Comrade Tran Huu Thieu - a steadfast soldier
Tran Huu Thieu, alias Nguyen Trung Thien, was born on June 11, 1906 in Duong Xuan village (now Linh Son commune, Anh Son district, Nghe An). Growing up in a rural area rich in patriotic traditions, he was soon awakened to national consciousness. He died on February 11, 1931.
At the age of 21 (1927), Tran Huu Thieu was one of the seven members of the Revolutionary Youth Association in Duong Xuan. In 1929, he became one of the first members of the Indochinese Communist Party in his hometown. He was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of the General Farmers' Association of Nghe An province.
In early January 1930, the Central Committee of the Indochina Communist Party sent Tran Huu Thieu to work in Ha Tinh. Despite his difficult family situation: his mother was old and weak, and his wife was about to give birth to their first child, he was still enthusiastic about his mission.
In Ha Tinh, Tran Huu Thieu relied on active, core members of the French-Vietnamese Primary School Student Association of Ha Tinh town to establish a Party cell, acting as the nucleus to expand the organization to prefectures and districts in the province.
After the Communist Party of Vietnam was born, Tran Huu Thieu coordinated with comrades in the Indochina Communist Federation group in Ha Tinh to hold a conference to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam in Ha Tinh province at the end of March 1930. The conference elected the provisional Executive Committee of the Party with Nguyen Trung Thien (Tran Huu Thieu) as Secretary.
Tran Huu Thieu had high prestige among party members, cadres and people of all walks of life in the province. He always blended in with the masses and had a method of propagating and explaining the revolutionary line in simple, popular words. To facilitate his movements, he often had to disguise himself from the enemy, sometimes dressed as a farmer, sometimes wearing a traditional long dress as a doctor, sometimes wearing a Western uniform as a teacher...
The feudal colonial government in Anh Son district searched for the "dangerous communist Tran Huu Thieu" for a long time without finding any trace, so they resorted to the despicable trick of imprisoning his old mother and wife (who had just given birth). Although he loved his mother, missed his wife and children dearly, and was extremely indignant at the ferocious enemy, Tran Huu Thieu remained calm and clear-headed, directing the movement with extraordinary determination.
The historic demonstration on August 1, 1930 of 500 Can Loc farmers and a series of other struggles in Ha Tinh that took place on the day of anti-imperialist war were led and organized by the Ha Tinh Provisional Provincial Party Committee headed by Tran Huu Thieu.
During the struggle of farmers in Cam Xuyen district on September 9, 1930, the French colonialists shot dead 7 people. Tran Huu Thieu wrote parallel sentences to pay tribute to the martyrs to encourage the fighting spirit of the masses:
How heroic to die, Hong Bang's blood drops fall to the ground,
Living there are slaves, thanks to the breath of the white devil, the crime is to the heavens!
Tran Huu Thieu had made great contributions to the revolutionary movement in Ha Tinh from the early days of the struggle. At the end of September 1930, in the first Ha Tinh Party Congress, Tran Huu Thieu nominated Nguyen Thiep (from Phu Viet, Thach Ha) as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and he himself asked to directly lead the struggle movement in Can Loc district. His proposal was unanimously approved by the Congress.
As a member of the Standing Committee of Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee, while on duty in Can Loc, Tran Huu Thieu was captured by the enemy on the morning of November 22, 1930.
In prison, despite being brutally tortured, Tran Huu Thieu showed the heroic spirit of a man from Nghe An, not giving in to the enemy. He remained optimistic and loved life and wrote poems for his fellow soldiers:
I'm in prison and I miss you so much,
Miss Hoang, miss Tho, miss Mai again.
Remembering Peach blossoms, Long's white teeth,
Remember Che curly beard, Huc long legs.
Remembering the brave man of Can district,
Remembering Hue town with shoulder length hair...
Tran Huu Thieu was imprisoned but still made the enemy worry day and night, because his prestige was the encouragement for the masses to fight. Therefore, they secretly took him to Phu Minh village, Can Loc district to execute him on February 11, 1931. He died at the age of 25.
To show gratitude to Nguyen Trung Thien, the provisional Provincial Party Secretary of Ha Tinh Party Committee, after the August Revolution in 1945, the local Party Committee where he died named his commune Thien Loc.
