The "plowmen and gunmen" guarding the sky of Do Len

During the “War of Destruction of the North”, Do Len Bridge was one of the targets of the US imperialists’ attacks and this place became the “coordinate of fire”. With the spirit of keeping the traffic “bloodline” connecting the great rear of the North with the battlefield of the South open, the young men and women militiamen “with one hand plowing, one hand shooting” of Ha Trung district bravely overcame the rain of bombs and bullets, stuck to the land, stuck to the village, stuck to the battlefield, guarded the sky, and protected Do Len Bridge.

The Do Len Victory Historical and Cultural Relic Site, located in Ha Trung town (Ha Trung).

According to historical documents, in early 1965, facing the risk of complete bankruptcy of the "Special War" strategy, the US imperialists switched to the "Local War" strategy and massively sent troops to the South. At the same time, they expanded the "War of Destruction in the North" by air force to "bring the North back to the Stone Age". When sending planes to attack Thanh Hoa, the US Air Force identified Ham Rong Bridge, Do Len, and Ghep Ferry as "ideal choke points" on the North-South supply route. In particular, Do Len - the "funnel" of the "blood vessel" of the large rear traffic in the North with the Southern battlefield was the target of attack and destruction by the US Air Force.

The war has long since ended, but the battles of the army and people of Ha Trung to protect Do Len bridge have been engraved in the history of the nation. At an old age, counting down the time, Mr. Pham Hong Sy - the person directly in charge and commanding the Ha Ngoc militia platoon that fought to protect Do Len bridge in the past, still remembers clearly the moments of confronting American planes to protect the villagers and maintain the North - South traffic artery. Mr. Sy was moved to awaken memories: On the evening of April 2, 1965, the General Command of the Vietnam People's Army announced that the enemy would attack Ham Rong bridge and a number of bridges along National Highway 1A. At the same time, he reminded them to "fight firmly, hit accurately, shoot down many enemy planes on the spot, protect the target, and save ammunition. The Air Force will join the army and people of Thanh Hoa in the fight".

After receiving the telegram, Ha Trung District Party Committee organized local troops and militia in the Do Len bridge area to check guns and ammunition, reinforce military forces, trenches, and arrange battle positions ready for combat. Together with Ha Phong, Ha Lam, Ha Binh, Ha Ninh communes, Ha Trung town, Ha Ngoc commune people joined hands to complete the system of trenches and shelters. At this time, in the villages, drills on evacuation alarms, rescuing wounded soldiers, firefighting, and preventing tunnel collapses were continuously organized to help people adapt and handle all situations promptly. To strengthen the strength in the People's War situation, in addition to the strong mobile militia platoon on duty day and night on the battlefield, Kim Lien village alone had 2 platoons because it also had to protect Do Len bridge. “As predicted, on the morning of April 3, 1965, the US imperialists mobilized dozens of groups of aircraft to attack Do Len bridge with the aim of cutting off the supply route before attacking Ham Rong bridge. At that time, I was attending a meeting in the district, and immediately ran from Len station to the battlefield to command the militia platoon to fight. The entire battlefield was filled with bomb smoke, many sections of fortifications around Do Len bridge were destroyed and many soldiers were injured and sacrificed right on the artillery platform. With hatred pouring into the gun barrel, the Ha Ngoc army and people coordinated with the main force to fight extremely bravely and tenaciously to protect Do Len bridge. Despite the injuries on their bodies, Len bridge still stood firm to bring troops to support Ham Rong and the entire southern battlefield,” Mr. Sy recalled.

Less than half an hour later, dozens of American planes came to attack the Do Len bridge area for the second time. A Vietnamese air force squadron of 4 MIC 17s, commanded by comrade Pham Ngoc Lan, suddenly took off and shot down an enemy F8 plane on the spot. Below, the multi-layered anti-aircraft fire network of the Ha Trung army and militia fiercely fought back. On the first day, the American imperialists thought that with modern weapons and massive fighting, they could crush our resistance. But the Ha Trung army and people shot down 5 planes in the sky of Do Len, captured an American pilot and they had to retreat to base.

On the night of April 3, 1965, the entire Ha Trung district hardly slept. The militia forces of the communes were mobilized to the Len bridge area to fill bomb craters, dig trenches, and fortifications, to be proactive for a day that was predicted to be much more fierce. On the morning of April 4, 1965, the US mobilized hundreds of planes, frantically dropping thousands of tons of bombs and ammunition on Ham Rong, Do Len bridge and surrounding areas. Sharing the fire with Ham Rong, Ghep ferry, the army and people of Ha Trung coordinated with the main force to shoot down 7 more US planes, contributing to the downing of 30 planes on the second day of fighting in the province. Contributing to the resounding victory of the Do Len battlefield were not only the young militiamen and women "with one hand plowing, one hand shooting" along with the main force fighting the enemy on the artillery tray, mothers Nguyen Thi Tuat and Nguyen Cam in Ha Phong commune; Nguyen Thi Ha, Ho Thi Duoc, Le Thi Binh in Ha Lam commune... did not fear danger, brought food and water, went to the battlefield to visit and encourage soldiers and militia; bandaged and cared for wounded soldiers.

During the days of fighting against the destructive war of the American imperialists in the North, the army and people of Ha Trung district coordinated with the main force and the people of the districts, towns and cities in the province to shoot down 376 American planes, ensuring the "bloodline" of traffic to support the South, moving towards liberating the South and unifying the country. The heroic moments of the battles at the "coordinates" of the fire of Do Len by the young men and women of the militia "with one hand plowing, one hand shooting" Ha Trung in the past are heroic epics like legendary stories, are shining milestones of the People's War to protect the Fatherland. Do Len has now become a historical and cultural relic, and the "steel land" of Ha Trung, once bearing the wounds of war, has gradually changed and is striving to become a new rural district.

Article and photos: Tran Thanh

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