Colonel Phan Duc Khuoc - a veteran cadre whose revolution was nurtured by 'Red Nghe Tinh'

Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc (1917-2012) was from Lien Tri village, Van Tu commune (now Lien Thanh commune), Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province. Born and raised in a land rich in cultural and patriotic traditions, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was enlightened early and followed the revolution.

Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc had a difficult childhood. His mother died when he was just 3 months old, and his father also passed away when he was 4 years old. With her love, Mrs. Hieu San (a member of Phan Duc's family) adopted Phan Duc Khuoc. Mrs. Hieu San created conditions for Phan Duc Khuoc to learn to read and write. Therefore, he was soon exposed to patriotic poems and literature taught by teachers. From a young age, Phan Duc Khuoc was fascinated by the poems and stories about the "wild hero" in the Can Vuong movement against the French, Lanh Ngoi (Doc Ngoi, Tac Bay).

In 1931, when the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out strongly in the villages of Yen Thanh, Phan Duc Khuoc, who was then 14 years old, was recruited by comrade Phan Duc Vinh.^[1]Enlightenment. Young age doing small work, under the guidance of comrade Phan Duc Vinh, Phan Duc Khuoc enthusiastically participated in a number of assigned tasks.

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During the day, herding buffalo was a job for the young Phan Duc Khuoc to disguise himself from the enemy, serving as a guard for meetings of party members or as a liaison to transport documents to the party cell. At night, he continued to enthusiastically participate in guarding the red self-defense team's training.

However, in the face of the growing revolutionary movement, the French colonialists carried out many sinister tricks to suppress the people's will to fight. In March 1931, in Lien Tri, the enemy sent French soldiers to conduct three sweeps. Most of the revolutionary cadres in the village fell into the enemy's hands. By the end of June 1931, the revolutionary movement in Lien Tri in particular and Van Tu commune in general had temporarily subsided.

Faced with the new revolutionary situation, other party members and patriotic people of Lien Tri as well as Phan Duc Khuoc withdrew into secret activities. Although the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement temporarily subsided, in those days of boiling fighting atmosphere, the Party's sympathy and the desire to contribute to the aspiration to liberate the homeland and the country were increasingly strengthened and nurtured in the heart of the patriotic youth Phan Duc Khuoc.

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In early 1936, on the basis of the Van Tu Party Cell, the Lien Tri Party Cell was established with comrade Phan Duc Vinh as Secretary. Under the leadership of the cell, mass movements gradually took shape and developed, with many forms of struggle appearing suitable to the new historical opportunities of the nation. The Lien Tri Democratic Youth Organization was established, including typical patriotic youths such as: Phan Duc Khuoc, Nguyen Ba Du, Nguyen Ba Hue...

In his new mission, Phan Duc Khuoc and his organization carried out activities such as raising money to buy and read progressive books and newspapers, teaching the national language, and mobilizing people to help each other through participating in plowing and firewood guilds...

In early 1937, the Yen Thanh District Party Congress was convened at Da Moc communal house in Ngoc Luat village (now Minh Thanh commune). Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was entrusted by comrade Phan Duc Vinh with the task of protecting this meeting. At the meeting, the Congress elected the official Executive Committee with comrade Phan Duc Vinh as Secretary. Later, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was also assigned by comrade Phan Duc Vinh to be the communications officer for the District Party Committee.

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On July 11, 1938, with his active activities, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was honored to join the Party at the age of 21.

At the end of 1939, after a large-scale siege by the enemy that resulted in the arrest of many cadres, the Party Central Committee and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee had a policy of turning Party organizations and patriotic mass organizations into secret operations.

In early 1940, after the Nghe An Provisional Provincial Party Committee was restored, it published the Coi Ach newspaper as its mouthpiece to replace the Dan Tien newspaper. Realizing that the Lien Tri terrain was extremely favorable for communication with the Party organizations in Anh Son, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, and for establishing bases in the Northern Nghe An region, the Provincial Party Committee chose this as its headquarters.

In addition to his duties of protecting the Regional and Provincial Party Committee offices and transporting documents to different places, Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc also participated in raising money to buy paper, ink, and printing equipment. He contributed to printing issues 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the Coi Ach newspaper, which were then transported to other localities to propagate and stabilize the spirit of party members and the masses, and guide the struggle movement during this period.

On August 16, 1941, the activities of the Regional Party Committee, Provincial Party Committee and Party cells in Yen Thanh were developing when the Nghe An Resident sent soldiers to surround Lien Tri village, hunting down many Party cadres. On October 19, 1941, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was captured by the enemy. After being transferred to Vinh Prison, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was brutally tortured by the enemy.

After a month and a half without being able to extract any information from him, the Nam Trieu Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to 5 years of hard labor and 5 years of house arrest under Verdict No. 09 dated January 13, 1942. Considering Phan Duc Khuoc to be a “dangerous element to security” [2], on March 2, 1942, the Central Region Resident-General issued Decision No. 498 dated February 4, 1942 on exile of the comrade to Ly Hy Camp (Thua Thien Hue). After a while, the enemy continued to detain him at Tra Khe Prison (Phu Yen province).

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Within 5 years, from 1941-1945, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc experienced 3 prison regimes in the prison system of the French colonialists and the puppet government. However, in any circumstances, he still kept his oath to the Party. Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc, together with his comrades, took advantage of the time to study politics and participate in activities to fight for improved living conditions.

After the Japanese coup against the French, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc and other political prisoners from Tra Khe prison broke out of prison and found their way back to their hometowns to continue their revolutionary activities. In June 1945, he returned to his hometown and made contact to continue his revolutionary activities. Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc's active activities contributed to the victory of the uprising to seize power on August 25, 1945 in Yen Thanh district.

In March 1946, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was elected as a member of the District Military Committee. Then, at the 2nd Yen Thanh District Party Congress held in Xuan Tieu village (Hop Thanh commune), he continued to be elected by the organization as a member of the Yen Thanh District Administrative Resistance Committee.

In the following years, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was entrusted by the organization to hold many important positions in the locality. In particular, in September 1952, the Provincial Party Committee introduced him to attend the Militia class organized by the Ministry of National Defense. On September 20, 1954, Regiment 600 - Tan Trao Group was established to protect President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Central Committee, and the Government to take over the capital. Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc held the position of Deputy Political Commissar and Member, then Deputy Secretary of the Regiment Party Committee. Under the leadership of comrade Phan Duc Khuoc and the Party Committee, officers and soldiers of Regiment 600 overcame many difficulties and challenges, ensuring absolute safety for important targets.

At the end of 1962, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was assigned by the Central Committee to be the Head of the Appeals Department of the Central Military Court. In 1965, he was elected to hold the position of Deputy Chief Justice of the Central Military Court, specializing in directly directing the Military Regions to try major cases and directly trying cases of American commandos parachuting into Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Viet Bac.

In 1968, he continued to be elected as a member of the Party Executive Committee of the General Political Department, and at the same time as Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Military Court until his retirement (1979).

With his contributions to the cause of liberating the homeland and the country, comrade Phan Duc Khuoc was awarded many noble titles by the Party, the State and the Army, such as: 75-year Party membership badge; First-class Resistance Medal; Third-class Independence Medal; First and Third-class Military Exploit Medal; Second-class Victory Medal...

Comrade Phan Duc Khuoc's life of work demonstrates his strong will and tireless determination to excel in all tasks assigned by the Party, State and Army. Colonel Phan Duc Khuoc deserves to be a shining example for all generations to learn from and follow./.