Have a July Journey

(Baonghean) - Every year, when July comes, generations of Vietnamese people make a pilgrimage to their roots to express their admiration and gratitude to the previous generations. On the occasion of the 68th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day this year, Nghe An Newspaper organized an extremely meaningful journey.

From Con Dao - "hell on earth"...

The plane landed on the runway of Con Dao Airport on a windy afternoon. The local tour guide who welcomed us at the airport told us: “Today the weather is windy and the sea is rough. Normally the sea in Con Dao is very calm and peaceful”. Without anyone saying anything, everyone felt their hearts calm down when setting foot on the land of history, of blood and tears. The sea in Con Dao this afternoon was stormy, or did memories of years past come flooding back…

View of Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery (Quang Tri). Photo: tl

The road connecting Con Dao Airport to the center is a unique road, rarely do you see a few or three houses hidden in the green of the casuarinas. On one side is the sea, on the other side are the mountains, the road seems to stretch on forever, winding into the distance. In the past, this place was the village established by Lord Nguyen Anh when he was hiding from the Tay Son army. Until now, the traces that the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty left behind are the names given to the village, the hamlet, and a temple to worship Mrs. Hoang Phi Yen, the wife of Lord Nguyen Anh. She is also one of the two women worshiped by the islanders. And "the second person is Miss Sau, namely Miss Vo Thi Sau, the girl associated with the season of the pear blossoms and the immortal, steadfast youth". Notice that right next to the driver's steering wheel, there is a small photo of Miss Sau placed solemnly. That is the way the people living on this island show their respect and gratitude to the heroine.

The Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper offers flowers to the graves of martyrs at the Dong Loc T-junction National Historic Site (Ha Tinh). Photo: D.T.

Con Dao is an archipelago of 16 large and small islands, but the name Con Dao is also used to refer to the largest island and the only inhabited island. Of the remaining 15 islands, only one has fresh water, the rest are rocky islands with only a few typical animals such as sea turtles, dugongs, and swiftlets that come to live or visit at certain times... The car passed Hang Duong Cemetery, the tour guide said that this place used to be the place where the enemy executed soldiers and patriots imprisoned on the island. Called a cemetery, but the luckiest people were only put in two sacks and buried roughly, the rest were buried en masse or thrown into the sea. Later, when the remains were collected at the planned and renovated cemetery, only a very few of the 10,000 people who were killed were found.

Among the countless graves - the resting place of revolutionary soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the 113 years of operation of this largest prison system in Indochina, there is the grave of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Le Hong Phong - the son of the revolutionary land of Hung Nguyen (Nghe An). Imprisoned in Con Dao, exiled under the cruel torture of the enemy, sent to the hard labor prisons to isolate him from the Con Dao political prisoner organization, he still wrote poems about the prospect of the country's liberation, spreading his belief and revolutionary will to his fellow prisoners; that belief was sent back to his fellow prisoners in the prison in his last words before his sacrifice on September 6, 1942: "Hello, all comrades. Please tell the Party that, until the last moment, Le Hong Phong still believed in the glorious victory of the revolution".

Delegation of Nghe An Newspaper officials listen to explanation at the Tiger Cage relic (Con Dao). Photo: Thuc Anh

A patriot whose ideology still lives on and spreads to this day, who also died in Con Dao, is the revolutionary Nguyen An Ninh. Graduated with a bachelor's degree in Law in France, Nguyen An Ninh spread his knowledge, ideology, and thinking to generations of the masses, especially the youth. As one of the three great revolutionary activists of the early 20th century along with comrades Nguyen Ai Quoc and Nguyen The Truyen, he pursued the ideal of protecting culture, which is also protecting national sovereignty. He was also one of the pioneers of revolutionary journalism with the newspaper "Chuong re", published in French and advocating criticism and attack of the colonial regime.

Respectfully bowing and lighting incense before the graves of those heroic soldiers, the delegation of Nghe An Newspaper could not help but be moved. In the respectful and solemn atmosphere, it seemed that something was awakened in each person. The thoughts and stature of those patriots in the past contributed to the peace that we enjoy today, a long time ago, but the influence and influence still seem intact.

Yes, every step of history's ups and downs is preserved intact on this island, whether it is the most outrageous crimes of the enemy, or the heroic feats of the nation. So that today, when generations of children and grandchildren walk among the graves of their sisters and brothers, or when revisiting the prisons - "hell on earth" soaked in blood and tears, they feel a surge of deep, extremely close affection. In the space here, there is still an invisible pressure of fear, of whips and the unimaginable brutality of the enemy. But at the same time, there is also a lingering echo of a very real, very close pain in each person. The physical and mental pain of the prisoners who lost their country, but beyond that pain is the belief and hope in the revolutionary ideal, in the light of independence and freedom that will shine on this place in five, ten, twenty or however many more years we have to wait. 113 years, perhaps those former political prisoners have waited a long time. For today, they lie here, peaceful and serene. The Con Dao sea that once embraced their bodies and flesh now murmurs day and night as if to lull their souls to sleep.

...to the Central region - "the shoulder pole of the two ends of the country"

Continuing the journey from the South to the North, the delegation of Nghe An Newspaper visited Vinh Truong Commune, Gio Linh District (Quang Tri) where the Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery is located. This is not the first time that Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper Pham Thi Hong Toan and the members of the delegation have returned to this tragic and historic land. However, each time they set foot on Ben Tat Hill, the resting place of 10,263 martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the resistance war against American imperialism, they feel the dense atmosphere of bombs and bullets. The Truong Son National Cemetery Monument seems to cut into the land and sky of Quang Tri in July with a sorrow and regret, because more than 20,000 soldiers fell on the legendary Truong Son roads. And only half of them have been gathered at the Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery. In the delegation of Nghe An Newspaper on the July gratitude journey, there are people who are children of wounded soldiers, veterans, and personally, Editor-in-Chief Pham Thi Hong Toan is the child of a martyr. Saying this to know that today's generations of children all grew up, matured and lived in peace thanks to the sacrifices and contributions of previous generations of fathers and grandfathers...

We arrived in Dong Hoi City (Quang Binh) at noon. In the dreamy space of sunlight, occasionally echoing folk songs. The statue of Mother Suot stands proudly beside the Nhat Le River. Indeed, whenever talking about Mother Suot, people often think of the poem of the same name by To Huu. It seems that somewhere on the river of the Lao wind region, the white sand still retains the image of a mother wrapped in green cloth rowing a boat through thousands of fierce waves under the rain of bombs and bullets of the enemy to bring soldiers across the river. Pausing for a sacred moment beside the historic river, the silhouette of someone rowing a boat at noon and the pure white lily flowers spreading their fragrance in the sun.

The route through the Central region is always called "the road of heaven", "the shoulder pole of the two ends of the country". For military men, the narrow strip of land in the Central region is always a geostrategic area of ​​great importance in the cause of defending the Fatherland. Perhaps that is why this land of harsh wind and sun has produced many outstanding heroes, outstanding military men for the nation. Typical among them is General Vo Nguyen Giap - the first Commander-in-Chief and the Elder Brother of the Vietnam People's Army. And since the day the General passed away forever, the land of Quang Dong, Quang Trach (Quang Binh) where Vung Chua - Yen Island is located has become a destination, a meeting place for generations of children and grandchildren from all over the homeland of Vietnam. At the General's grave, which is covered with wreaths and incense smoke, many people could not hold back their sobs and tears. No one spoke, only the sound of footsteps seemed to slow down, as if afraid of time passing by, and afraid of disturbing the peaceful space beside the waves. Only then did we understand how much the generations of children loved the General and also hoped that he would bless the country with peace and prosperity, favorable weather, all families with plenty of food and warmth, and the homeland and country with sustainable development.

We were present at Dong Loc T-junction (Can Loc, Ha Tinh) on July 24, 2015, the day exactly 47 years ago when 10 female youth volunteer heroes sacrificed their lives in a bombing raid by the US imperial air force. On the Ho Chi Minh trail through the legendary Truong Son mountain range, Dong Loc T-junction became a shining symbol of the courage and strength of Vietnamese women in the struggle to protect the Fatherland. 47 years have passed since the brutal afternoon of July 24, 1968, but the people and the country have never forgotten them. On 10 graves that were painfully painful on the afternoon of Dong Loc, Nghe An Newspaper officials quietly came to the women's side, gently placing white chrysanthemums on them. On them were bunches of green soapberry and combs, pink mirrors, a color of nostalgia...

Only when you go there will you see that everywhere in our country, there are monuments of victory carved into history. On Highway 15A, the section running through Truong Bon in My Son Commune (Do Luong - Nghe An), it seems that there are still lingering voices and laughter mixed with the sound of hoes and shovels hitting the cliffs of 12 girls and 2 boys from Squad 2, Company 317 - Nghe An Youth Volunteer Corps. October 31, 1968 became fateful when less than 20 hours later, the US military decided to limit bombing from the 19th parallel north. However, on the morning of October 31, American planes tore through the sky and dropped 2 series of 238 bombs. Under the bombs and bullets, Truong Bon was almost crushed and buried. 11 girls and 2 young volunteers of Squad 2, Company 317 fell while trying to cling to the road to support the convoy supporting the southern battlefield. The brothers and sisters sacrificed while some had never once exchanged their vows, some were waiting for the bombs to stop so they could return home to get married. Simple desires were extinguished by the screaming and the deafening explosions of bombs before the historic moment. Every year on October 31 and July 27, cadres and reporters of Nghe An Newspaper return to Truong Bon, where 1,240 martyrs including soldiers, young volunteers, and workers in the Transport sector sacrificed their lives during the years when the country was engulfed in the flames of war. Coming to Truong Bon means coming to examples of steadfastness and indomitability, to people whose exploits and sacrifices have awakened the conscience of humanity. Standing in front of the graves of the brothers and sisters, in the incense smoke mixed with the scent of memories, comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan, on behalf of the staff and reporters of Nghe An Newspaper, promised to "continue to study, practice and strive for the sacrifices and contributions of the heroic martyrs, forever worthy of the sacrifices and contributions of the brothers and sisters". That afternoon at Truong Bon, it was drizzling, under the roof of the memorial house, rows of red peonies were glowing with a passionate color...

NotesThuc Anh - Dao Tuan