July Journey to the Sacred Land

“Twenty years old becomes a storm…”

At 5am, from Vinh city, the delegation started their journey back to the source - an annual activity that has been maintained for many years. In the summer, the sun rises early, the car passes Ben Thuy bridge, and through the window, the golden dawn light sprinkles on the Lam Giang river. From the city on the green river with thick sediments to the legendary Ben Hai land on both banks, it is almost 300km, the journey back to the source follows the summer sunlight, which becomes more and more brilliant the further south.

Quang Tri Citadel is the place that witnessed the heroic and resilient fighting spirit of our army and people in 1972. Photo by Thanh Duy

Members of the delegation of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, Fatherland Front Committee of the province and departments, branches, sectors, organizations... have all been present on these trips to the source many times, but it seems that each time they are still full of emotions. Feeling melancholy and proud, with a bit of deep sadness that is difficult to express when passing through historical sites: Vinh Linh - the steel rampart, Doc Mieu - Con Tien - Ai Tu, Highway 9, Khe Sanh, Cua Viet... Each land name, village name contains a part of history, heavy with countless achievements and sacrifices, glory and blood of our army and people in the heroic resistance war against the US.

The car crossed Hien Luong bridge, the music in the car seemed to understand people's hearts and echoed a heroic song about a river... It is said that the old Hien Luong bridge is only over 160m long, spanning the Ben Hai river which is less than 100m wide, but that gentle, poetic river has become the place where the heavy burden of the two ends of the country rests, the place that witnessed the pain of the 21-year long division between North and South.

Now, cars can speed across the bridge in less than 2 minutes. Can today's young generation still imagine the fierce war of the past - "the flag battle", "the loudspeaker war", "the bridge paint war"... and the immense pain of "the husband in the North, the wife in the South", and the separation of relatives that is difficult to describe in words?

People come to pay tribute to and commemorate the heroic martyrs at the Memorial in Quang Tri Citadel. Photo: Thanh Duy

Our group went to offer incense at Quang Tri Citadel. Slowly walking on the Citadel Bridge over the legendary Thach Han River, someone in the car suddenly hummed a few verses of poetry imbued with comradely love:“Boat up to Thach Han, oh... row gently/ At the bottom of the river my friend still lies/ At the age of twenty, he becomes waves/ Lapping the shore forever and ever.”Famous poems of Quang Tri Citadel veteran Le Ba Duong - a son of Nghe An.

Le Ba Duong was a character in a few articles published in Nghe An newspaper, and I remember, in one of those articles, he confided that he volunteered to join the army at the age of 15, when he was still in the 7th grade. That was in 1968 - the war against the US was at its fiercest. Like many of his comrades from Nghe An, Le Ba Duong became a brave soldier who killed the US in the battle at Dong Ha front (Quang Tri).

Nghe An soldiers entering the battlefield are always full of Nghe An qualities: brave, resilient, loyal and shining with revolutionary ideals. That is why there is a typical story about veteran Le Ba Duong, that he once used blood from his own wound to write on a picture of Uncle Ho that he brought with him before entering the battle: “Uncle Ho, starting from today, June 20, my comrades and I will start shooting and destroying the enemy.(keep - PV)"We will fight to the end. Quan killed 7 of them, Hoe and Duong more than a dozen. We will remember Uncle Ho's teachings, as long as there are any invaders in our country, we will fight to wipe them out. Uncle, our responsibility and determination is to guard the post"!

The graves of martyrs from Nghe An at the National Martyrs Cemetery of Road 9. Photo: Thanh Duy

On the sacred land of Quang Tri, thousands of Nghe An people fought so steadfastly. And also on that land, on that river, countless people have remained forever, forever in their twenties... In the middle of the Citadel relic today, each member of the working group was moved to tears when listening to the explanation of the 81 fiery days and nights of the summer of 1972. There were 328,000 tons of bombs and bullets dropped by the American invaders, focusing on the Citadel and the town of Quang Tri, which was less than 3km wide.²- a terrible battle in the history of world war. The citadel is considered a "cemetery without graves", the common grave of tens of thousands of heroes and martyrs.

Souls rest in peace

In Quang Tri, there are shocking and painful “first” statistics due to the war, which no one wants. Among them are statistics on the number of martyrs’ cemeteries. 72 martyrs’ cemeteries, the largest being the Truong Son National Martyrs’ Cemetery and the Route 9 National Martyrs’ Cemetery.

Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery in Vinh Truong Commune, Gio Linh District is the resting place of 10,263 martyrs who fought and sacrificed heroically on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the resistance war against the US to save the country; including 1,297 martyrs from Nghe An. After offering incense at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial House and the Monument to Heroic Martyrs, the delegation of Nghe An province respectfully visited each grave of the martyrs who were children of the homeland to pay their respects.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and members of the delegation offered incense at the graves of martyrs from Nghe An at Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery and Road 9 National Martyrs' Cemetery. Photo: Thanh Duy

At Truong Son National Cemetery, the graves of martyrs from Nghe An are planned in a separate area. Following each grave, the simple names, the hometown addresses: Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Anh Son, Dien Chau, Cua Lo, Nghi Loc... are so dear! 1,297 martyrs from Nghe An, the youngest is probably only eighteen or twenty, the older is only around 40... Carrying with them enthusiasm and love for their homeland and country, they fought bravely, contributing to writing the legend of the historic Ho Chi Minh trail - the vital road connecting Tan Ky (Nghe An) to Binh Phuoc that many American historians once exclaimed in amazement: "Like a maze"!

The delegation of Nghe An province also visited the National Road 9 Martyrs' Cemetery - the resting place of 10,754 martyrs of the main force, local troops, militia and guerrillas, and youth volunteers who fought and served on the Road 9 front and in Laos during the resistance war against the US. Nearly 200 martyrs from Nghe An are currently resting here. The square graves are carefully cared for by the caring and compassionate care of the cemetery staff - who are also former veterans.

In the sacred atmosphere, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long rang the bell to pray for national peace and prosperity, and to protect the souls of heroic martyrs. The bell rang forever, as if to convey gratitude that could not be expressed in words.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy and Provincial People's Committee Vice Chairman Bui Dinh Long rang the bell to pray for heroic martyrs at the National Martyrs Cemetery of Road 9. Photo: Thanh Duy

July on the sacred land, returning to the red addresses of the past, bowing to offer incense to those who have passed away, suddenly feeling my heart heavy with nostalgia, reminding myself to live a more worthy life with the blood sacrifices of my fathers and brothers...