Dang Dinh Ho - The brave hero of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield
People's Armed Forces Hero Dang Dinh Ho was born in 1923, in Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province.
Born into a poor family, his parents died early, Dang Dinh Ho had to herd buffalo and cut grass from a young age. In 1950, following the sacred call of the Fatherland, he went to war. Since joining the army, he was very enthusiastic and brave, growing from a shock soldier to a platoon officer. Dang Dinh Ho had a flexible and bold fighting style, once he opened fire, he resolutely charged forward to destroy the enemy, even though he was wounded, he continued to fight.
Before participating in the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign, Dang Dinh Ho fought at Doi Moi and Lac Quan in the Hoa Binh campaign, Tuy Loc Thuong and Van Lai in the Ha - Nam - Ninh campaign...
In the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign, as Deputy Battalion Commander of units D418, E57, F304, he commanded the unit to deploy a bold fighting style: "fast as a squirrel, strong as a tiger and penetrating deeply to divide and terrify the enemy".
From the night of March 23, 1954, the trenches and trenches of the 57th Regiment formed a tight, continuous battle around Hong Cum, cutting off this stronghold from the central sector, ending the landing of aircraft on the runway here. The French army tried to attack many times but were repelled by our army. Except for providing fire support from afar to the central sector, all other activities by infantry and vehicles of the enemy at Hong Cum were eliminated.
On April 30, 1954, Company 60 of comrade Dang Dinh Ho received the mission to attack the main tip of Hong Cum area C. The unit was honored to receive the "Determined to fight, Determined to win" flag awarded by the regiment.
At exactly midnight on May 1, 1954, a hail of artillery shells rained down on Hong Cum. Artillery positions and firepower of all calibers of the division concentrated on firing fiercely at the command post and Hong Cum artillery area. Battalion 418 divided into two prongs to launch an attack on area C, the main prong led by Company 60 attacked the Northeast, the secondary prong attacked the Southeast.
Deputy Platoon Leader Dang Dinh Ho and the brave and courageous soldiers secretly stuck close to the fence, broke through the barbed wire, blew up the door, and used DKZ guns to destroy two machine gun emplacements. Meanwhile, the friendly unit's demolition platoon fired dozens of explosives but could not open the breakthrough door because the barbed wire was too thick, the breakthrough door opened slightly off-center. The French army's firepower was now focused on the direction of the open door to block our path of advance. Many soldiers of Battalion 418 heroically sacrificed themselves. Not faltering, the front fell, the back advanced, determined to fight for victory.
Faced with that situation, Deputy Platoon Leader Dang Dinh Ho asked the company to go up and fight instead, but the explosives were all gone and they had to wait. Although he was wounded, he still resolutely stayed behind to command the unit. When the explosives were brought up, Comrade Dang Dinh Ho commanded his teammates to break open the door, break the barbed wire fences, creating conditions for his teammates to charge forward and attack straight into the deep. Comrade Dang Dinh Ho's fighting spirit contributed to encouraging the entire unit to fight enthusiastically. By 2:00 a.m., our troops had occupied almost all of area C, destroying more than 30 enemies. The remaining enemies retreated to defend in the last gun emplacements and trenches along the riverbank. At exactly 24:00 on May 7, 1954, our army captured all French troops in Hong Cum.
During the battle at Hill C1, despite being wounded, he still resolutely stayed to command the unit, waiting for explosives to open the tunnel door before letting his comrades take him out.
In addition to his fighting spirit and outstanding achievements, Dang Dinh Ho was also very diligent in studying and training. Injured, with a damaged right eye and a weak right hand, he persevered in practicing shooting with his left hand and shot very well.
With those outstanding achievements, he was awarded 2 Second Class Military Exploit Medals by the State, 7 times praised by the Battalion, Regiment, and Division and was an Emulation Fighter of the Regiment.
On May 7, 1956, he was honored to receive the Third Class Military Exploit Medal and the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces from the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
