The story of artillery fragments following a veteran who fought against Pol Pot for 40 years

This year, 60 years old, Mr. Ha Giang, Lien Dinh village, Chi Khe commune, Con Cuong (Nghe An) is still quite strong. The old farmer who fought in the Southwestern border war (1978-1979) is still proud that despite his age, his health is still "A1 class" like when he joined the army in 1977.

The boy who once had the strength to wrestle a bull is now a 4/4 class disabled soldier.

At the age of 19, Ha Giang went from being a village elder to joining the army. After 3 months of training in Tan Ky district, he joined his unit at Ba Den mountain (Tay Ninh) under Company 10, Regiment 977, Division 31, Army Corps 3.

Mr. Ha Giang with a war relic, a piece of shrapnel that "resides" in his body for 15 years. Photo: Huu Vi

At that time, in mid-1978, the Khmer Rouge army committed a genocide massacre against the people in the border area of ​​Tay Ninh and Kien Giang. As soon as he arrived at the military transfer site, he had to directly dig a grave to bury a family of 7 people who were executed, including a pregnant woman. The fetus was also buried in a separate grave. That was the first time that the mountain brother, who had just turned 20 and had 1 year of military service, witnessed such a tragic situation. After that, students at a school near where he was stationed were massacred. That day was also the day Ha Giang and his comrades entered the first battle of their military life. He remembers it was the battle at Xa Mat border gate (Tay Ninh) and then liberating the border line of Tri Ton district, An Giang province.

The battle he remembers most was at Hill 105 in Cambodia. There his company was surrounded for 7 days. During the siege, he was given a B41. On the fiercest day of fighting, he fired 21 B41 mortar rounds in an hour. In that same battle, he was the only survivor of his platoon of 32 men. After a night of fighting the Khmer Rouge, he hid in a dry well. Later, thanks to the shovel that was always with the soldier, he escaped the well and returned to his unit.

Most of his comrades were killed, and Ha Giang was forced to abandon his position and return to a combat unit in another platoon. During the climax of the battle a few days later, he suffered 18 wounds from cluster shell fragments.

Not long after that, due to injuries, in early 1980, Mr. Giang was demobilized and returned to his village. The injuries did not prevent him from making a living as a mountain forest worker. To support his wife and 5 children, he had to go into the forest to cut wood. In 1994, he suffered a wound in his armpit that bled for a long time. Doctors at Chi Khe medical station examined him and discovered a piece of shrapnel left in his armpit that was about to fall out. The doctors immediately helped him remove the shrapnel that had “reside” in his body for 15 years.

In addition to this 0.8X1cm "friend", Mr. Giang has another piece in his lung. Photo: Huu Vi

In 1997, he felt pain in his left chest, so he went to the hospital for an X-ray and discovered another piece of shrapnel lodged in his lung. “I didn’t feel my health was affected much, so I didn’t have surgery because I was afraid that after the surgery I would be sicker than without the surgery. So I just kept company with it,” he said humorously.

The piece of shrapnel that unexpectedly appeared more than 20 years ago is still carefully kept in a wooden box by him. He said this is a souvenir to pass on to his children and grandchildren so that the next generation will never forget the time of sacrifice of the veterans fighting against the Pol Pot genocidal regime.