The last call of the martyrs from Nghe An who died in Quang Tri

The call before the sacrifice

8 children of the homeland are officers and soldiersEconomic - Defense Group 337, The soldiers of Military Region 4 who died in Huong Phung Commune, Huong Hoa District (Quang Tri) belonged to different generations. The oldest was Lieutenant Colonel Bui Dinh Toan (50 years old) in Quynh Thien Ward (Hoang Mai Town); the youngest was Sergeant Nguyen Quang Son (19 years old) in Thai Son Commune (Do Luong).

Leaders and people of Quynh Thien ward (Hoang Mai town) share the pain with the family of martyr Bui Dinh Toan. Photo: Cong Kien

Each of you has your own circumstances, but you have one thing in common: you are soldiers who are always enthusiastic and proactive when carrying out your duties and are full of love for your family and homeland. You lay down in the mountains and forests of Western Quang Tri, where your fathers and grandfathers made great achievements with the remains of Khe Sanh and Route 9, which forever resonate with pride.

Representatives of the Hoang Mai Town Military Command encouraged Ms. Dao Thi Bich, wife of martyr Toan. Photo: Cong Kien

In recent days, the house of Lieutenant Colonel Bui Dinh Toan and his wife in Block 8, Quynh Thien Ward (Hoang Mai Town) has been visited by many people who have come to share their pain and loss. Ms. Dao Thi Bich (48 years old), Toan's wife, cannot get up and has to rely on the care of her brothers and sisters.

Ms. Dao said in a broken voice: “For more than 30 years in the army, he only came home a few times a year to visit, and we were very far apart. He said that after retiring in 3 years, he would come back to make up for the love he had shared over the past decades. But he passed away…”

Bui Dinh Tuan, the eldest son of martyr Toan, hopes to find a job near home so he can take care of his mother instead of his father. Photo: Cong Kien

On the night of October 17, Mr. Toan called his wife. He said that for the past few days he had been helping people fight floods in the pouring rain and had just loaded relief goods onto the truck to leave again tomorrow morning.

Bich and her husband have two sons, Bui Dinh Tuan (25 years old) and Bui Dinh Tu (23 years old), who have both finished university but do not have stable jobs. Sitting next to their mother to take care of her, Tuan shared: "I am working in Hanoi, my younger brother is in Da Nang, now my father has passed away, and my mother is sick, I don't know if she can handle this shock. I hope to find a job in my hometown to replace my father in taking care of my mother."

Authorities at all levels of Cua Lo town and local people came to encourage the family of martyr Phung Thanh Tung. Photo: Cong Kien

Visiting the family of Lieutenant Colonel Phung Thanh Tung (41 years old) in Hai Giang 2 block, Nghi Hai ward (Cua Lo town), no one could hold back their tears when witnessing 5-month-old baby Phung Quang Hai crying for his mother's milk. Upon hearing the news of her husband's death, Ms. Hoang Thi Dieu (37 years old) and her father-in-law packed up and went to Quang Tri, leaving Quang Hai in the care of his grandmother.

Ms. Hoang Thi Dieu, wife of martyr Tung, is going to Quang Tri with her husband, leaving 5-month-old baby Phung Quang Hai with his grandmother to take care of. Photo: Cong Kien

Mrs. Phung Thi Ngoc (63 years old) was almost exhausted from grief but still had to struggle to cuddle her little grandchild who had just lost his father. Mrs. Ngoc choked up: “At noon on October 17, Tung called his mother to ask about the situation at home and said he was helping people overcome the consequences of the flood. Then he made a video call to meet little Hai. Over the phone, I saw the devastation caused by the flood and told him to be very careful, but the next day I heard that he was buried, I don’t know how his wife and children will live from now on…”.

Relatives help Mrs. Phung Thi Ngoc take care of baby Quang Hai. Photo: Cong Kien

That evening, Mr. Tung also called his wife, saying that he would transfer some money to buy more food, milk... for his two children Phung Thi Yen Nhi (13 years old) and Phung Quang Thanh (11 years old) tomorrow.

Unfinished projects

They left behind their old parents, young wives, and children, closing many dreams and unfinished plans. Major Nguyen Canh Trung, from Thuong Son commune (Do Luong), was on leave and had just returned home for a few days when he heard that his comrade's mother had passed away. He went on a mission to replace his comrade but met with an accident, missing his appointment with his family to return home to complete the cemetery construction.

Relatives take care of and encourage the wife of martyr Nguyen Canh Trung. Photo: Huy Thu

The two sons of martyr Nguyen Canh Trung were shocked by the pain of losing their father. Photo: Huy Thu

Lieutenant Nguyen Van Thu in Tang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) plans to take leave in November to commemorate his father's death anniversary, take his mother and children to the hospital for a check-up, and renovate the kitchen. The dream of building a new house for his wife and children to live separately has long been a concern of Lieutenant Tran Van Toan in Xuan Thanh commune (Yen Thanh).

Private Nguyen Quang Son in Thai Son commune (Do Luong) is a young soldier who has just joined the army for 9 months. Mr. Son hopes that during his time in the army, he will try to study hard and pass the entrance exam to a military school to serve in the army for a long time. In a recent phone call to his family, he said that he will use his allowance to buy his younger sister a phone to encourage her to study...

Hearing the news that their husband, son, and father were buried in the landslide in Huong Hoa, their families, relatives, and neighbors in their hometown were all shocked and heartbroken.

Mrs. Thai Thi Doi (73 years old), mother of martyr Nguyen Van Thu, spent decades working hard to raise 5 children alone to adulthood because her husband died early. When she received the news of her son's sacrifice, the old mother seemed to have run out of water and could not cry out loud.

The pain of martyr Nguyen Quang Son's mother. Photo: Huy Thu

Martyr Tran Van Toan's father, Mr. Tran Van Van, suffered from a serious illness and was in pain on his hospital bed when he learned that his son was buried in Huong Hoa. Martyr Nguyen Canh Trung's wife, Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Nga, was completely devastated, alternating between consciousness and unconsciousness for many days because of grief over her husband. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuc, mother of martyr Nguyen Quang Son, had a congenital heart disease. Since learning that her son had died, her spirit has been in a state of panic, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.

Nguyen Canh Duc Anh (15 years old), the eldest son of martyr Nguyen Canh Trung, shared: “Every time he called home, my father often told us to be good and study well. On my recent birthday, my father texted me, “I wish our son a happy new year, always be healthy, be good and study better.” But before I could reply, my father passed away.”

Join hands to ease the pain

In 8 people from Nghe Ansacrifice,Hung Nguyen district has 2 martyrs. They are Senior Lieutenant Le Cao Cuong (37 years old), from Hung Dao commune. He had a chance to come to Quang Tri and chose this land to build his own home and family, currently living in Dong Ha city. At home, his family and relatives were also shocked and saddened by the loss and grief.

People of Tang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) share the pain with the family of martyr Nguyen Van Thu. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Le Xuan Dong, father of martyr Le Cao Cuong, sadly said: “I once told Cuong that as a soldier, he was ready to go anywhere, do anything when the Fatherland needed him. And he passed away while on duty, leaving behind his young wife and children, in great pain…”.

The second person is Sergeant Nguyen Anh Duy in Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen), who is 20 years old this year, and has 3 months left to complete his duty and return to his family. But he has passed away, leaving behind many dreams and ambitions of his youth and future. Mrs. Tran Thi Duyen, mother of martyr Duy, could not get up.

Neighbors said that Nguyen Anh Duy lost his father when he was very young, and his mother worked hard to raise three siblings. He planned to return home to learn a trade and find a job to help his mother after his discharge, but who would have thought that this would happen...

The sacrifice of themartyrshas left behind a lot of regret and pain not only for family, comrades, friends but also for the people. Therefore, as soon as the news of their sacrifice during the rescue mission was received, neighbors, friends near and far, and authorities and organizations promptly came to encourage and share with the family.

The Military Command of Hoang Mai town and Quynh Thien ward assigned people to take turns on duty, along with brothers, relatives and neighbors to prepare and prepare everything to welcome martyr Bui Dinh Toan's coffin back to his family.

Lieutenant Colonel Ho Xuan Tien - Deputy Political Commissar and Political Director of the Town Military Command said: "The loss is so great that we will try to do everything we can to ease the pain of the families."

Officers and soldiers of Regiment 337 help people in Tri village, Huong Lap commune build a road. Photo: Ngoc Thang

People from Nghi Hai ward (Cua Lo town) also regularly visited Lieutenant Colonel Phung Thanh Tung's house to comfort and encourage Mrs. Phung Thi Ngoc (Mr. Tung's mother) and took turns helping to take care of the children. Although he was far away from home, every time he returned to visit, Mr. Tung always took the time to visit familiar families and neighbors to chat intimately.

Next door, Mrs. Truong Thi Lanh confided: “Uncle Tung is very kind and virtuous, everyone loves him. In the past few days, everyone who came to visit cried when they saw their three orphaned children without a father. What will life be like now…”. The leaders of Cua Lo town and Nghi Hai ward also promptly visited and together with the family and relatives prepared to welcome martyr Phung Thanh Tung back to his homeland.

Being present at the home of martyr Nguyen Canh Trung (Do Luong), it was very touching to know that the union of Hien Son Secondary School in recent days has sent staff and teachers to take turns to take care of and feed spoonfuls of porridge to Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Nga who collapsed and was bedridden when she heard that her husband had died in Quang Tri.

Soldiers of Economic-Defense Group 337 help people build dams and reclaim rice fields. Photo: Ngoc Thang

People of Thai Son commune (Do Luong) were also present at the martyr Nguyen Quang Son's house to encourage and share the difficult circumstances of the martyr's family (mother is sick, younger brother has bone cancer).

Mr. Nguyen Quang Son - Chairman of Thai Son Commune People's Committee said: "The mother of martyr Nguyen Quang Son is in poor health, so the commune has sent doctors and nurses to stay at home to take care of her. At the same time, we call on departments, branches and organizations to donate to help the family in times of grief and hardship."

And the leaders of Hung Nguyen district, organizations, authorities and people of Hung Dao and Hung Tay communes have also promptly taken practical actions to share the loss with the families of martyrs Le Cao Cuong and Nguyen Anh Duy. All together contributed to warming and soothing some of the pain and loss.

After welcoming 4 children who died in Thua Thien Hue, Nghe An hometown is preparing to welcome 8 children who died inQuang Triback to the beloved motherland.

Posthumously awarding the Fatherland Protection Medal to 22 soldiers who died in Quang Tri

President Nguyen Phu Trong has decided to posthumously award the Fatherland Protection Medal to 22 officers and soldiers of Economic-Defense Group 337, Military Region 4, who died while performing their duties.