37 years of Gac Ma incident: 'Seeing father's shadow in the sea and sky of Truong Sa'

In the middle of Truong Sa sea and sky, he felt the image of his father - martyr Nguyen Dinh Doan, who sacrificed himself while defending Gac Ma island with his comrades in 1988, by his side.

In 1985, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Doan married Ms. Pham Thi Dien. After living together for a while, in 1988 he joined the army, assigned to Regiment 83, Navy Command. He told his wife to remember to name their child Nguyen Dinh The.

During the Lunar New Year of 1988, the unit gave Mr. Doan leave to visit his family. At that time, the situation in the East Sea was so tense that before his leave was over, he was ordered to return to the unit, preparing to board a ship to Truong Sa. And then he sacrificed himself while defending Gac Ma Island with his comrades in 1988. At that time, The was just 2 years old. On the day his father sacrificed himself, The's grandmother, Tran Thi Dac, cried her eyes out, mourning her son. Many late nights, he woke up to see her burning incense on his father's altar and silently standing there watching.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The said that his grandmother passed away more than a year ago. Her wish was to visit the place where her son died and find his remains, but this wish did not come true. Now, the wind grave of martyr Nguyen Dinh Doan is still in the family cemetery.

Due to circumstances, his mother did not live with him, so The returned to live with his grandparents. As the years passed, he learned about his father through his grandparents' stories. The 37th anniversary of the Gac Ma incident, which was also the 37th anniversary of his father's death, was approaching. The prepared the altar, cleaned his father's portrait, and lit incense sticks to remember his father.

“During Tet 1988, my father came back to the village and carried me around the village. After Tet, he went to the island and died on March 14, which is the 27th day of the first lunar month. At that time, I was still young and didn’t know anything, but I still felt my father’s love. When I grew up, I heard my grandparents and neighbors tell me about it,” said Mr. The.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The said that when his grandmother was still alive, she always reminded him to visit his father once if he had the chance. His grandmother's message was also Mr. The's biggest dream in life. Luckily, in April 2024, Mr. The was able to join the Quang Binh province delegation to visit Truong Sa archipelago exactly 100 days after his grandmother passed away. He was sad because his grandmother was no longer alive to help him realize his dream. Mr. The participated in the voyage of ship 561 of Navy Region 4 to Truong Sa.

On the afternoon of May 22, 2024, ship 561 anchored in the middle of the sea of ​​Co Lin, Len Dao, and Gac Ma islands. All those on board held an incense offering ceremony and dropped flowers to commemorate the heroic martyrs, remembering the Gac Ma incident on March 14, 1988.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The recalled that at that time, before the spirit of his father and his father's comrades, he softly said: "Dad, I have finally come to you. My grandfather's and my father's dream has now come true. Father and his comrades rest in peace with the beloved sea and islands. I can feel my father's image blending into the sky and sea of ​​Truong Sa." Mr. The also promised his father that he would wholeheartedly uphold the trust his father had given him, and forge his will and determination to overcome all difficulties and hardships, contributing to building his homeland.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The was moved. At that moment, he silently watched the paper cranes and flower branches released from ship 561 drifting gently towards the horizon and thought about his father.

“When I got close to Gac Ma Island, I felt very emotional, sad, speechless and somewhat sad. At that time, I wished that this was the place where my father fought and sacrificed, his soul felt that I was coming here, my father is always in my mind”, Mr. The shared.