Evidence in the lake
Peace was restored and the country was completely unified. In 1976, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province started construction of Ke Go Lake. Ke Go Lake is part of Ke Go Nature Reserve, spread over 3 districts of Cam Xuyen, Ky Anh, Huong Khe (Ha Tinh) and extending to Quang Binh province.
The lake is nearly 30km long, including 01 main dam and 10 auxiliary dams with a capacity of over 300 million m³ of water, providing irrigation water for agriculture and daily life, preventing flash floods and erosion for the downstream area. After 3 years of construction, Ke Go Lake officially filled with water.
Panoramic view of Ke Go Lake during the water discharge season.
After the reservoir was filled with water and put into operation, LiBi airport became even more isolated from the outside world, accessible only by boat. And from here, the fierce battlefield of the past with many historical evidences has forever remained in the lake. However, the runways, bomb craters here… are still intact, historical evidence for the existence of a field airport – where dozens of martyrs sacrificed their lives.
According to Mr. Nguyen Phi Cong, Deputy Director of the Management Board of Ke Go Nature Reserve, currently, about 25km of Route 22 lies at the bottom of Ke Go Lake. The land at LiBi airport has many unexplained sacred things.
Mr. Cong found the list of 30 youth volunteers and 32 martyrs who died on strategic route 22.
After 10 years, Mr. Cong quietly searched and connected, met many witnesses, and temporarily obtained a list of 30 youth volunteers and 32 martyrs who sacrificed at this front, including the full identities of the martyrs who sacrificed in the January 7, 1973 raid at LiBi airport.
Over the years, the Management Board of Ke Go Nature Reserve has longed to have the conditions to rebuild the temple so that the tribute to the heroic martyrs would be more complete and solemn, worthy of the historical stature as well as the tragic nature of this special battlefield.
Remembering LiBi
To commemorate and pay tribute to the heroes, martyrs, and youth volunteers who sacrificed their lives at Ke Go Lake, the Management Board of Ke Go Nature Reserve has conducted a survey of the current status and made a preliminary design of the memorial area with the main structure including the main temple and auxiliary works, expected to be built on the basis of expanding the area and keeping the existing temple intact.
This is a project implemented in the form of socialization, started on July 18, 2022 with the goal of building a temple and memorial area for heroic martyrs and youth volunteers who sacrificed at the Ke Go Lake front in the past.
The temple to honor heroes and martyrs at Ke Go Lake was inaugurated on August 27.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Ninh, Director of Ke Go Nature Reserve Management Board, said that this is a spiritual project, initiated, managed and operated by the Management Board on the basis of support and cooperation from a number of organizations and individuals across the country, supporting construction costs.
During the construction of the temple, the leaders of the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province and departments, leaders of agencies and military units have always cared for and encouraged the project management board with the wish that the project will be completed soon as planned.
One of the biggest difficulties was that the project was carried out in the lake area, there were no roads, all transportation had to be done by boat. The weather was also unfavorable, with erratic rain and sunshine, causing many interruptions in the construction work. However, with determination, after more than a year of construction, the temple has now been completed and inaugurated on August 27. This will be a special spiritual and ecological destination in Ha Tinh.
Leaders of the Provincial People's Committee and agencies and organizations offered incense at the Temple of Heroes and Martyrs at Ke Go Lake.
“What we are most concerned about is that the temple is located in the middle of the lake, and we have to travel by boat to get there, while there is currently no boat dock or transportation service so that people can travel and visit safely and conveniently,” Nguyen Phi Cong, Deputy Director of Ke Go Nature Reserve Management Board, worried.
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