Comrade Phan Thai At - a typical senior cadre of the Party, an excellent son of his homeland Nghe An - Quang Ngai

Comrade Phan Thai At (alias Tan, Bach, Hong Son), former Secretary of the Nghe An General Farmers' Association (1929), former member of the Central Region Party Committee, Secretary of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee (1930-1931), was born in Nghe An and grew up from the revolutionary movement of his homeland. He joined the Party early, dedicating his youth to the revolution, especially the revolutionary movement of Nghe An and Quang Ngai, thus he became an outstanding son, the pride of the Party Committee and the people of Nghe An and Quang Ngai provinces.

Secretary of Nghe An General Farmers' Association

Comrade Phan Thai At was born in 1894, in a family with a patriotic tradition in Linh Son commune, Anh Son district, Nghe An province. Linh Son hometown is located on the right bank of Lam river, a land famous for Gay tea and fierce struggles between the defenders and the mandarins.

Witnessing the unjust oppression of the colonial and feudal governments against the people, the strong struggles of the masses... lit the flame of patriotism and love for the people in Phan Thai At's soul and soon formed in his mind a progressive patriotic ideology.

In 1920, facing the wave of Nghe Tinh youth crossing forests and mountains to go abroad following the call of patriot Phan Boi Chau, Phan Thai At stayed in his hometown to cherish a great ambition. In 1923, he and other progressive youths in his hometown established the Tam Giao Association, raised money, encouraged and supported youths to go abroad to study in Siam (Thailand); established a "Plowing Camp" in Loi Loi beach, opened a Yen Xuan trading shop as a place to gather progressive people in the region to read books and newspapers and discuss anti-French work. In 1926, comrade Phan Thai At joined the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association of Nghe An province.

On September 25, 1929, he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party and was elected as Secretary of the Duong Xuan Party Cell. The first Party Cell of Anh Son District. In November 1929, the Nghe An Red Peasants' Association was established, with comrade Phan Thai At as Secretary. With the assigned responsibility, comrade Phan Thai At actively built and developed revolutionary forces in many places in Nghe An province such as Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau...

His active activities contributed to the rapid formation and strong development of Party bases, Farmers' Associations and mass organizations in rural areas. This was also the main factor that pushed the struggle movement to its peak with the birth of the Soviet government in the villages of Nghe Tinh in 1930-1931.

The person who lit the fire for the revolutionary movement in the Central provinces - Central Vietnam

Being fiercely wanted by the enemy, to avoid losses to the revolutionary movement, from February 1930, comrade Phan Thai At was mobilized by the Central Region Executive Committee to work in the South Central provinces, responsible for building Party bases and revolutionary movements in the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Phu Yen.

In April 1930, as a delegate of the Central Region Party Committee, comrade Phan Thai At was assigned to work in Quang Ngai province, together with comrade Nguyen Nghiem, directly directing the drafting of the program, proposing policies to develop the revolutionary movement in accordance with the reality of the province and organizing the first Congress of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee in June 1930. At this Congress, comrade Nguyen Nghiem was elected as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, comrade Phan Thai At was elected as Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.

Carrying out the assigned responsibility, comrade Phan Thai At disguised himself as a traditional healer, specializing in treating and saving people, and traveled to many places in Quang Ngai province. From Duc Pho to Ba To, through Minh Long, down to Nghia Hanh, Mo Duc, Tu Nghia, Quang Ngai town, then to Son Tinh, Binh Son, Son Ha, Tra Bong. With the protection, shelter, and care of the people of Quang Ngai, he established many revolutionary bases and party bases. From then on, struggles to demand the rights of the people such as: increased plowing, planting, and harvesting were organized everywhere and achieved many victories.

When mentioning comrade Phan Thai At, some elderly people in the places where he worked and many veteran revolutionaries in Quang Ngai often mention the name "Mr. Coc Cach", with black teeth, often wearing ao dai, speaking with a Northern accent (the accent of people from Nghe An).

To push the revolutionary movement to a new level of development, comrade Phan Thai At and comrade Nguyen Nghiem directly led and organized many large struggles and demonstrations, making the French colonialists and their henchmen extremely confused and afraid.

In September 1930, the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement developed strongly, the struggles broke out like waves breaking the shore and won with the birth of the Soviet government in many localities in the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. News from the revolutionary movement in the homeland poured into Quang Ngai, implementing the directive of the Central Region Branch, comrade Phan Thai At and the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee launched a movement to support the Nghe Tinh Soviet. The beginning was the demonstration, demonstration of force, occupation of Duc Pho district office on the night of October 7 and early morning of October 8, 1930 by the people following the call of comrade Phan Thai At:

“... Workers - Farmers - Soldiers!

Together we tighten our grip on common interests

Break the slavery and stand up…”

After listening to comrade Phan Thai At's speech, nearly 5,000 people marched to the district capital, stormed the district office, burned official documents and files, confiscated seals, released prisoners, posted posters, distributed leaflets, hung red hammer and sickle flags in the district office, shouted slogans, marched, took control of the district capital, and dispersed at 7 a.m.

The first demonstration of force by the people of Duc Pho achieved a great victory, signaling that a new revolutionary climax would rise strongly in Quang Ngai. Following Duc Pho's example, people in districts in the province also continuously rose up in protest. From Quang Ngai, the movement quickly spread to other provinces, creating a revolutionary wave in Central Vietnam, "sharing the fire" with Nghe Tinh, contributing with the whole country to create the revolutionary climax of 1930-1931.

In order to prevent the development of the revolutionary movement in the province, the French colonialists implemented the "White Terror" policy, intensifying the search and arrest of cadres. In order to promptly direct the revolutionary movement in Quang Ngai province, in October 1930, the Provincial Party Committee divided into two parts, North Tra Khuc and South Tra Khuc (ie the North and South of Quang Ngai province).

Comrade Phan Thai At was assigned to be in charge of the northern part of Tra Khuc River, including the districts of Son Tinh, Binh Son, Tra Bong, and Son Ha. Under the direct leadership of comrade Phan Thai At, the revolutionary movement in the districts north of Tra Khuc River developed increasingly strongly. From the end of October 1930 to February 1931, dozens of large demonstrations continuously broke out everywhere, creating revolutionary climaxes in the districts of the province.

In many places, the enemy government was almost paralyzed. Mass organizations such as the Red Peasant Association, the Red Trade Union, the Red Self-Defense Force, the Red Relief Force, etc. developed strongly. At the same time, comrade Phan Thai At and comrade Nguyen Nghiem were assigned by the Central Region Party Committee to guide and assist the revolutionary movements in the provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen. On March 6, 1931, comrade Nguyen Nghiem was captured by the enemy and beheaded at the Tra Khuc river bank. The Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee appointed comrade Phan Thai At as Secretary.

With the contributions of comrade Phan Thai At to the revolutionary movement in Nghe An and the Central provinces, in June 1931, comrade Phan Thai At was added to the Central Region Party Committee and assigned as a Standing member of the Central Region Party Committee.

Assessing the revolutionary struggle movement of the Party Committee and People of Quang Ngai in 1930-1931 under the leadership of comrade Phan Thai At, the Party Central Committee affirmed: "Then came Quang Ngai, although the movementNot as strong as Nghe Tinh, but it is still the strongest in the South Central region.The Quang Ngai secret police's file sent to the Central Region Resident admitted: "In this province, the communist movement has achieved many victories, thanks toactivities of the people in charge Phan Thai At, also known as Coc Cach, from Nghe An and Nguyen Nghiem from Quang Ngai province...".

14 years of steadfastness in imperial prison (1931-1945)

While the revolutionary movement was developing strongly, comrade Phan Thai At and comrade Ton Diem, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, were arrested by the French colonialists at Khanh Van Pagoda, Son Tinh District on July 27, 1931. On August 26, 1931, at Quang Ngai prison, comrade Phan Thai At was sentenced to death by the French colonialists, but public opinion protested, forcing them to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment and exile him to Buon Ma Thuot prison. In prison, he still participated in leading the struggles of his fellow political prisoners, so he was exiled to Con Dao by the French colonialists.

From Quang Ngai prison to Buon Ma Thuot exile, to Con Dao prison, wherever he was, the enemy used all kinds of torture. Whips, pliers, wild forests, poisonous waters, death sentences and “hell on earth” could not subdue the steadfast spirit of a communist. His strong answers to the Quang Ngai governor and the Central Secret Service Chief Li-vec-xe have gone down in history:“… We communists would rather die than do dirty things like you. We live and fight for the Party, for the revolution, and die for the Party, for the revolution.”

At Buon Ma Thuot prison, Phan Thai At was beaten so badly that his cane broke, his cowhide was torn, and his leg bones were even shattered. Many times standing on the boundary between life and death, but the spirit and determination of a communist helped him overcome all physical pain to continue living and fighting with a steadfast belief in the victory of the revolution.

Unable to shake the communists’ will, they continued to exile him to Con Dao. Here, the Con Dao prison guards sent Phan Thai At to be imprisoned in the “rice mill” along with many communist soldiers whom they considered “stubborn”. He still participated in Party cell activities and continued to fight.

Living in the dark prisons of the French colonialists, many comrades sacrificed their lives. The remaining ones were all so sick that they could no longer look human. They ate poorly, worked hard, and were constantly threatened by illness. Comrade Phan Thai At shared his food, clothes, and medicine with his comrades. Once, malaria and dysentery were rampant in the prison. In response to the prisoners' struggles, the jailers gave each comrade two quinine pills to take as a precaution. Seeing that comrade Luong Nhung's health was worse than his, comrade Phan Thai At tried to hide the two pills and gave them to comrade Luong Nhung... Comrade Nhung also took two pills of his own and gave them to comrade Phan Thai At.

Touched by the affection of his brothers and comrades, Phan Thai At believed even more in the strength of the struggle in the imperialist prison. When he heard that the Soviet Red Army attacked Nazi Germany, he wrote a poemDear Momwith optimism:

“… Mom, please

"The bad then the good, the same thing of course..."

Contribute to building revolutionary bases and forces for our friendly country, Cambodia.

The August Revolution of 1945 was successful, and he and his fellow political prisoners were welcomed back to the mainland amid the joy of the people of the whole country. After nearly 15 years away from his homeland and family, he continued to be sent by the Party and State to carry out international missions. Putting aside personal feelings, comrade Phan Thai At went to help Cambodia and assumed the positions of: General Secretary of the General Department of the Cambodian Overseas Vietnamese National Salvation Federation; Secretary of the Cambodian Southeast Party Executive Committee, with the task of building a foundation for the Cambodian revolution in the resistance war against French colonialism.

During his stay in the neighboring country, despite the language barrier and different customs, with his experience and will to attack, after 3 months he was able to establish a base in the provinces of Ta Keo and Nam Vang. In early 1946, he was arrested by the reactionary government of Cambodia. After 6 months of imprisonment without any evidence against him, they had to release him.

Returning to work, Phan Thai At established contact with the overseas Vietnamese base to propagate and enlighten patriots to be the core to build revolutionary forces and develop party members. In March 1947, he established 7 overseas Vietnamese areas in the provinces: Ta Keo, Nam Vang, Kampong Cham, and Bien Ho.

During the 7 years in the neighboring country, facing many difficulties and shortages, comrade Phan Thai At had to fight against illness and deal with the enemy's sabotage plots. Thanks to his perseverance, he and our working group were able to build a revolutionary system from the central to local levels as a base for the resistance war against the French.

Country, homeland remembers, gratitude

In 1953, he returned to his hometown to continue working and receive medical treatment. In 1961, he retired. After a period of serious illness, as a result of years of imprisonment and brutal torture by the enemy, he passed away on June 29, 1967 and was buried in Thanh Chuong district. In 2014, his family moved his grave to rebury him at the family cemetery in Linh Son commune, his hometown.

In recognition of his contributions to the cause of national liberation, he was honored by the Party and State to be awarded and posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh Medal, the Third Class Independence Medal, the First Class Resistance Medal against France and many other noble medals.

Comrade Phan Thai At's contributions to the revolutionary movement of the Party Committee and people of Nghe An and Quang Ngai were immense, always remembered and engraved in the traditional history of the provincial Party Committee by generations of cadres, party members and people of the two provinces during the revolutionary periods.

Continuing the spirit of steadfast, indomitable revolutionary struggle, devoted to the revolutionary cause that comrade Phan Thai At and the province's revolutionary predecessors through many periods have passed down, generations of leaders of Nghe An and Quang Ngai provinces have been promoting and continuing to lead the Party and people to uphold the revolutionary spirit, dynamism, creativity, determination to strive and make efforts, focusing on implementing well the key tasks, making breakthroughs in economic - social - cultural development.

In recent years, the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee have coordinated to organize many activities to celebrate the birthday of comrade Phan Thai At, such as building a memorial stele in his hometown of Anh Son, presenting Phan Thai At Secondary School with many valuable gifts to serve teaching and learning...

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On the morning of December 27, 2023, in Linh Son commune, Anh Son district (Nghe An), the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Quang Ngai province and Nghe An province solemnly held a ceremony to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the birth of comrade Phan Thai At (January 1, 1894 - January 1, 2024), and cut the ribbon to inaugurate the comrade's memorial stele in the grounds of the Phan family church in Linh Son commune, Anh Son district.