The Truong Son Trail is one of the legends of the struggle for national liberation in Vietnam. The true stories that are like legends are forever imprinted in the memories of the Truong Son Youth Volunteers (TNXP) of the past. Every time they meet, those soldiers reminisce about a time of war and fire...
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet (Hoang Duc commune, Hoang Hoa) and her comrades sang the Truong Son song at the meeting to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the traditional day. Photo: Minh Trang
Meeting her comrades again at the 55th anniversary of the Traditional Day of the former Youth Volunteer Unit against the US to save the country N237 - Construction Board 67 Truong Son Thanh Hoa after many years apart, former Youth Volunteer Nguyen Thi Tuyet in Hoang Duc commune (Hoang Hoa) could not help but be moved. She said: In my twenties, I and many other women in the district followed the call of the Party and Uncle Ho to join the Youth Volunteer Force in the period of 1969-1972, with the task of opening the road on Truong Son Highway 16a. Our unit C5 was tasked with filling bomb craters to open the road, building new roads to the front line, and welcoming convoys of support vehicles to the South. At that time, every day on Highway 16a, thousands of trucks of goods and soldiers passed by. During the rainy season, some trucks could pass, some got stuck... For those trucks that could not pass, we quickly went to the rescue so that food and goods would not be dropped or damaged; Some other women tried their best to dig the ground, cut trees to make the roadbed firm enough for vehicles to pass through...
Ms. Tuyet recalls the years she and her comrades spent “under the open sky, on the ground”, eating mainly cassava and leaves in the forest, even going a little hungry to save food for the soldiers and to reserve food for rainy days... The most difficult thing was that she and her comrades had to fight against malignant malaria that made them shiver, their hair fall out, their skin turn yellow, and their bodies become emaciated. Every time she recalls, she thinks that only an iron will, a desire for peace and courage can overcome it.
As a Platoon Leader and then Company Leader of C5 Team 25, Road 20 Quyet Thang, with 2 terms as Youth Volunteers stationed on the Truong Son route, Mr. Nguyen Duc Lam, former Permanent Vice President of the Provincial Association of Former Youth Volunteers, recalled: During the months of opening the Truong Son route to serve the campaign to liberate the South and unify the country, the soldiers and Youth Volunteers suffered a lot. Although we had to build the road in deep forests and mountains, the weather was very harsh, and planes bombed day and night, we were still determined to stick to the road, clear the route, and participate in medical rescue. I remember most the night of October 26 and the morning of October 27, 1967, when our artillery corps marched into the South but encountered enemy flares and had to hide in a ravine. We were tasked with protecting the route with 2 fierce key points: the top of Pass 41 and Kroong tunnel. When we were discovered by enemy planes, they dropped bombs at 3:00 p.m. On our side, 3 artillery positions of the guard troops opened fire fiercely in return, in this battle 29 comrades were sacrificed, including 11 Youth Volunteers. Some wounded people were carried into the bunker. At 5 pm, the enemy continued to drop bombs and hit the bunker. Many wounded comrades were just brought into the bunker before they could receive first aid and were hit by more bombs. At that time, 6/7 comrades of my C5 Team 25 were on duty as medics in the bunker. I was the only one who survived, but was affected by the pressure of the bombs and mines, injured in the thigh and was taken by my teammates to Hospital NH K14 (Military Station 14) for treatment.
Returning to normal life, Mr. Lam still missed his comrades. Although he had many different jobs, he completed all his positions well and spent time with the working group 4 times on the battlefield to find and bring back the remains of 4 comrades.
For Thanh Hoa Youth Volunteers, the main task was to clear the way. Many fierce fire lines such as Road 20 Quyet Thang, Road 12, Ho Chi Minh Trail; places like A-shaped curve, Ta Le slope, Ba Thang slope... were the main targets of American attacks, mingling with the blood and sweat of our soldiers.
Mr. Doan Cong Khanh, currently the Chairman of the Association of Former Youth Volunteers of Hau Loc District, shared: I enlisted in unit C48-N21, Regiment 559. At 5:00 p.m. on May 25, 1965, we departed from Yen Ve village, Quang Thang commune, Quang Xuong district (now Quang Thang ward, Thanh Hoa city) with other companies of N21 marching by bicycle "Flying Phoenix". After 30 days of marching, the unit gathered in Thanh Lang, Quang Binh province, then left the vehicles, walked through Khe Ve, Khe Tang to Laos on the Western Truong Son route. Our mission in the dry season was mainly to protect the route for vehicles transporting weapons to the front. In the rainy season, we carried and packed food, provisions, and weapons; produced and transported by "canvas-covered bamboo boats" and drove canoes on the Bac River in Laos; cleared secret routes to the front line for liaison and brought cadres to the Central Office of the South. We and many other units are always present at key points. Despite the hardships and shortages, the Youth Volunteers are always determined to maintain the traffic arteries until the day of liberation of the South and reunification of the country. C48 has 148 comrades, of which 5 were sacrificed, 10 were injured...
Although 65 years have passed, for tens of thousands of cadres, soldiers, former Youth Volunteers, and frontline workers of the past, Truong Son, despite its hardships and fierceness, was full of heroism and glory. Then, through the emotional meetings of the Youth Volunteers who opened the legendary Truong Son road, those who were lucky enough to witness it were moved and proud.
Le Ha
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