At 92 years old, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan, from Loi Chap village, Vinh Hoa commune (Vinh Loc district), served in the army for two years during the Dien Bien Phu campaign, but he has dedicated his entire life to thinking about the sacrifices of his comrades, so that he can have more fulfilling days in his life.
Veteran Nguyen Quang Tuan.
Having enlisted in January 1952 at the age of 20, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan had a memorable journey. The veteran soldier recalled his trip to Dien Bien Phu: “After traversing long distances, dense forests, deep streams, and high mountain passes, it took us almost a month to reach the Northwest. At our encampment, we soldiers considered the forest our home and the plants and trees our friends. Day and night we sang and played music, our voices echoing throughout the mountains and forests. The most joyful thing was that the people of the Northwest welcomed us like long-lost children returning home.”
Then he continued: “My generation, at 20 years old, was so carefree. After settling in, the brutal phase of the journey began, with the clanging of shovels and picks battling the earth and rocks day and night. Surrounded by forests and trees, the enemy searched day and night, bombing and burning entire areas of forest, causing sections of the road to collapse. Wherever they destroyed something, our soldiers repaired the road. In some sections with deep streams and high mountain passes, we cleared forests, harvested and transported hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of wood to build pontoon bridges and fill in swamps so that our vehicles could travel day and night to the front lines.”
During the arduous days of road construction and artillery hauling, the soldiers would take advantage of breaks to improve their diet by going into the forest to dig up wild yams, gather wild greens, and pick sour plums to make sour soup. Even more enjoyable were the cultural exchanges, writing wall newspapers and competing with each other in the unit, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere. Once, while everyone was laughing heartily and singing, the enemy's radio on a plane blared, "The 312th Division has been annihilated!"
As a soldier in Company 20, Battalion 16, Regiment 141, Division 312, he clearly remembers: At that time, units competed in organizing surprise attacks and sniper assaults. Tall trees served as observation posts, and thick bushes were hiding places to capture enemy soldiers alive; anyone who showed their face would be shot immediately.
"The encirclement tightened, and the enemy became increasingly panicked. They reinforced their troops and weapons at their strongholds. Enemy planes bombed and shelled more fiercely, many sections of the road collapsed, and they devised countless schemes to block our advance. They attacked one route, we took another; the rhythm of the road remained steady until March 13, 1954, when the opening battle began. Him Lam outpost was destroyed, and the following night, Doc Lap outpost was razed to the ground. The soldiers at Ban Keo outpost, trembling with fear, began to surrender."
"As long as I'm alive, I'll remember those days," Mr. Tuan said emotionally.
When I asked him what he remembered most, he simply said, "Pulling the cannons. Now, when you hear the songs about pulling the cannons, it sounds so lively, but back then, it was different for us."
Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan with mementos from the Dien Bien Phu era.
He recounted: "Early in the morning of January 15, 1954, more than 5,000 people were spread out across the forest edges and mountain slopes, in some places only 4km from the enemy, within range of their artillery. Thousands of arms swung up, rocks and stones flew, and large trees were uprooted. Enemy artillery occasionally fired randomly. It was the middle of winter, but our clothes were drenched in sweat. We ate our meals right there, and after eating, we immediately got back to work. The road gradually appeared, not thanks to a miracle, but thanks to the determination and extraordinary labor of our troops. Just a few days later, the 15km long, 3m wide artillery road was completed. The entire stretch of road had more than a dozen steep slopes, some reaching 40 degrees Celsius, with deep ravines beside the road. As we worked along the road, the men would bend branches and erect trellises to plant gourds and trees for camouflage."
The 312th Division accounted for the majority of the artillery hauling force. The heavy cannons, each weighing over two tons, were unloaded from their vehicles and pulled manually from kilometer 70 on the Tuan Giao road. To improve the hauling speed and ensure completion on the scheduled date, the soldiers held a meeting to discuss and share experiences, with many enthusiastic suggestions: "We need to widen the winding road, reduce the slope, use more robust winches, use ropes from the forest for pulling, and arrange the ropes more efficiently..." Cheers of "Do... ta, two... three!" rang out. Many of my comrades were ready to let the cannons roll over their feet to get them into position in time for firing. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.”
Seven days and nights passed, during which thousands of soldiers overcame difficulties and performed a remarkable feat, secretly and safely transporting artillery into position. It seemed their mission was complete, awaiting only the order to fire, but then they received another order from their superiors to "pull the artillery out" to implement the strategy of "attack surely, advance surely." The artillery pieces were then discreetly camouflaged and moved to a safe location, ensuring the opening of the campaign would proceed as planned.
After 1954, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tuan went to China to study pedagogy. He taught in Hanoi , then in Nghe An, and from 1960 onwards, he settled in Thanh Hoa. He was a renowned literature teacher in Vinh Loc. Mentioning Mr. Tuan, generations of students at Vinh Hoa Secondary School (Vinh Loc) all remember him. After class, he would search for documents and take notes in his notebooks about the resistance war against the French and the Dien Bien Phu campaign. After teaching, during the historic month of May, he would still go around telling stories about Dien Bien Phu at schools in Vinh Loc district.
Bearing the scars of war, he is currently a Class 3 war invalid.
Flipping through the metal box, he showed us his Lieutenant rank insignia and said, "Seventy years have passed, and I've kept every single piece of paper. Among them is a certificate from the Ministry of War Invalids dated August 3, 1956, stating that President Ho Chi Minh awarded me the Dien Bien Phu Soldier Badge for my direct participation in the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954. And also the certificate for wearing the Second Class Victory Medal, signed by the Ministry of National Defense on March 6, 1958."
"The last time I went to Dien Bien was in 2014. I was one of nine exemplary veterans who fought against the French, organized by the Provincial Veterans Association. The youngest member of the group was born in 1935, and the oldest in 1927. Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and most of them have passed away," Mr. Tuan said.
At 92 years old, his health was failing, and one eye could barely see. But just by holding up a photograph and glancing at it, he could tell us why that particular picture was there and why he was standing in that spot.
As he turned each page of the book, or each badge, Mr. Tuan's tears flowed even more. "I am luckier than many of my comrades, because not only did I survive and return home, but I am also alive today, 70 years after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu."
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, Colonel Le Van Dien, Commander of the Provincial Military Command, visited and inquired about the well-being of Dien Bien Phu veteran and wounded soldier Nguyen Quang Tuan.
Besides his military uniform, his soldierly baggage included verses of poetry: "Comrade Dien Bien Phu soldier/ Please live forever/ So we can hear you recount centuries/ The resounding heroic epic of the land and its people." Having directly fought and witnessed the sacrifices of his comrades, he deeply understood and cherished that "resounding heroic epic of the land and its people."
KIEU HUYEN
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