Western Stone - close and keep

On the night of October 24, 1987, Vice Admiral (Lieutenant General) - Commander of the Navy Giap Van Cuong (in 1988 promoted to Admiral - Senior General and died in March 1990 due to a serious illness) ordered: to move to a state of high combat readiness in Truong Sa islands; Region 4, Brigade 125 ready people and vehicles to perform the task of supporting and defending the islands.

Some officers and soldiers of ship HQ-613 took souvenir photos during the Truong Sa transport trip.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

At 8:00 a.m. on October 28, 1987, ship HQ-613, captained by Captain Cao Duc Tai, carrying the island garrison frame of Brigade 146 (commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trung Cang, Deputy Brigade Commander - Chief of Staff of Brigade 146) departed from Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa) to garrison Da Tay island.

On the morning of October 30, 1987, the ship anchored at Da Tay, allowing troops to land on the island, and that afternoon, troops from Brigade 146 completed the tents and deployed defensive positions on the island. Ship HQ-613 anchored at Da Tay to protect the island.

Military transport ship on duty to protect sovereignty in Truong Sa, May 1988

PHOTO: NGUYEN VIET THAI

Vice Admiral Mai Xuan Vinh (former Commander of the Navy) recalled: "At the end of November 1987, we planned to send a fleet of ships to assemble at Da Tay and let ship HQ-727 take over, leaving ship HQ-613 to carry the survey force and then join the fleet to guard Chu Thap Shoal. The reason we chose HQ-613 was because this ship had been on duty in Truong Sa for decades."

However, this plan could not be implemented because at the end of 1987, the northeast monsoon continuously blew in, causing the sea to be very rough. Our naval ships were small, could not withstand big waves, and were also damaged unexpectedly, so it was extremely difficult to be on duty and guard the islands.

Veteran Cao Duc Tai recalls his days working in Truong Sa archipelago

PHOTO: MTH

Major Cao Duc Tai (67 years old, former captain of ship HQ-613, currently retired in Chi Linh City, Hai Duong), recalled: "Ship HQ-613 was put into service with the 125th Navy Brigade in 1967. The ship has a displacement of 590 tons, a crew of 22 people, can carry 100 m3 of water, 80 tons of oil and can operate continuously for 2-3 months at sea. The ship is equipped with 2 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns. There are only 2 private rooms (1 for the captain, 1 for information), and in reality the ship often carries more than the prescribed load and sometimes 5-6 times more people". "At that time, ship HQ-613 was the most miserable, it was small and kept running back and forth", Mr. Tai added.

On the afternoon of October 30, 1987, ship HQ-613 arrived at Da Tay, troops landed on the island to build tents to guard Da Tay, the ship anchored outside for protection. A few days later, the sea was very rough, big waves collapsed the tents, ship HQ-613 sounded the alarm, and brought troops from Da Tay island to Truong Sa Dong island for shelter.

West Rock Island Center today

PHOTO: MTH

On November 27, 1987, ship HQ-613 received orders to bring troops back and continue to guard Da Tay. However, due to large waves repeatedly washing over the island, causing unsafe conditions, the Navy ordered ship HQ-613 to temporarily bring troops away from Da Tay island, and on December 14, 1987, HQ-613 returned to Cam Ranh.

On December 28, 1987, ship HQ-604, commanded by Captain Thu, continued to transport troops and materials to Da Tay. On January 15, 1988, this force completed the level 3 house on Da Tay island, officially stabilizing the garrison.

Fairy's Mark - Le Mountain

After nearly a month of repairs, at dawn on January 23, 1988, ship HQ-613, captained by Captain Cao Duc Tai, carrying troops from Brigade 146 departed from Cam Ranh to guard Tien Nu Island. This is an island located in the easternmost part of the Truong Sa archipelago, the farthest point east of Vietnam, so the journey was nearly 400 nautical miles (more than 700 km) in very bad weather conditions, with big waves and strong winds. After 2 days of struggling, ship HQ-613 arrived at the location and the landing force practiced guarding and building level 3 houses on Tien Nu.

Naval Region 4 soldiers prepare to board a ship to Truong Sa to carry out the mission of protecting the sovereignty of the Fatherland, December 1988.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

On February 6, 1988, the engineers completed the level 3 house and handed it over to the island's soldiers. During this time, HQ-613 was on duty to protect Tien Nu and due to strong winds and waves, on February 14, the ship broke both of its anchor cables and had to return to Cam Ranh. "We were supposed to be stationed at Da Lon," Captain Cao Duc Tai said and laughed: "On the way back, our superiors sent orders to return to Da Lon beach. However, due to a loss of communication, we only found out when we arrived at the port."

At the end of February 1988, when the engineering troops deployed to build a level 3 house on Nui Le island and then handed it over to Brigade 146 for guarding, ship HQ-613, together with HQ-13, protected Nui Le island for a long time.

Building a house on Co Lin, Len Dao

In early May 1988, the Navy decided to build a second-class house and station it on Co Lin and Len Dao islands. Ship HQ-613 and other ships participated in this mission. "We determined that it was a suicide mission, because the enemy had just opened fire, sinking and burning 3 of our ships, causing many officers and soldiers to die, and their forces were densely concentrated around the battle area, both protecting their troops building Gac Ma and preventing us from stationing Co Lin and Len Dao," Major Cao Duc Tai said in a low voice.

Ship HQ-931 brought wounded soldiers and soldiers who fought in the battle on March 14, 1988 from Sinh Ton Island to Cam Ranh.

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

On June 21, 1988, ship HQ-613 departed from Cam Ranh, carrying all the forces and materials to build level 2 houses in Co Lin, Len Dao. Around noon on June 23, ship HQ-613 arrived at Sinh Ton island amid the anxiety of superiors.

At noon on June 25, 1988, soldiers of ship HQ-613 quickly pulled up the iron frame of the house, construction materials and transferred the frame of officers and soldiers of the 83rd Engineer Regiment... to ship HQ-706 to start building a level 2 house in Len Dao.

Memorial service for martyrs who died on March 14, 1988 while on duty to protect sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago

PHOTO: DOCUMENT

Two days later, to avoid being tracked by Chinese ships and create an element of surprise, on the evening of June 27, 1988, the crew of ship HQ-613 coordinated forces to secretly move the engineering frame of Regiment 83 (commanded by Captain Nguyen Van Tuan) along with the iron frame, construction materials... from HQ-613 to HQ-965, bringing them to the island to build a level 2 house in Co Lin.

"If we did not use the plan of using HQ-613 to transport the entire house frame, materials, and engineers from Cam Ranh and then secretly transfer them to other smaller ships, we would have had a very hard time successfully defending Len Dao (July 7, 1988) and Co Lin (July 10, 1988)," Vice Admiral Mai Xuan Vinh said about one of the tactics to build and protect the island.

On May 7, 1988, at the ceremony to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the Navy, held on Truong Sa Island, General Le Duc Anh (then a member of the Politburo and Minister of National Defense) swore: "We swear before the souls of our ancestors, before the souls of the officers and soldiers who sacrificed for the Fatherland, we promise to the people of the whole country, and we tell future generations: We are determined to protect our beloved Fatherland, to protect the Truong Sa archipelago - a part of the sacred territory and territorial waters of our beloved Fatherland."

PHOTO: NGUYEN VIET THAI

If the enemy opens fire, we will resolutely fight back.

At the end of March 1988, I led a delegation of cadres to visit the soldiers of Truong Sa islands, traveling on ship HQ-613 captained by Captain Cao Duc Tai. The first destination was Song Tu Tay island, then Son Ca, Nam Yet, Sinh Ton... and stopped at ship HQ-505 in Co Lin, to visit and encourage the soldiers who were guarding the island and check the current status of the ship, after being attacked by China.

When HQ-613 left Sinh Ton Dong Island for Phan Vinh, I ordered the ship to inspect Ba Dau Reef, verifying whether foreign countries had placed sovereignty markers there or not. After finishing, I saw a Chinese missile destroyer approaching our ship at very high speed. I spoke loudly over the internal loudspeaker system: "Maintain the same direction and speed. Everyone stay calm. We have no provocative actions, but if the enemy jumps onto our ship, we will resolutely fight back with infantry weapons."

The enemy ship continued to move towards our ship at high speed. After following our ship for about 5 nautical miles, the enemy ship gradually changed direction and faded away…

Vice Admiral Mai Xuan Vinh , former Commander of the Navy

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-con-tau-giu-dao-huyen-thoai-hq-613-185250313194636535.htm