Comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat (1890-1932)

Nguyen Ngo Dat was born in 1890 in Phuc My village, Van Vien commune (now Hung Chau commune), Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province. His father was Nguyen Duc Dieu, a wealthy landlord in the area. He was a village chief who collected land and taxes but focused on repairing temples, building a church, building roads, and bridges. He had close relations with and often helped the Can Vuong movement. His eldest son was shot dead by French colonialists while participating in the movement at Hong Linh mountain.

Nguyen Ngo Dat's real name is Nguyen Van Dat, the third child in a family of 6 children. When he was young, Dat studied Chinese characters at the home of the school inspector Ngo (Cu Thon village in the same district). Nguyen Van Dat was very intelligent and agile when he was young. As a good student, Nguyen Van Dat was loved by the school inspector Ngo and adopted as his son. And from then on, his name had the middle name Ngo (Nguyen Ngo Dat). He passed the first exam of the region so he was often called Dau Xu Dat. His wife was Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoet, from Xuan Ho village, Xuan Lieu commune, Nam Dan district, daughter Nguyen Xuan Dinh passed the bachelor's degree, had a patriotic spirit and participated in the Van Than movement against the French. His wife's younger sister married Dang Thuc Thuc, son of Dang Thuc Hua, who specialized in transporting people to Siam and from there to Guangzhou (China) to do revolutionary activities.

In 1927, his eldest son, Nguyen Xuan Thanh (aka Nguyen Phon), who was studying in the first grade at Cao Xuan Duc Primary School in Vinh City, was enlightened by teachers like Tran Van Tang and Ha Huy Tap about patriotism. Nguyen Xuan Thanh brought his father to meet teacher Tang at school many times. After that, teacher Tran Van Tang often visited Mr. Nguyen Ngo Dat in Phuc My village and propagated about the Tan Viet Party; at the same time, assigned some tasks to Mr. Nguyen Ngo Dat. After a probationary period, Tran Van Tang admitted Mr. Dat into the Tan Viet Party. Mr. Nguyen Ngo Dat was assigned to build the Tan Viet base in the Phuc My area. To propagate patriotism to the people, he opened a class to teach the national language to children in the area, bought progressive books and newspapers to read to the elders and students. Gradually, he admitted Nguyen Bat (aka Cuu Ba), Le Phuong (nephew Phuong) from the village into the Tan Viet Party. Nguyen Ngo Dat often traveled to the Phu Xa area because there was a Tan Viet sub-group there.Le Xuan Daoorganization.

Around March 1930, comrade Ton Gia Tinh, a native of Thanh Chuong, was sent by comrade Nguyen Phong Sac to Hung Nguyen to build the foundation of the Indochina Communist Party. Comrade Nguyen Phong Sac knew that Ton Gia Tinh was imprisoned with Le Xuan Dao at Vinh Prison in 1929. Ton Gia Tinh returned to Hung Nguyen to meet comrade Le Xuan Dao and discuss the establishment of the Party. Comrade Le Xuan Dao contacted a number of comrades he knew to form a trio: Truc (Nguyen Huu Nhuong), Lam (Nguyen Thi Phia), in Trung Can village, Nam Kim commune, Nam Dan district, Giang (Le Xuan Dao), Phu Long commune to operate in this area.

In the spring of 1930, Nguyen Ngo Dat, who was given some sample leaflets of the Indochinese Communist Party by his aunt's friend, Thuc Tinh, asked his son Nguyen Xuan Thanh and Luong Doan San (nephew) to buy stone, paper, pens, and ink to print leaflets and distribute them in the area of ​​Route 8. Comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat propagated enlightenment and recruited a number of people such as Le Vien, Nguyen Thuyen, Nguyen Hua, and Sau Xuong and established the Phuc My Party Cell with himself as Secretary. He then organized a number of Party cells in Phu Vinh, Xuan Nha, Phu Dien, and My Du. He established a printing group including Luong Doan San, Le Dinh Dong, and Nguyen Xuan Thanh to print leaflets, resolutions, and Party newspapers, and reprinted the book "Sinking Diary" by Nguyen Ai Quoc... to send to Party cells in the area.

By May 1930, Le Xuan Dao had established the first combined party cell of the two communes of Phu Long and Nam Kim (Nam Dan district) including 6 comrades with the aliases Kim (ie Le Nghia, Phu Long commune), Moc (ie Vo Trong Tan, Phu Long commune), Thuy (ie Bui Hai Thieu, Nam Kim commune), Hoa (ie Nguyen Ngoc Cung, Phu Long commune), Tho (ie Bui Huu Luong, Nam Kim commune) with Le Xuan Dao as Secretary; later, comrades Nguyen Ngo Dat (ie Thuy, Van Vien commune), Vo Trong Canh (ie Thanh), Vo Trong Linh (ie Vinh), Tran Thong (ie Duyet) of Phu Long commune were added. After establishing the combined party cell, comrade Le Xuan Dao assigned party members to build the Party base in the region.

The Party base building in Hung Nguyen district was done through three ways: The communes of Yen Truong, Do Yen, and Van Vien cantons were contacted and organized by comrade Le Doan Suu, member of Vinh Provincial Party Committee. The communes of Hai Do canton were contacted and organized by Nam Dan District Party Committee and the communes of Phu Long, Thong Lang, and Nam Kim (Nam Dan district) were contacted and organized by the Regional Party Committee.

After the demonstration on September 12, 1930, authorized by the Vinh - Ben Thuy City Party Committee, comrade Vuong Thuc Ky - Secretary of the Nam Dan District Party Committee convened a conference of cadres in Hung Nguyen to discuss plans to stabilize the situation such as: collecting donations, distributing money and organizing memorial services for those who died in the demonstration on September 12, 1930. The meeting included representatives from 5 communes: Nam Kim, Phu Long, Thong Lang, Van Vien and Do Yen.

In October 1930, comrade Le Xuan Dao and comrade Le Cong Canh (aka Muoi) of Nam Dan District Party Committee convened a conference to establish the Hung Nguyen Provisional Government Committee and redefine the areas for appropriate leadership. The conference agreed to cut Nam Kim, Hai Do and Trang Cat communes to the Nam Dan District Party Committee, Yen Truong commune to the Nghi Loc District Party Committee. The remaining four communes of Phu Long, Thong Lang, Van Vien and Do Yen were under the management of the Hung Nguyen Government Committee. The conference elected the Provisional Government Committee Executive Committee consisting of 5 people:

- Le Xuan Dao (aka Giang), in Phu Xa, Secretary.

- Nguyen Ngoc Ngoan (aka Tan) in Xuan Hoa village, in charge of Phu Long commune.

- Tran Huu Lan (aka Dong), Lang Thon village, in charge of Thong Lang commune.

- Nguyen Ngo Dat (aka Thuy), Phuc My village, in charge of Van Vien and Do Yen communes.

- Nguyen Thi Phia (aka Lam), Trung Can village, in charge of women.

By the end of 1930, Nghe An Provincial Party Committee transferred comrades Le Xuan Dao and Nguyen Thi Phia to work in Nam Dan and added comrades Nguyen Huu Cuong (aka Thuoc) and Le Xuan Dong (aka Phu) from Nam Dan to Hung Nguyen Provincial Party Committee.

Comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat's house was in a discreet location, the garden was about 6 sao wide, with a high and thick bamboo fence about 1 meter, the house had 10 main rooms and 3 worship rooms made of ironwood, with thick planks and sturdy doors; enough auxiliary works, behind was a field so it was very convenient for the Finance Committee of the Central Region Party Committee and the printing team to work. The Finance Committee of the Central Region Party Committee such as comrade Bui Huu Luong (aka Tho), Nguyen Phung Vinh (aka Am), Truc (aka Nguyen Huu Nhuong) and Vo Thi Hue (youngest sister of comrade Vo Trong An who worked in communications for the Committee) were often taken by comrade Dat to rich houses to raise funds for the Party's activities. After about 4 months, this base was exposed, at the end of October 1930, the soldiers came to surround and raid but did not discover anything so they took all the belongings in comrade Dat's house.

Comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat and his son Nguyen Xuan Thanh had to leave to follow their agency to operate in another area. And their house was occupied by a platoon of soldiers in blue uniforms under the command of a French officer. Comrade Dat's wife, 6 children and his 73-year-old mother had to stay with relatives. In 1932, local officials used Comrade Dat's house as a hospital, but it was actually a hospice, gathering beggars from Vinh to save the city's reputation. But due to poor food and lack of medicine for illness, the number of deaths at this facility in two years reached 200. After two years, the center had to be dissolved. After that, they put this property up for sale, but no one bought it because they had no money. In early 1934, a family in Duc Truong commune (Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh) bought this house for 100 Indochinese piastres, but no one dared to live on the land because they were afraid of ghosts. During that time, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat's wife and children still had to stay with relatives, work as hired laborers, and weave cloth to make a living.

In early 1931, the French colonialists implemented a policy of repression and drowned the struggle movement of the people of Nghe Tinh in general and Hung Nguyen in particular in a sea of ​​blood. They organized raids and arrested and imprisoned many communist party members. Some evil reactionaries in the village took advantage of this opportunity to rise up, spy on the residences of party members and cadres to bring French soldiers to sweep and kill. On the other hand, the enemy used the policy of issuing surrender cards to force party members and active masses to sign surrender papers, causing suspicion in the Party organization.

Due to the enemy's terror, the movement somewhat subsided. At this time, Nguyen Ngo Dat and his comrades in the Party Committee's Executive Committee, on the one hand, were concerned with consolidating the movement, organizing and training red self-defense teams to fight the enemy and protect the masses. On the other hand, they were looking for ways to stabilize the masses' morale and rebuild the Party's base.

To suppress the reactionaries in the area, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat organized a special task force of three people: Hoang Em, Hoang Xi and Le Doat. They dealt with Le Huu Dac, Que Tam and several other people with blood debts.

On June 25, 1931, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat was summoned to attend the extraordinary conference of the Central Region Party Committee at the house of comrade Chu Gia Loc in Duc Quang village. The meeting included comrades: Le Viet Thuat, Le Xuan Dao, Nguyen Loi, Nguyen Tiem, Nguyen Huu Co, Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Nguyen Thi Due, Phan Thai At, Nguyen Sinh Dien, Hoang Khang, Nguyen Ngo Dat. The conference assessed the situation after comrade Le Mao was shot dead in Ben Thuy, Nguyen Phong Sac - Secretary of the Regional Party Committee was arrested in Hanoi and a number of regional cadres were imprisoned, the enemy terrorized strongly, the struggle movement had somewhat subsided. The policy of the Regional Party Committee was to put the struggle movement into secret activities, no longer distribute leaflets and hang flags as before, organize secret celebrations on holidays; assign party members to be in charge of the masses to stabilize the situation.

Regarding organizational work, it is necessary to supplement the Regional Party Committee with cadres. The conference elected comrades Chu Van Bien, Mai Trong Dan, and Mai Trong Tin to join the Regional Party Committee.

During this time, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat and the printing team had to stay at the house of Mr. Dien, a fellow villager, and the house of Mr. So, a rickshaw puller, at km 2 of Road 8, more than 1 km from Vinh. These two families were very kind, wholeheartedly helping and protecting Party cadres. At that time, transportation was interrupted, so some printed documents could not be sent to the base. The only leaflets that could be distributed were thanks to the revolutionary spirit of Mr. So, the rickshaw puller, and Mr. Tho, Mr. Dien's son, sat on the rickshaw and distributed them at different times and places.

By July 1931, the enemy had discovered this base, so comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat had to move to Trai Cay hamlet of Yen Dung village near Con Meo mountain (Ben Thuy). At this time, the agency had only three people left: Nguyen Ngo Dat, Le Thuc Cuong and Nguyen Xuan Thanh. Here, the agency was located at the house of comrade Cu Thich, the younger brother of comrade Le Viet Thuat, with Thiu Ngan, a relative of Thich, who also helped with security work. At this time, the district party committee had no transportation, most of the cadres were arrested, and communication from the province to the district and the district to the province and the commune was very difficult. All the money for food was used up, so the people supported them. After that, the printing agency had to move to a family near comrade Thich's house. On the night of July 14, 1931, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat and his father finished eating and went out to sleep in the fields. Late at night, it started to rain. Thinking that the enemy would not come looking for him in this weather, the father and son had just returned to the base house when they saw the flashlights and the sound of the enemy's sticks hitting each other, so they looked for a way to escape. Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thanh tripped and fell, so they were captured and taken to the base house to be beaten and interrogated, but comrade Nguyen Xuan Thanh did not confess. The enemy searched the fields and found printing tools and documents, but he did not confess anything. After that, they took him to Vinh Prison and sent him to Thanh Qua police station in Thanh Chuong district.

As for comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat, in order to avoid falling into the enemy's hands, he drank opium and swam across the Dao River. On the other side of the river, he lay motionless. On the morning of July 15, 1931, Ms. Hai Ngan, a relative who got married, went to work in Yen Tuy village and saw comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat lying unconscious. She took him home and took care of him until he recovered. When his health had recovered, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat went to Ky Anh district (Ha Tinh province) to continue his revolutionary activities.

On August 3, 1931, Nguyen Ngo Dat was arrested in Ky Anh district (Ha Tinh province). The secret police took him to Vinh prison and imprisoned him in cell 2 (the serious crime cell). The Southern Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to death with three sentences:

- Verdict No. 79 dated August 10, 1931 sentenced to death for "rebellion" and murder of Chief Le Huu Dac.

- Verdict No. 100 dated August 19, 1931, death penalty for "communist activities".

- Verdict No. 108 dated September 4, 1931 sentenced him to life in prison for participating in the murder of Hoc Xuat in Xuan Giang village.

Finally, they executed Judgment No. 108 dated September 4, 1931, sentencing comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat to life imprisonment in Lao Bao. On April 23, 1932, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat was transferred to Buon Ma Thuot prison, Dak Lak province.

On September 28, 1932, comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat breathed his last at the age of 42 due to cholera. His grave was buried in the prison cemetery with grave number 26. In December 1993, his descendants found the grave of comrade Nguyen Ngo Dat.