Heroic Vietnamese mother of Dong Khoi homeland

From left to right, heroic Vietnamese mothers: Vo Thi Bien, Le Thi Doi, Tran Thi Anh, Nguyen Thi Nam and Nguyen Thi Sang.

* Seven times seeing you off…

The story goes that a mother had 9 children, all of whom joined the revolution. 7 went to the battlefield, and no one ever returned to her. On top of that, the enemy's cruel tortures also took away the mother's beloved husband. With no more tears to cry for her husband or children, the mother went crazy after each time she heard bad news. But that resilient mother still had faith in tomorrow, still diligently raised the army, still sent her children to the front...

That was mother Vo Thi Bien, born in 1905, in Quoi Son, Chau Thanh. Her husband - Mr. Nguyen Van Co followed the Viet Minh to fight the French. Mother understood the pain of losing her country and her family, so she did not hesitate when her beloved children decided to follow their father to fight the enemy. The third child was only a teenager when he left home to fight the French. Then the second, the fourth...

Mother's family, 9 martyrs in total (husband, son and son-in-law), some have graves in the provincial martyrs' cemetery, some in the district martyrs' cemetery and some on their own land. But out of 9 graves, only 6 have remains, while the other 3 graves only have the outer shell! Brother Ba, Brother Chin, Brother Muoi still rest somewhere in the country full of traces of war. Now, of the 9 children, only the fourth sister remains, but her ten grandchildren have all been educated and are serving in many localities, provinces and districts. One person falls, generation after generation stands up to take over. All together brighten the faith of the heroic mother...

* Follow the child

Mother Le Thi Doi was from Thoi Thanh commune, Thanh Phu district. She had four sons who all joined the revolution. During a raid, the enemy arrested her and interrogated her. Seeing that the interrogation did not yield any results, they released her, but they still suspected her of supplying the revolution, so they arrested her again.

Every day, my mother went to visit relatives and went to trade in Binh Khanh (Mo Cay) to provide for me. Once, my mother had to go all the way to Kon Tum, and it was very difficult to meet me. But the brutal war had ravaged my homeland, and what my mother feared most finally came to pass. In 1967, my eldest son died in a battle against a sweep in An Dinh (Mo Cay). The bodies floating in the river were mixed together, and I didn’t know which body was my son’s. So my mother had to lose her son. The sadness of losing her son had not yet faded when she heard that her second son had died at Xep market . In 1968, my youngest son died at Binh Loi bridge slope during the attack on Saigon. Then my last remaining son died in 1970 on the Kon Tum battlefield. I saw my children off four times. All four children did not return. My mother was still there, in her twilight years, still silently on the land of the past…

* Carrying her husband's body home at night

Mother Tran Thi Anh (Long Lan hamlet, Son Dinh commune, Cho Lach district) had a husband, Mr. Nguyen Van Beo, who was a guerrilla fighter. He was captured by the enemy and beheaded along with two of his comrades. Holding back her grief, she waited until night when a woman secretly rowed a boat to pick up three bodies, including her husband.

Her husband sacrificed, she worked hard to raise five children. Planting rice, weeding the garden, and even filling ditches were men's jobs, and the mother did everything, never quitting her job. At home, the older children looked after the younger ones. Yet, the mother still raised her children to study properly. The worst ones were in third or second grade. Then, one by one, the children left and one by one, the mother received news of her children's sacrifices. Nguyen Van Tho sacrificed in the battle at My Tho airport, Nguyen Van Be sacrificed in Ba Vat, Nguyen Van Luom sacrificed in Cho Lach, the mother could not see her children's faces, only knowing that the unit had brought their bodies back... Pain upon pain, the mother still struggled to overcome, only hoping that one day she would find her children's remains...

* Mother's exploits

Mother Nguyen Thi Nam was born in 1918 in a poor family in My Duc hamlet, Huong My commune, Mo Cay district. After Dong Khoi (1960), mother started to join the revolution. In those early days, mother and other women in the commune participated in the Women's Union. Three years later, in 1964, mother joined the Party and was elected to the Executive Committee of the Women's Union. After that, mother participated in military propaganda work. In early 1969, mother completed the capture of Ap Phu post. The success of the capture of Ap Phu post gave mother more experience. With new innovations and close internal connections, precise time agreements, mother achieved more feats: capturing Cau Dap post with Tu Suong as the post chief; capturing the entire militia watchtower in Thi hamlet; capturing Thanh Tay post of the owner of Roi hamlet. Mother's achievements caused confusion and wavering in the enemy's hearts. For a long time, they became less aggressive, stopped harassing and arresting people, and focused mainly on defense...

Mother's husband - Mr. Tran Van Muoi worked in mass mobilization until the day of liberation. Mother had 7 sons, 6 of whom participated in the resistance war against the US to save the country. Her sons heroically sacrificed themselves, made many achievements for the province's armed forces, and added color to the revolutionary flag.

* Heroic mother on the loyal land

An Hiep Commune (Ba Tri) is one of three localities with large secret zones in Ben Tre province, established by the US and puppets to suppress the revolutionary movement. From under the yoke, the people of An Hiep Commune faced the enemy every day. Many people and families bravely fought to protect their villages. Among those brave people was Heroic Vietnamese Mother Nguyen Thi Sang (also known as Mother Muoi Hanh) in Hamlet 9, An Hiep Commune. She had fought the enemy throughout the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans. Living in the secret zone, to strengthen and maintain the struggle movement, she organized and built local forces. With her cleverness, Mother Sang influenced many soldiers in the secret zone. Thanks to that, our army knew about the enemy's sweep operations to deal with them.

Mother's husband was Mr. Cao Van Cay - an officer of the Anti-Terrorism Team and a prison guard of Ba Tri District Police. One night in 1961, the enemy raided and could not capture him alive, so they shot him dead on the spot. Mother wanted to rush to hug her husband's body, but she gritted her teeth and endured the pain, rushing straight toward the soldiers to fiercely chase them out of the house, because at that time, in the secret basement next to her house, there were still cadres hiding. Mother suppressed all her pain and focused on relieving the siege for the revolutionary cadres.

About her four children, all were brave and determined to go to war to avenge their father. And then she received news of their deaths one by one. heroically sacrificed, leaving his mother with an irreparable pain...

***

There are many stories about heroic Vietnamese mothers in our country. Each mother’s life is a story, a separate situation, but in the end, it is all about sacrifice. Mothers have endured many sacrifices, losses, and pain, and have dedicated their most beloved children, a part of their flesh and blood, to the Fatherland… contributing to the cause of national independence. For those who are enjoying a peaceful life today, striving to build a beautiful, rich, and civilized country is the best way to show gratitude to heroic mothers, always remembering and remembering those who heroically sacrificed for the independence and freedom of our country.

During the historic days of April, in the solemn atmosphere of the activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025), the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Province (May 1, 1975 - May 1, 2025), today's generation would like to express our gratitude and remember the great contributions to the mothers who gave birth to the heroic soldiers.

H. Anh (synthesis)

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/nguoi-me-viet-nam-anh-hung-cua-que-huong-dong-khoi-23042025-a145642.html