party Committee, assuming the position of Party Secretary.

The old veteran devoted himself to peacetime

In every position, Mr. Thuyn always promoted the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", doing his best, being responsible and contributing to the general movement; he was loved and respected by the local people.

Despite his advanced age, many years later, he continued to be elected to positions such as Chairman of the Commune Fatherland Front Committee and Chairman of the Commune Elderly Association. Now 86 years old, he still undertakes the work of a self-management group leader in the residential area; actively contributes money and mobilizes children and people to respond to the movement to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas. In every position, he always promotes the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers", doing his best, being responsible and contributing to the general movement; being loved and respected by the local people.

Despite his old age and the numerous wounds on his body, he still suffers every time the weather changes, but the veteran still takes care of the garden of more than 1,000 ^{square meters} with his wife. The fruit-laden garden not only provides a stable source of income for the couple, but is also a place for their children and grandchildren to come and play and relax every weekend.

The old veteran devoted himself to peacetime

Mr. Thuyn's family's garden of more than 1,000 ^square meters has become the ward's model garden for many years.

With his contributions to the cause of defending the Fatherland and building his homeland, Mr. Thuyn was honored to be awarded the First Class Anti-American National Salvation Medal, the Second Class Liberation Medal, the title of Emulation Fighter at Military Region IV level, and many certificates of merit from various levels and sectors. In particular, in 2017, he was awarded a certificate of merit by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Anh town as a person with outstanding contributions to the construction and development of the local economy; in 2019, he was awarded a personal certificate of merit by the People's Committee of Ky Hung commune (old) for his outstanding achievements in 10 years of implementing the new rural construction movement.

Mr. Pham Dinh Thuyn and Mrs. Phan Thi Quyen are typical and exemplary party members in the locality. Their contributions during wartime as well as peacetime are highly appreciated. They are role models for the next generation to follow. In particular, despite his advanced age, Mr. Thuyn is still the core of the local movement, contributing with the people to build a cultural lifestyle and civilized urban areas.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tai
Chairman of Hung Tri Ward People's Committee

Kieu Minh - Thu Trang

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