50 years have passed, the soldiers of Company 9, Battalion 9, Regiment 18, Division 325, Corps 2 (now Corps 12) in the attached formation, sitting on 12 armored vehicles of Company 3, Battalion 5, Brigade 203, Corps 2 still cannot forget the feeling of honor and pride to participate in the final strategic battle to liberate Saigon and unify the country.

Veterans of Company 9, Battalion 9, Regiment 18, Division 325 at the traditional meeting in 2016. Photo provided by the author

The lightning-fast journey of our Company 9 troops along the coastal area to the Independence Palace was filled with fierce battles with bombs and bullets and the heroic sacrifices of our comrades. When we left the 560 Southwest Hue Hill in March 1975, Company 9 had only 27 men left.

Next, to prepare for the Saigon-Gia Dinh Liberation Campaign, right in Da Nang City, the Company was supplemented with Hanoi soldiers, and at the same time, the company's cadres were reinforced, weapons and ammunition were added to prepare to attack Saigon.

On the afternoon of April 17, 1975, Company 9 was assigned by its superiors to reinforce Company 3, Battalion 5, Brigade 203 to carry out deep penetration operations to liberate the provinces along Highway 1.

On the night of April 18, on the way to attack Phan Thiet at Phu Long bridgehead, one of our armored vehicles was shot and burned, political commissar Them was seriously injured, and liaison soldier Gian was sacrificed, but we fought tenaciously with tanks to destroy enemy resistance nests, captured Phu Long bridge, creating conditions for Regiment 18 and the following units to continue to develop the attack.

Also here, the Company directly liberated Phan Thiet prison, hundreds of revolutionary soldiers were freed.

On April 22, the Company and tanks attacked the enemy in Ham Tan town, burning an aircraft preparing to take off. In this battle, comrade Dan (from Quang Ngai), Deputy Company Commander, heroically sacrificed himself while attacking Ham Tan airport. In the tank formation of Brigade 203, the unit attacked Nuoc Trong base, passed through Thai Lan intersection, Vung Tau intersection, preparing to enter and liberate Saigon.

At 6:00 a.m. on April 30, 1975, with the tank formation, the Company was present at Vung Tau intersection, advancing through Dong Nai bridge, Rach Chiec bridge, through enemy obstacles, crossing Saigon bridge, Thi Nghe bridge, advancing along Red Cross Road (now Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street).

At noon on April 30, 1975, the entire formation of the Company along with tanks of the 203rd Brigade arrived at the Independence Palace along with friendly units. While organizing a search, comrade Nguyen Van Thinh (from My Hao, Hung Yen) collected a pen that signed the Paris Agreement with the name of Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam engraved on it. The Company then handed over the pen to the corps.

After capturing the Independence Palace, together with friendly units, officers and soldiers of Company 9 were assigned to protect the target and control all enemy actions. Afterwards, the Company was awarded the Third Class Liberation Military Exploit Medal.

Colonel DINH QUANG THIN, former Captain of Company 9, Battalion 9, Regiment 18, Division 325