Eye Island, keep the peace by the sea

(Baonghean) - Having gone through the nation's long resistance wars, Mat Island is a source of pride with the name of an unsinkable warship. The title of Hero of the Armed Forces that the Party and State awarded to Mat Island in January 1973 is a testament to the indomitable will of Mat Island's officers and soldiers during the fierce years of bombs and bullets. In peacetime, the cannons and guns of those who guard the island are always ready on the front line...

Soldiers of the Mat Island Mixed Battalion in combat readiness training.

On a day in early December, after more than an hour of rocking on a military ship amidst the huge waves and the year-end rain, the majestic and sinewy Mat Island appeared. Carved into the island’s shape were the square, solemn ranks of officers and soldiers of the Mat Island Mixed Battalion standing in a block on the wharf to welcome mainland visitors.

Like many times coming to the island, we all wanted to visit the watchtowers - the outposts where the island soldiers guarded the sea and sky, and the relics marking a heroic time. On the way to the 12.7 mm battery, we stopped by a roadside monument with the words "On August 17, 1965, the entire battery of Truong Van Thu, Nguyen Ngoc Linh, Pham Van Luu, and nurse Ho Sy Chau (fought bravely). Was hit by a rocket into the battlefield. He was wounded, his gun leg was broken, Ho Sy Chau used his body as a gun mount. The battery continued to fight until the last minute, destroying an AD6 aircraft of the US imperialists, creating an achievement to commemorate August 19". The island has become an impregnable fortress in the middle of the sea and sky of the Fatherland. During the battle, many comrades upheld the spirit of "Determination to die for the Fatherland, determination to live". Martyr Pham Hong Thu, when seriously injured with dozens of wounds, lying on the operating table for 9 hours, was still optimistic and confident, without a single cry, near death he wrote down his determination: "If I can no longer hold a gun to directly fight the Americans, then the Party will let me hold a pen to fight the Americans...". Now those immortal words have been put in the traditional room of the Military Region 4 Museum. The combat diary for more than 40 years has been solemnly preserved in the traditional cabinet, still with the ink lines that have not faded, still stained with handprints from gunpowder smoke, sweat and blood. "The nine martyrs whose names are written on the memorial stele are not all. When peace comes, in the process of consolidating and building the island, many more soldiers will fall", Captain, Island Chief Nguyen Thanh Thuy sadly said.

The brave and resilient spirit of the officers and soldiers of Mat Island has been recorded with the sinking of 14 warships, shooting down and damaging 15 aircraft of all kinds, rescuing 3,101 civilian boats, and saving the lives of 137 fishermen in distress. On January 11, 1973, the island was honored to receive the title of Hero, which made the officers and soldiers on the island even more honored, proud, and confident in defending the Fatherland. Over the years, the achievements and feats of the island have been increasingly enhanced with 2 Military Exploit Medals, and the most noble feat is that the island has kept the peace in the sky and sea of ​​Zone 4.

According to military experts, Mat Island, with its strategic location and height, is the "eye" that keeps peace throughout the entire North Central Coast. On March 31, 1963, after 4 days of crossing the sea, Company 32, Division 324 arrived at Mat Island to protect the sea and sky of the Fatherland. During the resistance war against the US to save the country, Mat Island was assigned the task of fighting the enemy by air, landing on the mainland by sea in the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, at the same time protecting and transferring goods and weapons to the Southern battlefield to fight the US. When the US imperialists began to attack the North, Mat Island was a fierce focus. During the destructive war, the US had more than 400 attacks on the island, the island's officers and soldiers steadfastly held on and fought back.

During the days when the East Sea is "stormy", where comrades in the Truong Sa archipelago are on guard day and night, officers and soldiers of the Mat Island Mixed Battalion continue to hold their guns firmly with the task of protecting the sky and sea of ​​the homeland. Captain, Political Commissar Tran Van Thao said: "In the face of the complicated situation in the East Sea, the island commander regularly maintains a strict regime of reading newspapers, watching TV, and announcing weekly news. In particular, the unit coordinates with the Propaganda Department (Political Department) to organize announcements of current topics related to the situation in the East Sea, the viewpoints of our Party and State on resolving the East Sea issue. The island ensures the regime of command duty, duty, combat duty, air defense duty, and key information duty. At the same time, closely coordinate with the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Border Guard Station, Squadron 2 (Provincial Border Guard Command), Coast Guard Region 1, and the Sub-Department of Aquatic Resources Protection (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) to grasp and strictly control the situation of the sea and islands in the assigned area".

To always be proactive in the new situation, Mat Island's officers and soldiers have regularly trained in combat readiness, ensuring the excellent completion of the tasks of island soldiers. Lieutenant, Platoon Leader of Platoon 3 Lau Ba Tu (from Nam Can commune - Ky Son) confided: "From the Nam Can border area, coming down here to be a soldier to guard the island, I always determined the sacred task of going anywhere when the Fatherland needs. In the face of the complicated situation in the East Sea, that task is even more clearly defined."

Besides the sacred duty of preserving peace from the sea, the officers and soldiers of Mat Island have used their sweat and effort to turn the island into an ecological island, which some people have said is the air-regulating lung for Cua Lo tourist area. Looking from the lighthouse station lying peacefully on the island, scattered along the rocks and the roaring waves, are the solidly built barracks of the island soldiers' platoons. In the units, everywhere you see chickens clucking around the cannons and barracks, and round-bellied pigs lying leisurely in the shade. In the vegetable garden, some young soldiers are watering the vegetables. The island chief, Captain Nguyen Thanh Thuy said: "The production on the island is highly focused, meeting and improving the essential needs for vegetables and food in the meals of officers and soldiers on the island. Each unit regularly maintains 3-4 pigs, 20 chickens, a herd of 20-30 goats, and a herd of 9-10 cows. All kinds of vegetables are always in sufficient supply."

During this trip to the island, Colonel Nguyen Xuan Giap - Deputy Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command said: "Mat Island is the outpost at the head of the waves of Nghe An, the gun muzzle on the island is vigilant, Nghe An is at peace from the sea". The colonel's words echoed in the waves. The island soldiers seemed to be given a new vitality, holding their guns firmly, standing firmly at the head of the waves to keep the peace for the sea and sky of the Fatherland.

Tran Hai