I visited Mr. Chu Van Tiep on an afternoon in early April. Meeting him, I was surprised that at the age of 88, he was still very agile, active and clear-headed. Memories of the fierce but heroic battles of the old veteran who had gone through 2 wars surged up like a whirlwind.
Mr. Tiep was born in Thanh Cat Commune (now Cat Van Commune), Thanh Chuong District, a peaceful village on the Lam River. In July 1953, when he was just 17 years old, he wrote a volunteer application to join the resistance war against the French. At that time, our nation's resistance war against the French was entering a fierce phase. Despite his small stature, he was assigned to Regiment 95, Infantry Division 325. This was one of the first 6 main divisions of the Vietnam People's Army, established on March 11, 1951, on the basis of a number of combat regiments in the old Zone 4 (North Central Coast). During the war years, this unit was also known as the Binh Tri Thien Regiment.
Mr. Tiep said that at that time, our army was still very lacking, from military equipment to combat weapons. From Thanh Cat commune, after writing a volunteer application to go to war, Mr. Tiep immediately underwent a crash course in training and followed his unit to the Red River Delta.
During the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring strategic offensive, the southern region of the Red River Delta was an important front that helped to share the fire with the Northern battlefield and Dien Bien Phu, contributing to the liberation of Ninh Binh town, Phu Ly and Nam Dinh city. At the same time, it cut off the enemy's supply route to the Northwest battlefield, contributing with the entire army to the "Dien Bien Phu Victory that shook the world" on May 7, 1954.
Mr. Tiep still remembers clearly the last days of the resistance war against the French. News of the enemy's defeats on all battlefields was constantly reported. Fighting with bare feet, wearing self-woven bamboo hats, and not having enough food, the young soldiers were always full of enthusiasm. The most memorable days were the days of pouring rain and cold wind, when the soldiers dug trenches and transported weapons, ready to wait for orders from their superiors to go to battle, no one cared about the difficulties and hardships. After the heroic battles on Highway 1, blocking the enemy's retreat route, what made Mr. Tiep the saddest was that many of his brothers and comrades fell on the battlefield when the news of victory was only a few hours away.
After winning the Dien Bien Phu victory and ending the 9-year resistance war against the French, Mr. Tiep and his unit marched back to the southern bank of the Ben Hai River, where our country was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel. In 1963, after more than 10 years of military service and 9 years of direct military service on the Vinh Linh front line, he was demobilized and returned to his hometown of Thanh Chuong, then from 1964 went to Tan Ky to build a new economy.
After spending more than 10 years on the battlefield fighting the French and expelling the American imperialists. He thought that when he returned home from military service and built a new economy in Tan Ky, Mr. Tiep could stay away from the bombs and bullets of war. However, when he reached Ky Son commune (Tan Ky), it was also the time when the American imperialists began to escalate the war to the North.
Realizing that the war could be prolonged and the road to liberating the South and unifying the country might be prolonged, since 1959, the Party Central Committee and the Politburo decided to build a strategic transportation route to support the Southern battlefield, also known as the Truong Son Road (now the Ho Chi Minh Road). The starting point was calculated from Km 0, located in Ky Son commune (now Tan Ky town), to Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province.
It was for this reason that during the years of the war against the US, Tan Ky district became the enemy’s main bombing target. Many air raids were carried out by the US imperialists at locations such as the Ho Chi Minh trail, Highway 15A, Highway 15B, Son ferry, Roi ferry… especially at Milestone 0 and communes along Highway 15 such as Ky Son, Nghia Dung, Nghia Dong, Nghia Binh.
When he came to build a new economy in Tan Ky district, with the bloody experiences gained from the battlefield, Mr. Tiep was assigned to be the Commune Team Leader of Ky Son commune. When the US imperialists fiercely attacked the North, under the direction of superiors, localities, farms, factories, and militia forces closely coordinated with main force units to build positions to shoot down enemy aircraft. As the Commune Team Leader, Mr. Tiep once again took up arms, joining the local army and people in fighting the enemy.
Mr. Tiep said, Milestone 0 on the Truong Son road, the point passing through Tan Ky district, is the intersection between route 15A and route 15B, a favorable location for motorized convoys to transport goods and troops to the South to fight. At times when the enemy increased their bombardment of the North, the Truong Son road was often probed, discovered and fiercely attacked by the enemy. At milestone 0, Truong Dong, or along the road passing through Ky Son and Nghia Hanh communes, enemy aircraft of all types such as AD6, P108, 24, B52... continuously circled and attacked, causing great human losses. The enemy focused on bombing in order to cut off the supply route to the South for our army and people.
During the years of fighting against the US, under the direction of superiors, Ky Son commune established 2 combat units, of which 1 unit was on duty to protect traffic and 1 unit specialized in shooting down aircraft. In addition, a working group of 20 comrades was also established, always present at dangerous positions to guard the green and red lights to signal troops to march and transport weapons and food to the southern battlefield and to signal local people to go down to the bunker whenever enemy aircraft appeared. These groups and teams were all under the responsibility of Mr. Tiep, coordinating with the main force to participate in protecting Km 0 and the strategic roads passing through here.
Under the fierce attacks of the enemy, the transport convoy was hit by bombs and caught fire many times. Each time, the militia of Ky Son commune quickly approached to put out the fire, moving the hit vehicle away from the scene to avoid causing injury to the soldiers and blocking the main road.
To ensure that soldiers and people have shelter when attacked, every 50m along the roads passing through Ky Son commune, an A-shaped tunnel was dug. With the spirit of "no regrets until the car has passed by", the people of Ky Son commune sacrificed hundreds of houses to get wood to pave the road for cars to pass; participated in hundreds of battles; bravely cleared and destroyed many time-exploding bombs to ensure the safety of convoys, contributing to timely support for the southern battlefield.
According to statistics, during the resistance war against the US, the people of Ky Son commune had to endure 1,200 tons of bombs and bullets, damaging 187 houses, 4 bridges, 1 food warehouse, 1 school, killing 75 people and injuring 112. That is not to mention hundreds of buffaloes, cows, dozens of hectares of land, crops... were also destroyed.
After the Paris Agreement was signed on January 27, 1973, peace was restored in the North, the land of Tan Ky also stopped the roar of airplanes and was no longer plowed by bombs. At this time, Mr. Tiep, from the position of Commune Team Leader, was also appointed to the position of Chairman, then Secretary of the Party Committee of Ky Son Commune and Secretary of the Party Committee of Tan Ky Town. Later, when he retired, he continued to be trusted and elected as the Party cell secretary. Regardless of his role, this Party member and Uncle Ho's soldier always maintained his moral qualities, taking the lead in all activities to gather solidarity in the Party cell and consensus among the people. In addition, he also focused on mass mobilization work by listening to the thoughts, aspirations and legitimate opinions of the people to find the most reasonable and sympathetic solutions.
Saying goodbye to Mr. Chu Van Tiep right next to the legendary Km 0, the "fire coordinate" of the past has now become a National Monument, a testament to a heroic period in the nation's history, a place that marks the feats of an entire generation of "Vietnamese citadels", including people like Mr. Tiep.
