The story of the Nghe An hero who was awarded the title of Brave Soldier 14 times

Cherish the souvenirs of soldier life

Nearly 80 years old, Major Tran Kim Cau in Dinh Hung hamlet, Dinh Son commune (Anh Son) still walks steadily and is still clear-headed when talking. Especially the stories about the hardships, fierceness and bravery, the readiness to fight and sacrifice of the "fire and flower time".

He said: “I am from Cat Ngan commune, Thanh Chuong, I lost my mother at the age of 3, my family had many siblings so life was extremely difficult and deprived. When I turned 18, I applied to work at Phu Tho Tea Factory. A few years later, the US launched a fierce attack on the North. I had to volunteer three times before I was able to join the army in 1967. The reason was because I was short, small, and underweight, and did not meet the standards. I was only taken care of the third time…”

Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau with battlefield relics. Photo: Cong Kien

In contact with Hero Tran Kim Cau, we realized that he is a person who always cherishes memories of his military service, especially memories with his comrades.teammateBecause time has passed more than half a century, nearly 40 years of returning to ordinary life with many worries, he still keeps the souvenirs of his military life.

From military service examination papers, hospital discharge papers to bravery certificates, certificates of merit and medals are still kept in the drawer. The war hero's collection of memorabilia also includes the radio given to him when he was promoted to Company Commander.

The radio of Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau. Photo: Cong Kien

In the middle of the battlefield, the radio was like a friend, thanks to it he knew the news of the war everywhere, grasped the situation in the Northern rear, and heard the familiar voice of his homeland. When he left the battlefield to go to the North to recuperate, attend officer school and return home to take up a job, the radio still followed him "like a shadow". After he retired for a while, the radio gradually broke down and ended its "historical role", was carefully packed and kept by its owner, becoming a priceless souvenir of his soldier's life.

Special,HeroTran Kim Cau also has an album with dozens of black and white photos, mostly small photos taken with comrades and teammates on each step of the military journey. The album also has photos of female youth volunteers on the fiery Truong Son route and female guerrillas from the Southeast with checkered scarves and AK guns.

Photo of soldier Tran Kim Cau (right, front row) with his old teammates. Photo: NVCC

They were friends who met by chance on the march, the liaison guide or the guerrilla team members who coordinated the attack on the enemy base. Knowing that they only met briefly, the soldier from Nghe An often asked for photos to be wrapped in an album as a souvenir, so that when he went on the road to continue the battles, he would feel like his friends were always by his side...

In his spare time, Major Tran Kim Cau rummages through his soldier's memorabilia, revisiting memories of the "wartime", reliving the memories of his youth, which were difficult, fierce but glorious and heroic. Those memories are the source of motivation for the hero to continue living happily and healthily with his family, children, former comrades and neighbors.

Extraordinary feat

Talking about the People's Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau is talking about the feat of destroying enemy tanks. After nearly 7 years of "tasting bitterness and lying on thorns" in the Southeast battlefield, that soldier was awarded the title of Hero of Motor Vehicle Destruction 13 times and once was awarded the title of Hero of American Destruction. With a total of 13 tanks, more than 100 enemies were destroyed by the hands of a singlegunnerskilled, not to mention more than 10 captured guns, in 1971 Mr. Cau was awarded the noble title of Hero of the People's Liberation Armed Forces by the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, Nguyen Huu Tho.

Collection of Medals and Orders of Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Cau was short, small and light-weight, so he was rarely assigned important tasks in combat. He still remembers clearly that when he received news that the enemy was about to send tanks to sweep through residential areas, the company was assigned the task of destroying the enemy tank column on the march. The unit needed a soldier who was a party member, brave, courageous, and in good health, to stand at the forefront and use anti-tank weapons (B40 and B41).

Mr. Cau immediately volunteered, but the Company Commander encouraged him: "The war is still long, there are many battles, it will be your turn!". Not discouraged, he continued to persuade him with the "reason" that although he was small, he had carried heavy loads since childhood, went into the forest to chop wood, went down to the river to get sand, and was as fast as a squirrel... Finally, the Company Commander agreed, and the soldier from Nghe An was allowed to carry an anti-tank gun to ambush enemy tanks.

Major Tran Kim Cau was awarded the title Hero of the Armed Forces in 1971. Photo: Cong Kien

In the first battle, he and his squad quickly took over the battlefield, crawled through the fields full of thorny plants and lay down right under the old tank tracks. The enemy convoy gradually approached, the distance was within sight, after the trigger was pulled, the bullet flew into the turret and exploded, smoke and fire rose up. His teammates also continuously provided support fire, causing the enemy to flee in all directions.

Miss Hanoi Vu Thu Tra My presents a gift to Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau. Photo: Cong Kien

As a result, the unit destroyed 50 enemy tanks, and soldier Tran Kim Cau alone burned 3 of them. After the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. From then on, whenever the unit carried out the task of organizing attacks on enemy tanks, Tran Kim Cau was always trusted and assigned to the leading position. Not letting down the trust of the unit commander and his comrades, this brave soldier always performed his tasks excellently...

After hundreds of battles, Major Cau was wounded 8 times, and there were still shrapnel and bomb fragments in his head, lungs and knees, which tormented him every time the weather changed. After liberation (1975), he was assigned to work in Military Region 4, then became Deputy Commander of the Military Command of Anh Son District until his retirement (1985).

Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau has always received attention from the community and society. Photo: Cong Kien