In the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans to save the country, especially the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954, Thanh Hoa was the province that made great contributions in terms of manpower and resources. Thousands of Thanh Hoa people were frontline laborers, main force soldiers... participating in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Many people after the war vowed to stay and continue to contribute to the land of fire and smoke, the heroic land of Dien Bien. Today, many young people from Thanh Hoa have "backpacked" to Dien Bien to establish themselves, make a living, and join hands in building the country.
Dien Bien soldier Le The Due - a native son of Thanh Hoa.
On the land of fire Dien Bien
On the journey back to the heroic land of Dien Bien, we - the young generation of Thanh Hoa homeland were fortunate to meet and talk with the senior generations and young people of Thanh Hoa homeland who are living and working on Dien Bien land.
Mr. Vo Van Tam, a native of Tho Lam, Tho Xuan (Thanh Hoa) is currently working at Dien Bien Phu Newspaper. Mr. Tam has been attached to Dien Bien for more than 10 years, is an enthusiastic person who helps and connects me so that I have the honor and joy to meet the elders, uncles, brothers and sisters from Thanh Hoa who are living in Dien Bien.
In a small house on Street 6, Tan Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City (Dien Bien), Mr. Le The Due, a "Dien Bien Soldier" told us young people about the years he spent with this land. Born in 1936, from Hoang Phuc Commune (now But Son Town), Hoang Hoa District, Mr. Due wrote a volunteer application to join the youth volunteer team to go to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. Mr. Due recalled: At that time, I only weighed 38kg, both times I was examined but did not have enough weight so I was rejected, on the third time, because I was moved by the volunteer spirit of the youth, I was "favored" to join the ranks of young people who went to join the defense of the Fatherland. As a youth volunteer, I was then recruited into the engineering force of Team 40, C404 with the task of disposing of unexploded bombs at the Co Noi intersection (Son La), cutting down trees to make bridges, and making roads for artillery vehicles to enter the Dien Bien Phu campaign. When the war was won, his unit was tasked with recovering French weapons and military equipment. After 1954, he was sent to study transportation, then joined the resistance war against the US to save the country. Later, he worked at Road Joint Stock Company 226 (Road Management Area 2, Vietnam Road Administration), and retired in 1990. Returning to his hometown, he was elected as Secretary of Ward 6 Party Cell, Chairman of the Fatherland Front of Tan Thanh Ward. He was also a member of the Liaison Committee of the Thanh Hoa Association in Dien Bien until 2013.
In the neat and cozy living room of his family, he respectfully placed a picture of Uncle Ho and General Vo Nguyen Giap on a small table. The pictures, medals and awards of him and his relatives who had gone through the wars were hung on the wall, historical evidence of the glorious and proud life of the son of Thanh Hoa in the land of Dien Bien.
During our stay in Dien Bien, we met former frontline civilian worker Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 1936, from Hanh Phuc commune, Tho Xuan district (Thanh Hoa). Currently, Ms. Ly is living in residential group 8, Nam Thanh ward, Dien Bien Phu city. Ms. Ly was a frontline civilian worker, at the age of 18, she and her brothers and sisters from Thanh Hoa carried food across Pha Din pass to the Dien Bien battlefield, while her husband - Mr. Hoang Hai, from the same commune, was a soldier of Regiment 174, fighting at A1 hill during the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Later, he and she both participated in the resistance war against the US, then both of them stayed in Dien Bien to live and work.
Coming to Thanh Binh ward, Dien Bien Phu city, we also had the chance to meet the family of Mr. and Mrs. Le Tran Cat and Bui Thi Nhuan. Mr. Cat, born in 1945, is from Chau Loc commune (now Trieu Loc commune, Hau Loc district). Both of them were youth volunteers in the resistance war against the US to save the country. After 62 years of living in Dien Bien, Mr. Cat considers this place his second homeland. His children are all grown up and have stable jobs. For Mr. Cat and Mrs. Nhuan, that is happiness. Witnessing the changes of Dien Bien, they are proud to have contributed a small part from the arduous war to peacetime, building this land in the period of renovation.
Bringing youth to build a career in a new land
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huan, from Hoang Loc commune (Hoang Hoa), is a young man from Thanh Hoa who came to Dien Bien to start a business in 2013. He has worked in many jobs and is currently working at the State Treasury of Dien Bien province. Being an active and enthusiastic person, not only stopping at the State job, Mr. Huan also connected with friends to open a farm specializing in raising sturgeon in Muong Phang district with the desire to create a livelihood and transfer techniques to the people here. In March, when we visited Dien Bien, it was also the time when he and his friends had just opened a sturgeon store in Dien Bien Phu city. Currently, the farm raises more than 7,000 sturgeon, serving restaurants and supplying units and restaurants in Dien Bien province.
Mr. and Mrs. Le Tran Cat and Bui Thi Nhuan, from Hau Loc district, currently living in Dien Bien Phu city.
On the journey to meet the children of Thanh Hoa who came to Dien Bien, Mr. Vo Van Tam, a reporter for Dien Bien Phu Newspaper, told me about many young people from Thanh Hoa who came to live, study and work. Many of them are leaders, civil servants and public employees in state agencies, people participating in economic development, and establishing businesses. Mr. Tam himself is not only a journalist but also grows pennywort. Currently, pennywort is growing, not only providing income for his family, but also creating jobs and increasing income for people in Muong Nhe area.
Returning to Dien Bien, we visited the family of Mr. Le Thanh Tinh, currently the Head of the Liaison Committee of the Thanh Hoa Association in Dien Bien province. Mr. Tinh was formerly the Deputy Political Commissar of the Military Command of the former Lai Chau province. He is a native of Truc Lam, Tinh Gia (now Nghi Son town). He was a soldier and then fell in love with the land of the Northwest, and has been attached to it for more than 40 years.
Mr. Tinh said: Previously, in Dien Bien, there were 3 Thanh Hoa Association Liaison Committees. In 2014, they merged into 1 Liaison Committee. The Liaison Committee has 7 permanent members with 272 members and 11 branches. Having been operating for 10 years, the Liaison Committee operates on a voluntary basis, gathering Thanh Hoa people living and working in Dien Bien province.
Dien Bien Phu City in the days leading up to the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory is resplendent with flags and new constructions to celebrate the anniversary. From a land of hardship and heavy destruction during the wars, Dien Bien today is rising strongly. Historical evidences of the war in Dien Bien have now become red addresses, meaningful tourist destinations for every patriotic Vietnamese. The change of Dien Bien is the joint efforts of the entire political system, Party committees, authorities, and people of all walks of life here, and a small contribution from the people of Thanh Hoa who are living, working, and contributing.
Article and photos: Ngoc Huan
Source
Comment (0)