Living on rocks to fight the enemy
After a journey of hundreds of kilometers with steep and winding mountain passes, we arrived in Ha Giang - the land at the head of the Fatherland. Nearly 4 decades ago, bombs and bullets rained down here, countless heroes and martyrs lay down their lives to protect every inch of sacred land in the fight to protect the northern border.
Located next to Highway 2, Vi Xuyen National Martyrs Cemetery is nestled against the Tay Con Linh mountain range, facing the historic Lo River. This is the resting place of more than 1,800 heroes and martyrs, including more than 100 natives of Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho. It is also a symbol of the indomitable vitality of the people of the ethnic groups on the land of Ha Giang.
The Vi Xuyen Front was a fierce battlefield against the invaders, especially in the period from 1984 to 1989, with hundreds of fierce battles taking place. Many cadres and soldiers from all over the country and our people sacrificed their lives on this land. This was the largest-scale war of aggression since Vietnam defeated the US imperialists.
At its most intense, in just 3 days, the Chinese side fired more than 100,000 artillery shells from the Vi Xuyen area to Ha Giang town. In 5 years, China fired more than 1.8 million artillery shells at the Vi Xuyen front.
On the sacred "motherland", our troops clung to every high point, every rock, every inch of land. There were hills where dozens of battles were fought back and forth between us and the enemy. There was not a single stone, not a single meter of land in Vi Xuyen that was not soaked with the blood of Vietnamese soldiers. Thousands of soldiers fell or left a part of their body in the deep forests and mountains.
One of the fiercest battles of the border protection campaign took place on July 12, 1984. Due to many different reasons, especially the large difference in troop numbers between us and the enemy and the complex terrain, in just one day, our side lost 600 soldiers. Division 356 suffered great losses, so later, veterans took July 12 every year as the division's death anniversary.
After the end of this war, we measured and found that there was a mountain that was blown away by more than 3m. It was so fierce that our comrades called it the “lime kiln of the century”. In which, many battles to gain and defend land between our army and people took place extremely fiercely on the high points of 1509, 1100, 772, 685, Doi Dai, Co Ich... we destroyed and injured tens of thousands of Chinese troops, forcing them to withdraw to the other side of the border.
The victory was glorious but our losses were also enormous. More than 4,000 cadres, soldiers and people heroically sacrificed themselves, most of whom were only 20 years old. Thousands of people were injured, hundreds of villages were wiped out. Thousands of hectares of fields, hills and mountains were plowed, full of bombs, mines, explosives... Up to now, there are still thousands of martyrs scattered across the Vi Xuyen battlefield whose remains we have not found, many martyrs' graves have no names in the cemetery...
Not only did Ha Giang province suffer great losses with 4,000 soldiers sacrificed and more than 9,000 officers and soldiers injured, but Ha Giang province alone mobilized tens of thousands of frontline workers and more than 20,000 lowland militiamen to participate in digging and building tens of thousands of meters of trenches, roads, providing food and provisions... to build the defense line. Therefore, it was a victory of determination to maintain border sovereignty. History does not forget, cannot forget and no one is allowed to forget.
And today, our generation can feel the heroic and sorrowful symbol of the indomitable spirit of national defense of the Vietnamese people from the Memorial House honoring the heroes and martyrs of the entire Vi Xuyen front; the Temple of the heroes and martyrs of the Vi Xuyen front at high point 468 - where you can look to high points 772, 685 and look towards high point 1509, the demarcation point of the Vietnam - China border.
Looking at the green mountain peak looming among the layers of drifting white clouds, many veterans choked up as they shared about their comrades who lived clinging to the rocky mountain, hiding in the rocks, turning to stone when they died, resting peacefully among the white clouds for thousands of years, but they will also be like the hearts of the Vietnamese people, an immortal stone wall, blocking the enemy's steps.
Death to stone
These days of July, the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs Cemetery is always filled with the scent of incense. Coming to this sacred place in the remote border region, there are veterans visiting the graves of their comrades, wives visiting their husbands' graves, children visiting their fathers' graves, and groups of visitors from all over the country wishing to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed for the Fatherland, and remember their compatriots who fell to enemy artillery.
Placing a bouquet of fresh flowers and burning incense sticks in front of the National Monument to Honor the Heroes and Martyrs, on behalf of the Vinh Phuc Delegation, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Thi Thuy Lan expressed her respect to those who did not spare their blood and bones, dedicating their youth to the independence and freedom of the nation. "Living on rocks to fight the enemy, dying to become immortal stones", the heroes and martyrs in Vi Xuyen wrote brilliant golden pages of history, illuminating the way for future generations to follow.
It is worth mentioning that the spirit and will of those who sacrificed here have always lived and will live forever with the love of their compatriots and comrades. Although they did not say it, the members of the delegation all felt that "That is the eternal, immortal and also the truth, the reason for living that no force can subdue. Therefore, we will forever remember and be eternally grateful for that great sacrifice".
Today’s beautiful frontier is not only the place where thousands of young people in their twenties across the country put aside their youth to live for their ideals, for their country, and to protect every inch of their homeland. Even in times of peace, that spirit remains immortal. More than 40 years have passed, and today’s young generation continues that cause. On this land, young soldiers still firmly hold their guns and fight with the spirit of “not retreating an inch of land”.
And then every time we return to the sacred place of Vi Xuyen border, those heroic and tragic relics always remind each of us of the border sovereignty, of the territory left by our ancestors for thousands of years; remind each Vietnamese citizen of peace, independence, freedom, and self-reliance!
Thieu Vu
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