Lesson 1: Restlessness from the sand
Every July day, the sandy region of Quang Nam seems to be restless with heroic stories.
1. The unseasonal rain in July could not stop the flow of people returning to the land that was once fiercely bombed. "Wherever you set foot on any inch of land in Quang Nam, you can hear the echoes of the past - a tragic but also very heroic past". Particularly in the homeland of the sandy areas of Quang Nam, it seems that everywhere there are "cemeteries on the sand" built in people's hearts.
There are still no statistics on underground tunnels in Quang Nam. If there were, it would still be impossible to tell how these “bases of the people’s hearts” existed. It is also difficult to believe that underground tunnels can be dug. But under the gravel layer, on top is the white sand layer of the coastal area, which once sheltered many underground lives.
“Quang land - during the war, it seems that there always existed “tunnel villages”. Tunnels were for shelter, for “troops from underground to charge up and scare away the enemy”. These were underground legends, and each story told was filled with pride in bravery and patriotism”.
In the eastern part of Quang Nam, there were people who were both good at digging and plowing, and also good at “diving deep” into the ground. They discovered that, in fact, deep under the white sand were layers of solid soil. The tunnels in Ngoc My village (Tam Phu, Tam Ky), Ky Anh tunnels (Tam Thang, Tam Ky) or Binh Tuy village tunnels (Binh Giang, Thang Binh) were the same. They were all underground tunnels, located deep under the sand.
I remember the days of 2014, when the people of Binh Giang found a tunnel system covering the entire village of Binh Tuy. “In the years 1963 - 1964, when the American invaders carried out fierce sweeps with increasing density, the trenches that the people had long used for protection could not withstand the intensity of bombs and artillery attacks, so the issue of digging tunnels running along the bamboo banks was brought up for discussion” - according to the history of the revolutionary struggle of the Party Committee and people of Binh Giang commune.
The tunnel system is more than 3km long, located more than 3m underground, dug along bamboo banks along the village road. Binh Tuy tunnel is associated with the heroic sacrifice of Armed Forces Hero Truong Thi Xang, when she rescued 300 people hiding in the tunnel when the US launched a sweep in February 1965.
The image of Mr. Truong Hoang Lam - younger brother of Armed Forces Hero Truong Thi Xang, a middle-aged man who went deep into the tunnels after they were discovered exactly 10 years ago, is still impressive to witnesses.
After 3 years of being discovered by local people, the Binh Tuy tunnel system was recognized as a provincial historical relic (in 2017). Now, in front of Mr. Lam's house is still the shrine of Armed Forces Hero Truong Thi Xang.
The tunnels are preserved to prevent subsidence. And this old man often welcomes groups of young people to come to the “red address” to hear stories about the heroic struggle history of his homeland.
2. Quang Nam - during the war, it seems that there always existed "tunnel villages". Tunnels were for shelter, for "troops from underground to charge up and scare away the enemy". These were underground legends, and each story told was filled with pride in bravery and patriotism.
Ky Anh Tunnels - the third largest underground trench in the country, during the war against America, is more special because this is a tunnel system dug in sandy land.
Mr. Huynh Kim Ta - a local resident and tour guide at the Ky Anh Tunnels National Monument once shared that, unlike Vinh Moc (Quang Tri) or Cu Chi (Ho Chi Minh City), Ky Anh Tunnels must be dug through hard soil, clay, and laterite to avoid subsidence.
People dug the tunnels entirely with manual tools and mainly human power such as hoes, shovels, crowbars and used baskets and baskets to carry the soil to another place.
The main force digging the tunnels was the army, local guerrillas, women, farmers, and teenagers. It can be seen that without unity, it is difficult to create legendary stories from the sand.
This year, the heroic commune of Binh Duong (Thang Binh) marks the 60th anniversary of its homeland's liberation (September 1964). And now the sandy land of Binh Duong has spectacularly taken on a new look.
During the years of fighting against the US, Binh Duong was a small commune full of sand and sand. The population during the war years was less than 5,000 people, but after the war, Binh Duong had 1,367 martyrs and 272 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers.
In the days after peace, Binh Duong had to start over almost from scratch. Until now, 60 years have passed, enough for the young volunteers who fought on the battlefield at that time to be either still alive or dead.
But the turnaround of this land is enough to make them proud of the heroic title that has been given to their homeland three times. Now, Binh Duong has almost become the economic driving force of Thang Binh district with advantages in location and potential.
Returning to the white sand area of Tam Thang, we no longer hear sighs for a difficult land - the outskirts of the provincial capital. It has become a fertile land for investors, with factories and enterprises springing up on the white sand area.
Not to mention, a series of eco-tourism and cultural projects on Dam River - Ky Anh Tunnels are extending the hopes of the people of this land. Tam Thang as well as the sand areas of Thang Binh, are all located in the east. New opportunities are constantly opening up in the land of the east, like a fairness of history.
During the war, the land and people of the Eastern region built “underground trenches”. Now, the grain of sand “turns around” to create a miracle of peace...
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Lesson 2: Steel land under the rain of bombs
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tro-lai-nhung-vung-dat-lua-bai-1-thao-thuc-tu-long-cat-3138357.html
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