The War to Protect the Northern Border of the Fatherland Cannot Be Forgotten

The war to protect the northern border of the Fatherland has been over for 45 years. However, the memories of many veterans about the battles at the Vi Xuyen front in Ha Giang province are still deeply imprinted in their hearts.

Pondering as he recalls the days from enlistment to marching and fighting on the northern front, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, a soldier of the 356th Division who fought on the Vi Xuyen front, said that the period from 1984 to 1985 will be memories that will last forever in his life. Many years have passed, but in his dreams, he still sees himself marching with his comrades, as well as fighting on the battlefield.

"When I returned from the war, I went back to work as usual. I was also a speck of dust in the sacrifice of my comrades and teammates. The most troubling thing is that many of my brothers sacrificed their lives but their graves have not been collected yet. That is the biggest concern," said Mr. Phuong.

Enlistment, marching and war

Mr. Phuong said he joined the army in 1983 when he was only 19 years old. At that time, the commune where he lived had 70 young men joining the army. After a period of training in Hoang Lien Son province (formerly Hoang Lien Son province was the merger of Lao Cai, Yen Bai provinces and Mu Cang Chai, Van Chan, Tram Tau, Than Uyen districts), Mr. Phuong was assigned to go "North".

Remembering clearly the day he witnessed his comrade from Thanh Son, Phu Tho, sacrifice himself first, Mr. Phuong said he and his comrades had never experienced such emotions.

"I think he seemed to have a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him. When he died, we opened our backpacks and found a letter that had been written. A letter that was glued crosswise, and had been rubbed with charcoal so that it was black.

None of us had the courage to open it and read it. The letter was sent downstream afterwards," Mr. Phuong's voice dropped. Leaving behind his comrade whose name he had not yet learned, Mr. Phuong and his unit continued the war with battles. He choked up as he recalled July 12, 1984, the day he witnessed many more sacrifices.

"That day, the battalion fought. Company 1 fought the main force, Company 2 was next to Company 1, I was in Company 3 next to Company 2. At the end of the battle, Company 1 was almost completely sacrificed."

Suicide Squad and Eulogy Before Battle

The story seemed to be getting quiet when Mr. Phuong's eyes suddenly lit up, his voice became stronger as he told about a unit called "Suicide Platoon".

"After the fierce battle in July 1984, we continued to defend there until August when we received a special mission. I and about 30 other comrades were assigned to the "Suicide Platoon" to carry out a special mission. The mission was so special that a battalion commander was sent down to be the platoon leader. And when marching, everyone did not wear their insignia to ensure secrecy. At that time, we were preparing to fight a battle close to Tet 1984."

Mr. Phuong said his platoon was tasked with infiltrating deep and setting up a position to attract fire. Meanwhile, another unit dug a trench and advanced deep to open a second attack.

"Before entering the battle, a deputy battalion commander in charge of political affairs read a eulogy for all members of the platoon," Mr. Phuong recalled the moment before the "Suicide Platoon" marched to carry out a special mission.

Answering my question about whether he was afraid to hear the eulogy for his entire platoon before the battle, Mr. Phuong smiled and then said slowly: "My father was a soldier in the resistance war against the French. When he participated in the battle, he received many medals from the State. Before leaving, he told me to try to complete my mission. I told myself, I have to follow his example, I have to go into battle, carefree." During the march to the battle, Mr. Phuong said that he met a very special person.

"While marching, I met a soldier. Because no one wore military ranks, I didn't know who was a soldier and who was a superior. Later, I learned that the soldier was General Hoang Dan. That general told me something that I will never forget. That is, in battle, people have their fate, so just go because even if you want to avoid it, you can't."

3 months without brushing teeth, without haircut, without shaving, without haircut, without food

Deep into the battlefield, Mr. Phuong's "Suicide Squad" was divided into small groups, each group of 3-7 people were assigned to positions 25-30m apart as the crow flies. Each person in the group was assigned to a position in a crevice or cliff.

According to Mr. Phuong, these were the most fierce days of his military career. Every day, he and his comrades became the "targets" of fire. The artillery shells rained down daily to the point that an entire hill of rocks turned to lime.

3 months of holding out to distract the enemy, creating conditions for other units to attack, on the steep cliffs were the "5 no" days for Mr. Phuong and his teammates: no brushing teeth, no haircut, no shaving, no changing clothes, no food.

Under fire, supplies were extremely difficult, especially drinking water. Drinking water supplies were stored in hammocks hidden in crevices in rocks and only used when absolutely necessary. Mr. Phuong said that for 3 months, he did not brush his teeth, did not wash his face, and even had to drink mouthwash to save money.

"The clothes I wore before the battle were still the same when I received the order to withdraw," the former Ha Giang soldier recalled. During these 3 months, he did not have a single meal as the only food he received was dry rations and dried rice. In addition to the wounded and those who died and were transferred out, many of Mr. Phuong's comrades had to leave the front because their health could not withstand the difficult fighting conditions.

"You know, the best thing about being ordered to withdraw is that I can have a cooked meal and stretch my legs while I sleep."

Live on stone, die turn to stone, become immortal

After completing his special mission and going through several other battles, Mr. Phuong was ordered to be discharged from the army in 1986. Quietly taking the train back at night, Mr. Phuong said that when he got off at Hanoi Station, everything was like in another world.

A peaceful life and meeting relatives again made the soldier who was not afraid to rush into battle burst into tears. He said that when he got home, he found out that his whole family had burned incense for him because he had not received any news for a whole year.

Talking about life after the army, Mr. Phuong said that after leaving the army, he returned and went to work like everyone else, so many years after the war at the Vi Xuyen front, not many people knew that he had been a soldier.

Mr. Phuong showed me his military resume, which he treasured like a treasure. The resume was only a few pages long, handwritten, the ink faded, simple as could not be simpler, but I could see Mr. Phuong's pride as he turned each page.

His voice suddenly dropped when talking about his fallen comrades. Mr. Phuong said the biggest pain he and the Vi Xuyen soldiers are feeling right now is that there are still many fallen comrades who have not been able to be reunited.

He said that during the trip to Vi Xuyen, Ha Giang that he mentioned at the beginning, the group found 6 sets of remains but all of them could not be identified.

"They were all found in the rocky crevices. When they were injured, no one helped them. Our teammates tried to crawl into the rocky crevices. When they couldn't take it anymore, they sacrificed themselves there," said Mr. Phuong.

The war has been over for 45 years, but this country, this nation, as well as all Vietnamese people will never forget the sacrifice of Mr. Phuong as well as those who shed blood for this country. We will never forget!

There is a soldier

That autumn left from the poor thatched roof

There is a soldier

That spring left and never returned.

His name is engraved in the mountain stone

Thousands of clouds turn into shade trees

Afternoon on the border, white sky and mountain mist

The old mother looked on with tired eyes.

Vietnam! Vietnam!

The mountains are as high as a mother's love, her hair turns white all year round, her love for her child grows.

Vietnam! Vietnam!

The mountain where he fell