Part II: The Great Truong Sa Fortress

Visit the big Truong Sa island.

The round, red sun looked like a giant bull's-eye appearing at the bottom of the waves. The ship aimed straight at that bull's-eye and shot straight forward like an arrow. The sun rose higher and brighter, like a searchlight sweeping its light down onto the sea surface. The ship followed that "path of light" straight towards Truong Sa island, the "capital" of Truong Sa archipelago.
Part I: Going towards the sun

Green spot among the "stormy archipelago"

Standing on the deck of the ship, I was able to gaze out into the vastness of the sky and water without anything blocking my view. The sky was calm and the sea was calm. Weather like this is perfect for seafarers. Major Le Hai Son, the ship's captain, said: "The ship is sailing in waters thousands of meters deep. April and May are the two months with the most favorable weather of the year for ships to go to Truong Sa. In other months, the waves are big, wetting the sides of the ship. Sometimes, the ship cannot even let the boat reach the island."

6:00 a.m. May 4. The sky gradually brightened, reporters and reporters with their equipment crowded the lifeboat deck, anxiously waiting for the first moment to see the sacred land of the Fatherland existing in the middle of the windy East Sea. The sky was clear and blue. The sea water had changed color without us noticing. In shallow waters of about 100m, the water was as blue as marble, but at depths of 500-1,000m or more, the water was as dark as ink in the Mekong Delta. The ship of more than 2,000 tons shrank like a small dot in the center of the circle where the sky and the sea met. The sea was blue, moss green, jade, depending on the depth, but magical under the sunlight.

The great Truong Sa gradually appeared before our eyes. We could clearly see the smiles and waving arms of the honor guard welcoming the mainland of the Fatherland, which was suddenly closer than ever. The weather was calm, but ship 996 still could not dock. The waves were strong, so more than an hour later, the mainland and the island were hand in hand, radiant with smiles when they met. Truong Sa began with the green of the phong ba, storm, banyan trees... surrounding the island, the golden sand between the waves and the trees.

In the past, Truong Sa Lon was a submerged island, with only a few scattered maple trees and dense bird droppings. Soldiers who wanted to pick a maple branch to give to the art troupe had to get permission from the island chief. Only 5 or 7 years ago, the island started a movement where each soldier had to plant a tree before leaving the island. Lieutenant Colonel, the chief of Truong Sa Lon, whose name is very oceanic: Nguyen Dai Duong, said that planting trees on the island has something unmistakable, because the geological structure of the floating island system here is all built up by dead coral reefs, the soil here becomes as hard as rock. To dig a hole, a crowbar had to be used to pry out each small piece. The soil for planting trees had to be transported from the mainland, covered inch by inch to prevent salty sand from seeping in. At this time, the island has become a green oasis in the middle of the salty ocean wind. "Every square meter of the island has now been planned in detail," Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dai Duong confided. Before the sovereignty marker, we met Lieutenant Dinh Cao Toan, from the coastal area of ​​Hau Loc (Thanh Hoa), the leader of the 85 artillery squad, who confided that when he came to Truong Sa, he still did not feel the difficulty. Because before going to the island, he had also prepared mentally and determined a lot. But when he arrived, he was really surprised because there were many green trees, there were also vegetable gardens, wells... just like in his hometown. "The more I stay, the more I love Truong Sa".

Patrol the island

In all the units on the island, there are green vegetables everywhere. Vegetables are grown next to water tanks, under the canopy of the banyan tree, around the houses. Each vegetable plot is only about 15 square meters but has a 2 meter high wall surrounding it to avoid the salty wind of the rainy season. If calculated as on the mainland, the value of the wall must be hundreds of times higher than the price of vegetables. On the island, there is no fixed quota of how many kilograms of green vegetables each soldier can grow, but each person is assigned to take care of a type of vegetable. Like the tank unit, the German soldiers: Malabar spinach, Hoa: water spinach, Binh: squash.... To the point that sometimes that is the nickname for the brothers to call them by name... for convenience. From July to the end of the year, the salty wind prevents vegetables from growing, so the soldiers switch to growing squash, a reserve source of green vegetables during the changing seasons.

Increase production

Truong Sa is still known as the "stormy archipelago", the waves and winds never stop, salting the small green spots on the vast sea chart, but like loyal soldiers, the green shoots still quietly and courageously bring the small islands closer to the mainland.

The story of the island keepers

To get to the center of the island, we walked on the spacious airport runway, running the length of the island. The island was covered with green trees, which the islanders treasured as much as food, clothes, and drinking water. There was also the Truong Sa District People's Committee Headquarters; the Rescue Center; and the Oceanographic and Meteorological Station. The outline of a town with a central location in the archipelago appeared before our eyes very clearly. The story I heard most was about the island's help to fishermen. Sick, lacking food, drinking water... the fishermen considered the island as a rescue station at sea to rely on.

Read letters from home

In the evening, under the sovereignty marker, the working group organized a cultural exchange, the core of which was the Navy's art troupe. The song "Truong Sa Painting" opened a night of music full of "island" character. The island soldiers showed their enthusiasm with conch shells, square-flowered marigolds, mustard flowers, wild honeysuckle flowers... continuously giving to the singer. The forest of arms connected, bunches of wild flowers of all kinds were raised up, rhythmically following the lyrics, under the night lights, looking like tiny clusters of fireworks. During the exciting performances, our soldiers rushed onto the stage, dancing innocently with the singer. Smiles filled the small island. Singer Nhat Huyen, from Thai Binh, was only scheduled to sing 2 songs, but she sang... 4 performances. For the last song, Huyen sat on the ground, mixed in with the soldiers and sang with them, making MC Quang Long panic for fear of burning out the program.

Island soldiers interact with singers

The night on the island is very short. Another dawn is gradually rising over the dark purple horizon. With each new day on shore, I often feel refreshed, because I am facing a new day, with many things waiting. But at dawn today, I suddenly feel absent-minded. We are about to say goodbye to Truong Sa, and will make an appointment to meet again, but who knows when, my beloved small island? When the passing moments are almost like flesh and blood.

The groups of friends and the island soldiers chattered as they went to the wharf, where the HQ996 ship was glowing pink in the dawn light. The island honor guard in navy uniform was waiting to see the working group off. The gifts the island sent to the mainland were some coral branches, some rocks around the edge of the waves, and some people even carefully scooped up some Truong Sa water. As for me, I quietly picked some maple leaves to remember a voyage that would not be easily repeated. There was only one gift that I could not forget when leaving the island: the words of the island chief Nguyen Dai Duong at the wharf, "Although the island is far away, very far from shore, the mainland can rest assured because the army and people of Truong Sa island district are determined to firmly protect the sacred islands of the Fatherland. That is the gift Truong Sa respectfully gives to the mainland!".

At 5:30 a.m. on May 5, the ship anchored and we said goodbye to Truong Sa Lon. What remained were the sovereignty markers and the island’s guardians.

(Continued in part 3:Wreath in the middle of the ocean)

Tran Hai