"Not back until the country is at peace"
During the Northern border war in 1979, 50 individuals from Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang... were posthumously awarded or conferred the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces. Of which, Hai Duong had 4 people posthumously awarded this title, including martyrs: Pham Xuan Huan (Hai Duong City), Tran Trong Thuong (Thanh Ha), Nguyen Xuan Kim (Kinh Mon), Do Chu Bi (Nam Sach) and 1 person was awarded the title, Mr. Dao Van Quan, born in 1950, from Cong Lac commune (Tu Ky). Later, Mr. Quan was Deputy Head of the Central Military Commission's Inspection Committee, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Veterans Association.
On the other side of the border, there were two military regions: the Guangzhou Military Region, commanded by General Duong The Huu, attacked in the direction of Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Quang Ninh; the Kunming Military Region, commanded by General Duong Dac Chi, attacked in the direction of Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Ha Giang. They mobilized 32 infantry divisions, including 6 tank regiments (equivalent to 550 tanks); 4 artillery divisions (equivalent to 480 cannons) and 1,260 mortars. Along with that, 1,700 aircraft and 200 warships of the South Sea Fleet were ready to support.
History has recorded that in the early morning of February 17, 1979, the invading army's artillery suddenly bombarded targets in Vietnam's territory, starting an unjust war. More than 500,000 enemy troops and thousands of tanks and vehicles poured through and simultaneously attacked from Pa Nam Cum (Lai Chau) to Po Hen (Quang Ninh) over a length of 1,200 km. However, they encountered fierce resistance from our people and army.
The fight to protect the northern border of the Vietnamese army and people officially began. Soldiers who had just returned from the long war against the US continued to set out with the mindset of "We will not return until the Fatherland is at peace". The main army corps of Vietnam from the southwestern border moved to the northern border to fight, and with pressure from the international community, the expansionist army was forced to retreat. But after that, the enemy still occupied some high points in the provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang...
From April 1984 to May 1989, hundreds of thousands of expansionist troops flooded down to invade the Vi Xuyen border. The entire Vietnamese nation had to struggle to enter the war against border encroachment, until the day the gunfire stopped completely, and the Fatherland's border was reunited.
The border connects a strip
As someone once said: "The Vietnamese people of the 20th century are legendary people". Indeed, through the great national defense wars of the 20th century, those people are worthy of being heroes!
In Po Hen, the names of heroic martyrs from Hai Duong are still engraved on the stele: Le Dinh Quang (Dai Hop, Tu Ky), Nguyen Van Dung (Van Duc, Chi Linh), Le Dinh Phuong (Hung Thai, Ninh Giang), Do Van Thuc (Phu Thai, Kim Thanh), Tran The Tam (Quoc Tuan, Nam Sach)... Or in the "Century Lime Kilns" of Ha Giang, there are names of heroic martyrs from Hai Duong: Nguyen Dinh Doanh (Phuong Hoang, Thanh Ha), Nguyen Van Duc (Nhat Tan, Gia Loc)...
During the three resistance wars, Vietnam still has 200,000 graves of martyrs that have not been gathered, and 300,000 martyrs whose identities have not been determined. Many of the heroic martyrs have found their way back to their mothers, even though "Sending off their children with all their forms/Welcoming them back, they have formed the country" . But many of them still remain on the battlefield.
These days, on the first day of spring meals of tens of thousands of families, there are still bowls and chopsticks that have not been used. This is not only a concern, but also a debt of the entire people to the previous generation, when they did not spare their blood, bones, youth, and were ready to sacrifice everything to protect the independence and self-reliance of the nation, firmly protect the Fatherland's borders and sovereignty of the sea and islands.
The war has long since ended. Green has covered the old battlefields. This spring, peach blossoms bloom again in brilliant pink under the spring sunshine along the long stretch of the border from Pa Nam Cum to Po Hen. The national territory has been built and solidly consolidated with the blood and bones of tens of thousands of compatriots and soldiers. The blood and bones of our uncles and aunts have turned into trees and grass, carving into the sacred soul of the mountains and rivers an immortal heroic epic in the just fight to protect our beautiful country.
In those places, monuments and stele have been erected, as a reminder to us and future generations to put aside the past and move towards the future, but always remember the sacrifices of our ancestors with all our hearts. And, be vigilant, do not let the Fatherland be passive or surprised, because national sovereignty is inviolable, the Fatherland is above all!
TIEN HUYSource
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