Special Mission

In a house on Da Nang Street, Dong Hai 1 Ward (Hai An, Hai Phong ), Mr. Dao Manh Hong recalled: The order to liberate Truong Sa came to us exactly half a day before the ship weighed anchor. At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Mai Nang, Commander of the 126th Naval Special Forces Regiment, was assigned by his superiors to be the Commander of the force to liberate Truong Sa. The command post was located on Ship 675 of the "Ship without number" squadron, including ships 673, 674, 675 of Group 125.

Song Tu Tay Island was chosen as the first liberated area. At 5:00 p.m. on April 13, 1975, the fleet approached Song Tu Tay Island. Regiment Commander Mai Nang ordered Ship 673 to circle near the island for reconnaissance. After that, the fleet moved away from the island, preparing to execute the combat plan. “Mr. Mai Nang decided to choose my Squad 1 to fight the opening battle. Squad 1 consisted of 3 combat groups under my direct command. Squad 1 was led by comrade Nguyen Si Niem from Thanh Hoa, Squad 2 was led by comrade Nguyen Thanh Binh from Nghe An, Squad 3 was led by comrade Nguyen Duc Thong from Nam Dinh... This was the 16th battle in my military career, but it was the first battle in which we fought the enemy on an island far from shore, while we did not know the enemy's forces and defenses on the island. Our difficulty was that the unit had no precedent for capturing an island. The water commandos mainly fought bridges, ships, and warehouses along the ports, rivers, and lakes, but had no experience fighting on remote islands. On top of that, throughout the journey to the island, the soldiers had to lie in the ship's cargo hold, which was stuffy and made them seasick. Many people vomited bile and were drunk, but when they received the mission to drop troops on the island, they were as sober as flutes,” Mr. Dao Manh Hong recalled.

Veteran Dao Manh Hong (left) and the author in Hai Phong City, April 2025. Photo: HAI NINH

At 7:00 p.m. on April 13, 1975, Ship 673 carrying Squad 1 consisting of 25 soldiers approached the island. The enemy on the island fired warning flares to chase them away, Ship 673 retreated and drifted. Ship 674 (carrying Squad 2) and Ship 675 (carrying Squad 3) maneuvered to the north and south of the island, ready to provide support. “At 1 a.m. on April 14, Ship 673 turned off its lights and approached the island. The ship’s commander, an experienced sailor, cleverly took advantage of the rising tide to steer the ship to the most advantageous position for the commando force to approach. When the ship was about 5km from the island, the commando unit boarded 3 boats and headed towards the target. When they were about 3km from the island, they were ordered to leave the boats and swim tactically. After 3 hours of struggling with the waves, all 3 commando teams of Squad 1 were able to approach the targets and key positions on the island...”, said Mr. Dao Manh Hong.

The decisive minutes

At 4:30 a.m. on April 14, 1975, the teams of Squad 1 had taken up positions ready to fire at the enemy, but they waited for a long time but still did not hear the sound of the DKZ gun fired by comrade Nguyen Ngoc Que, the commander of the battle, as agreed. At this time, Squad Leader Dao Manh Hong decided to order soldier Le Minh Duc to fire 3 B41 shots at the antenna of the island's command center, and this was also the order for a simultaneous attack of the battle. The 3 combat teams suddenly charged forward, simultaneously launching handguns and grenades at the enemy bunkers. In the first minute of fighting, our troops controlled the 3 bunkers at the bridgehead.

“The first 15 minutes, the battle was very fierce. The enemy fired fiercely from inside the fortifications and houses. Coordinating with the special forces fighting on the island, Captain of Ship 673 Nguyen Xuan Thom also commanded the ship to fire support. After more than 30 minutes of fighting, facing our attack accompanied by loudspeakers calling for surrender, the enemy had to retreat and gather to the southwest of the island. At 5:15 a.m. on April 14, we completely controlled Song Tu Tay Island. Of the 39 enemy on the island, 6 were killed and 7 were wounded. One of our soldiers died on the island, and another died on the way back to the mainland. The person who died on the island was Corporal Tong Van Quang, from Dong Hy district, Bac Thai province (now Thai Nguyen province), a soldier of Regiment 38, Division 2 (Military Region 5) who was reinforced for the 126th Naval Special Forces Regiment to liberate Truong Sa. We buried martyr Quang right on Song Tu Tay Island and then fired a gun to say goodbye to his comrades. The second martyr was Corporal Ngo Van Quyen of the 126th Naval Special Forces Regiment, from Hai Phong. While pursuing the enemy, Quyen was shot in the stomach but still tried to continue fighting. The next day, there was a ship carrying prisoners back to the mainland, I decided to bring Quyen ashore to treat his wound. When I carried Quyen onto the boat to the ship, I hugged Quyen and cried, promising to fight together when we entered Saigon. Later, when I returned to the mainland, I learned that Quyen had sacrificed himself before the ship could dock. That year, Quyen was just 20 years old...", Mr. Dao Manh Hong sadly recounted.

While all three ships were on the mainland awaiting orders to carry out their missions, the officers and soldiers participating in the island liberation were assigned to stay behind to defend and protect Song Tu Tay Island. According to Mr. Dao Manh Hong, the island faced many difficulties and shortages at that time. The main food was boiled bird eggs with homemade salt and dry rations, dried rice brought along; vegetables were only picked from wild plants to boil. All the soldiers were starving. The weather was harsh, sunny during the day, rainy and windy at night, almost like storms and tornadoes. Despite the hardship, the soldiers were highly vigilant, taking turns patrolling and guarding the island. One day, two wooden ships without flags crept close to the island, but when they saw our flag and the tight defense, especially the naval commandos who were still setting up decoy positions, the strange ships turned away on their own.

Colonel TO HAI NAM (former Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Navy Newspaper)

* Readers are invited to visit the 50th Anniversary of the Great Victory of Spring 1975 section to see related news and articles.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/giai-phong-truong-sa-ky-uc-cua-nguoi-trong-cuoc-251350.html