Comrade Nguyen Tong - a typical soldier in the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931 in his hometown Yen Thanh

My Thanh - a mountainous commune, located in the southwest of Yen Thanh district, is an ancient land, closely associated with the process of building and defending the country of Vietnam. Although My Thanh today, Tru Phap in the past, is a poor land, the local people are very patriotic and loyal. This place used to be the hunting and gathering ground of ancient Vietnamese people and also the operating ground of many generals in feudal dynasties.

In 1858, when the French colonialists opened fire to attack Da Nang, together with the people of Nghe Tinh, the villagers of Tru Phap enthusiastically participated in many struggles, from the days of the flag-sacrificing ceremony at Con Sat to the great battles of the insurgents in Xom Ho, Dong Thong, Bao Nham... During the Can Vuong movement, the hills, roads, and names of people in My Thanh were recorded in history books and poetry.

It is the fine traditions of the homeland that have contributed to fostering patriotism, the soul, and the character of a staunch communist soldier of the children of My Thanh homeland, including comrade Nguyen Tong. Comrade Nguyen Tong (also known by the aliases Nguyen Tan and Trang), was born in 1902 [1] in Tru Phap village, Van Tu commune (now Tan My hamlet, My Thanh commune), Yen Thanh district, Nghe An.

From a young age, Nguyen Tong had a strong sense of nationalism. At the end of 1926, the Revolutionary Youth Comrades Association group in Tru Phap was established [2], carrying out many forms of propaganda, disseminating patriotic ideas and progressive books and newspapers to enlighten the masses.

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With his intelligence and patriotism, comrade Nguyen Tong was influenced by patriotic books and newspapers, and progressive revolutionary ideas propagated by comrades in the Youth Cell in Tru Phap. After a period of testing, comrade Nguyen Tong was admitted as a member of the Youth Cell in Tru Phap.

In 1929, after its establishment, the Central Region Indochinese Communist Party sent comrade Phan Thai At, Secretary of the Nghe An Red Peasants' Association, to Tru Phap to convene a meeting at comrade Nguyen Ngoan's house to establish the Indochinese Communist Party cell in Yen Thanh. At this meeting, the comrades agreed to name it Bo Son cell. The cell consisted of 9 outstanding comrades from the Van Tu Youth Association cells. Comrade Nguyen Tong was honored to be admitted as one of the first party members of Yen Thanh district.

After the establishment of Nghe An Provincial Committee [3] (March 1930), in August 1930, the Provincial Committee sent comrades Nguyen Huu Binh, Ton Thi Que, and Ton Gia Chung to reinforce Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts. At the end of September 1930, under the chairmanship of comrade Nguyen Huu Binh, the first communist cell of the Communist Party of Vietnam of Van Tu commune [4] was established in Tru Phap village, including 9 comrades: Nguyen Ngoan, Nguyen Tong, Nguyen Uy, Le Dieu, Nguyen Chuyen, Tran Khac Thanh, Vo Chau, Nguyen Thuc, and Nguyen Ung. The establishment of the Party cell in Van Tu marked a new development step of the revolutionary movement in Tru Phap in particular and Van Tu commune in general.

In mid-October 1930, receiving instructions from the Provincial Party Committee, comrades Nguyen Huu Binh, Chu Trang, and Phan Lac directly went to Van Tu to disseminate the policy. The comrades agreed on a plan to organize a demonstration throughout the district on the occasion of the anniversary of the successful October Revolution in Russia to demonstrate their strength, demand tax reductions, and protest against the imperialists and their puppet government's suppression of Ben Thuy workers and farmers in Hung Nguyen district.

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Following the instructions of his superiors, comrade Nguyen Tong and his fellow party members from Tru Phap village actively began preparing for the demonstration. As planned, early in the morning of November 7, 1930, people from Tru Phap, Dong Yen, Quan Chuong, Ngoc Luat villages... gathered from all directions with great enthusiasm at Trang Ke village communal house. Comrades Nguyen Ngoan, Nguyen Uy, and Nguyen Tong took turns standing up to give speeches about the October Revolution and the fighting spirit of the people of Hung Nguyen and Thanh Chuong districts... When the comrades finished speaking, the people immediately shouted out slogans of struggle.

Next, under the direct leadership of comrades Nguyen Ngoan, Nguyen Uy, Le Dieu, Nguyen Tong..., the protest group organized their ranks and began to march along Highway 7 down to Highway 38. Wherever the group went, people from villages of Van Tu and Quan Hoa communes came out from all directions and joined the group. When the protest group had just reached Mui Dao (near Dinh bridge), the Yen Thanh district chief had promptly dispatched legionnaires to block them. Faced with the people's wave-like fighting spirit, the district chief panicked and immediately ordered the legionnaires to shoot at the group, killing one person and injuring several others. Faced with the unequal situation, the comrades guided the group to temporarily retreat to preserve their strength.

On November 10, 1930, the Yen Thanh District Provisional Party Committee was established with 5 comrades, with comrade Nguyen Ung as Secretary. Immediately after its establishment, the District Party Committee assigned District Party Committee members to the Communes to consolidate and develop Party cells and mass organizations.

At the end of 1930, under the direct leadership of the Provincial Party Committee as well as the active activities of the District Party Committee comrades, the Tru Phap Party cell was established with comrade Nguyen Ngoan as Secretary. Comrade Nguyen Tong continued to be trusted by his superiors to be elected as a member of the cell. According to documents of the French Secret Service, during this time, comrade Nguyen Tong also took on the role of "liaison officer for the Yen Thanh District Party Committee" [5]. The establishment of the Tru Phap Party cell promptly led the struggle movement of the local masses.

Under the direction of the District Party Committee, comrade Nguyen Tong and comrades in the Tru Phap Party Cell mobilized the masses to join revolutionary mass organizations such as the Red Farmers' Association, the Women's Association, etc. They were also the ones who directly guided and led the masses of Tru Phap to coordinate with villages in the General Organization to organize many struggles and occasions to commemorate the anniversary of the Guangzhou Commune, to fight to take rice from landlords to give to the poor to relieve hunger...

Faced with the strong development of the struggle movement in Van Tu, in early 1931, Governor General of An Tinh Nguyen Khoa Ky implemented a series of new policies. On the one hand, they sent legionnaires, blue-clad soldiers, porters, lieutenants and secret agents to Yen Thanh to stalk and arrest day and night. Tru Phap was where the revolutionary movement was strongly developing, they set up a Tru Phap blue-clad soldier station commanded by the mandarin Kiec (Bana). On the other hand, they also used demagogic tricks such as organizing "yellow flag processions" and "issuing surrender cards" to divide and isolate the revolutionary forces among the masses.

To smash the enemy's evil plot, comrades in Yen Thanh District Party Committee held a secret meeting to plan to disrupt the surrender card distribution ceremony, not allowing them to organize "understanding", carry the yellow flag and distribute surrender cards.

On the morning of February 7, 1931, implementing the policy of their superiors, comrades Nguyen Tong, Nguyen Uy, and Nguyen Ngoan led the people to gather at Ke market communal house. Yen Thanh district chief Phan Minh Bat, the chief and deputy chief of the commune, the village chiefs, and dignitaries of the Van Tu commune all flocked here. Next, the car of the French consul, governor Nguyen Khoa Ky, and guard Pơty from Vinh came to attend. Accompanying them were a group of legionnaires from Dien Chau and soldiers from Tru Phap garrison who were mobilized to protect the ceremony. When the ceremony was about to begin, the yellow flag had just been raised, Nguyen Khoa Ky was about to give instructions when comrade Nguyen Tong and other party members who had been arranged in advance immediately called on everyone to stand up. The leaflets of the Indochinese Communist Party calling on farmers to join the Farmers' Association to unite against the French were scattered everywhere. The "surrender ceremony" organized by the enemy was a complete failure.

Unable to bribe or entice the people, the French colonialists and their puppet government sent soldiers and coolies to each village and hamlet to hunt down party members and patriotic people in Yen Thanh. Facing the enemy's intense search, at the end of 1931, comrade Nguyen Tong was arrested and imprisoned in the district prison, then taken to Vinh Prison. Facing the enemy's torture, comrade Nguyen Tong still refused to confess. The enemy sentenced him to life imprisonment and exiled him to Buon Ma Thuot according to Judgment No. 172 dated November 18, 1931 of the Southern Court of Nghe An province.

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With the extraordinary will and determination of a Soviet soldier in Nghe Tinh, comrade Nguyen Tong remained steadfast, together with his fellow political prisoners, standing up to fight to turn the imperial prison into a revolutionary school.

At Buon Ma Thuot prison, prisoners, especially political prisoners, were held in cramped, unsanitary conditions, with inadequate food and drink. “Dangerous” prisoners had their legs shackled and were often brutally beaten and tortured. In addition to their time in prison, prisoners were forced to do hard labor in plantations and factories.

On July 14, 1936, comrade Nguyen Tong was released. Returning to his locality, he contacted party members and patriotic people in Tru Phap. By the end of 1936, Tru Phap Party cell was restored and became one of the seven Party cells in Yen Thanh district during this time. At the meeting to establish Tru Phap Party cell at Mr. Nguyen Hanh's house, comrade Nguyen Tong was elected to hold the position of Party cell Secretary, taking on the task of leading the local revolutionary movement. Under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Tong and the Party cell, Tru Phap people enthusiastically participated in many public struggles during the Democratic Front period of 1936-1939.

In August 1941, when the Central Region Party Committee's printing facility in Lien Tri village was exposed, the enemy launched a district-wide hunt for communist party members. On November 19, 1941, comrade Nguyen Tong fell into the enemy's hands again and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor and 15 years of house arrest under Verdict No. 09 of the Southern Court of Nghe An province.

In early 1945, comrade Nguyen Tong was released from prison. In June 1945, comrades Chu Van Bien and Phan Thuc Tuong returned to Tru Phap to contact comrade Nguyen Tong and former political prisoners to discuss the urgent organization of Viet Minh and the construction of a revolutionary base in the Van Tu area. By the end of June 1945, the Viet Minh Front of Tru Phap village was established at the house of comrade Nguyen Khuong (Tru Phap) chaired by comrade Chu Van Bien. Comrade Nguyen Tong was one of the five comrades of the Viet Minh committee of Tru Phap village. Under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Tong and comrades in the Viet Minh front, the people of Tru Phap rose up to fight, contributing to the victory of the uprising to seize power on August 25, 1945 in Yen Thanh district.

After the August Revolution, comrade Nguyen Tong continued to participate in local resistance and national construction activities. In 1960, due to old age and the consequences of torture in colonial prisons, comrade Nguyen Tong passed away locally, leaving his family, brothers, and comrades in great sorrow.

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