The brave teacher

Teacher Nguyen Thi Kim Dung was born in 1933 in Cao Lanh, Dong Thap. She has 11 siblings. Her father was a famous silversmith who owned a jewelry shop and sold silk at Cao Lanh market. He was also a revolutionary soldier.

Female suicide soldier

In 1946, the French returned. That year, Kim Dung was 13 years old. She followed her family and relatives to evacuate to Dong Thap Muoi. Leaving Cao Lanh market, the boat carrying Dung’s family headed towards Ba Sao – Dong Thap Muoi. After staying in Dong Thap Muoi for a few months, Dung was sent to Saigon to study. In 1948, she went to Lang Le – Bau Co War Zone to join Working Group No. 10. Here, she was officially added to the Minh Khai Women’s Platoon – the only female suicide platoon in the inner city of Saigon – Cho Lon.

At the end of March 1948, Dung and the Minh Khai Platoon returned to the inner city to fight in enemy territory. Here, on June 10, 1948, Nguyen Thi Kim Dung had the honor of becoming one of the four suicide soldiers participating in the attack on the Majestic theater. The huge losses after the Majestic battle made the enemy determined to capture the participants. A few days later, August 12, 1948, Dung was informed on, arrested and brutally tortured at the Catina police station. In April 1949, the first trial, Dung was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the second trial, she was sentenced to death. That year Dung was just 16 years old.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Kim Dung (standing row, 6th from left) takes a photo with students in 1981.

While she was being held in solitary confinement in a death row cell, outside, her compatriots were fighting fiercely, the sound of which shook the Elysee Palace. The French president himself signed an order to cancel the death sentence for Kim Dung, replacing it with a 20-year prison sentence. In early 1950, from Saigon's Grand Prison, Kim Dung was transferred to Chi Hoa Prison.

In 1954, the Geneva Agreement was signed, Kim Dung was released from prison in Sam Son, Thanh Hoa. After 21 years in the North, alone, she tried to adapt to the new environment, proved her loyalty, overcame all adversities, studied and excelled, becoming an intellectual, a scientific officer, a legendary lecturer in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Legendary Teacher

In 1975, she returned to Saigon and continued working at the Department of Pharmacy. In 1977, she returned to teach at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to her professional teaching, she was also a member of the Party Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy; for many years she was an emulation fighter at the grassroots and city levels.

Those were the years when Ho Chi Minh City was under subsidy, the economy was extremely difficult. As the person in charge of the Trade Union, she also took care of improving the lives of teachers with many initiatives of the type “Necessity is the mother of invention”. She mobilized each bag of sawdust to be used as fuel, each bag of old clothes, each kilo of meat to feed teachers…

Former students visit teacher Kim Dung after her retirement. (Photo provided by the character)

Her voice trembled because of her old age and weak health, but her eyes still shone with pride and satisfaction: “During the war, I was fortunate to be trusted by the revolution and assigned to the task of the Majestic battle. I did not expect that opportunity to attach my name to a feat recognized by history and the people. During peacetime, after 13 years standing on the podium, I am also a bit proud to have contributed to training and supplementing the country's pharmaceutical workforce, many of whom are successful and labor heroes…”.

Colonel Mac Phuong Minh, former manager of the QK9 pharmaceutical factory, was a student of the first specialized pharmacy class (1977-1980), the first university pharmacy training class for students who were high school pharmacists trained in the war zone. Talking about his respected teacher, Colonel Phuong Minh confided: “Teacher Kim Dung was the head of the department and directly taught us the main Pharmacy subject. My first impression of her was that she was very beautiful, with captivating eyes and a charming smile. She had a gentle, caring and cheerful demeanor. Her lessons always made us feel interested and excited. Moreover, she was one of the four girls who fought in the Majestic battle in 1948, I was so surprised and admired”…

Her students in the first specialized pharmacy class at that time, all later became successful. Most of them became key officials of the pharmaceutical industry in the southwestern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City. Ms. Tran Thi Minh Hiep, former Deputy Head of the Organization and Personnel Department of the Faculty of Pharmacy - University of Medicine and Pharmacy, was the first student of Ms. Kim Dung in the first specialized class. After finishing the course, she was retained at the school to work as a student manager. Then she went to the organization and personnel department. She said that when she accidentally read the newspaper and learned that Ms. Kim Dung was a soldier of the 950th Suicide Battalion and was in the same prison cell with Ms. Vo Thi Sau, she not only admired her, but to generations of students, she will always be a legend...

Although she has retired, every year Ms. Kim Dung is invited by the school to exchange experiences and give inspirational talks to students until she is 90 years old, when she has difficulty walking. “Ms. Dung is a person who is very dedicated to her work and to the education career; friendly and close to her students. Although she has retired, she is still attached to the school and to the students, by regularly returning to the school to talk, inspiring colleagues and students of future generations” – Ms. Minh Hiep shared.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nguoi-thay-kinh-yeu-nguoi-giao-vien-qua-cam-196240730201637821.htm