Heroes of the Ho Chi Minh trail at sea then and now.

(Baonghean.vn)Mr. Nguyen Van Giap's dilapidated house is located at the end of Tho Thanh village (Quynh Tho commune, Quynh Luu - Nghe An). Mr. Giap has just recovered from an illness, his health has not yet recovered, but he is still excited about the story of a "legendary" past.

A time of "pioneering" at sea

In 1968, when Mr. Giap was a member of Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative, carrying out the task assigned by his superiors, the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee launched a campaign to transport food to the South to serve the resistance war. Comrade Chu Manh, Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial Administrative Committee, and Comrade Le Quang Hoa, Major General and Commander of Military Region 4, went to Quynh Luu district to directly assign the task to the Party Committee and people of Quynh Luu district to transport 2,500 tons of food to the Southern battlefield by sea.

Mr. Nguyen Van Giap with documents requesting to be considered for subsidy



Certificates of merit, medals, and 30-year party badges are hung solemnly on the peeling wall.

The Party Committee and people of Quynh Tho commune took the Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative as the core to start the campaign. To concentrate forces on the campaign, the leadership mobilized two more boats of the fishing cooperative. There were 17 rudimentary boats with a tonnage of 17 tons. On March 25, 1968, the cargo boats went to Lach Thoi (Son Hai commune) to prepare for the journey at sea (called going B). But at that time, American planes and warships dropped mines fiercely, causing difficulties for the boats. Realizing that the situation was somewhat fierce, the Command Committee, including comrades Tran Quang Xan (Chairman of the Quynh Luu People's Committee), Nguyen Xuan Mai (Nghe An Transport Department) and Tran Huy Vinh (Quynh Tho Party Committee Secretary) decided to let 16 boats return to shore to camouflage and hide. The remaining boat would continue to go to sea, which was the boat captained by Nguyen Van Giap.

Mr. Giap said: The situation at sea at that time was very fierce, if the whole group set off it would be too risky. To ensure the safety of goods and vehicles, the Command Board decided to "sacrifice" a boat, opening a "blood path" to bring the goods to the destination. If at that time, the whole group turned back, the campaign would lose all momentum. His boat at that time had Mr. Nguyen Dien, Nguyen Binh, Nguyen Bang, and Le Lai. After 3 days and nights drifting at sea, overcoming many enemy bullets, his boat reached its destination safely and delivered all the goods. After that, the remaining 16 boats continued their journey to transport food to the front line.

In 1970-1971, Mr. Giap continued to participate in the Ho Chi Minh Trail Youth Volunteers (Group 559). In 1976, he was demobilized and returned to his hometown to become the head of the Quynh Tho Cooperative. In 1978, at the Nghe An Department of Transportation, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea along with Mr. Dam Van Luat and Mr. Tran Phu Khanh.

Painful thoughts

Then old age came, he became weaker and weaker. He showed us a series of medical records from various hospitals. In 2009, he began to suffer from acute sciatica, lumbar spondylosis, and spinal stenosis. The illness left him bedridden for several months and he still cannot walk steadily.

Mr. Giap and his wife were old and sick.

His family has 4 children. Two daughters married far away, two sons also work far away, difficult economic conditions do not provide much support for the couple. Currently, they still live in an old level 4 house that is over 50 years old, at high risk of collapse. In 2006, a storm caused the kitchen to collapse and his wife, Mrs. Pham Thi Toan, suffered injuries that affected her health. The couple lives on the support of their children and the poor household regime (not in the protection framework) of 500,000 VND/year. In addition, the couple does not have any other subsidies. According to Mr. Giap, he has submitted many applications to all levels and sectors but has not been resolved because his application lacks important original certification documents. His wife, Pham Thi Toan, said: “After so many years, no one thought that there would come a time when they would need to take care of the regime, so all the documents were lost. Now, even if they want to receive a monthly subsidy of a few hundred thousand, they can’t. It’s also difficult to live to 80 to receive the old-age pension.”

With the fear of his house collapsing, he said, Quynh Tho commune also promised to support 4 million VND if he repaired it, and 7 million VND if he rebuilt it. He said bitterly: "In a time when prices are rising, I don't dare to build or repair with only 4 or 7 million VND."

Talking to us about the case of Mr. Nguyen Van Giap, Mr. Tran Huy Vinh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Tho commune said: Mr. Giap was previously a member of the Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative, participating in transporting goods by boat. However, the commune government does not dare to confirm whether the Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative participated in the Ho Chi Minh trail campaign at sea. Currently, the commune does not have the basis to ensure the regime for these cases.

We also met Mr. Nguyen Van Giang (63 years old, Tho Thanh village), who was awarded the Quang Tri Ancient Citadel Protection Soldier Medal by the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, a person who also participated in 3 cargo transport trips with the fleet of Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative and some people who participated in the Ho Chi Minh Trail campaign at sea of ​​Quynh Tho Transport Cooperative are still alive but are old and sick such as Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, Pham Van Dau, Le Xuan Thang... We heard them tell and confirm about this.

So after 50 years, when the legendary road on the sea has gone down in history, the People's Committee of Quynh Tho commune still does not know whether their cooperative participated in the campaign or not and people like Mr. Giap and Mr. Giang are still quietly hidden behind time? I think it is not difficult to prove this, and it is not too difficult to do something meaningful for those who were awarded the title of brave hero on the legendary road, when the whole country is looking towards this important anniversary, if the Party Committee and the government pay attention and respect the great contributions of those who once risked their lives for the Fatherland.

Nguyen Thi Quynh - TV