Memories of three brothers participating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign
(Baonghean.vn) - During the resistance war against French colonialism, many young people volunteered to join the army. In Do Luong, nearly 100 people directly participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. There were families where several brothers participated in the campaign; among them were three brothers Hoang Ngoc Nhan, Hoang Dinh Thuyet, and Hoang Dinh Thao in Lac Son commune.
64 years have passed, but the emotions of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign are still strong in the hearts of the soldiers who directly participated in the battle. Three brothers: Hoang Ngoc Nhan, Hoang Dinh Thuyet, and Hoang Dinh Thao in Lac Son commune all participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954. Time has passed, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Nhan has passed away, and now only Mr. Thuyet and Mr. Thao remain.
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| Workers used bicycles to serve the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Photo archive |
Only then did I fully feel the ferocity of the Dien Bien Phu battle. Bombs and bullets were constantly falling, and those who survived and returned were a miracle.”
Recalling the days participating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Mr. Thao still cannot forget those fierce days:“At that time, I joined the youth volunteer force. Later, because of the need for healthy people to participate in the Dien Bien Phu battle, I was assigned to pull artillery and transport the wounded. It was there that I felt the full ferocity of the Dien Bien Phu battle. Bombs and bullets continuously rained down, and those who survived and returned were a miracle.”
The decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu campaign took place in 3 phases. At 5:30 p.m. on May 7, 1954, we captured the enemy's command post, General De Castries and the entire General Staff and soldiers of the Dien Bien Phu stronghold had to surrender. The "determination to fight, determination to win" flag of our army flew on the roof of the enemy's command bunker.
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| Rare photo of three brothers taken after the fierce battle of Dien Bien Phu Campaign. |
Also in that fierce battle, Mr. Thao did not expect that his two older brothers would also enthusiastically participate in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Nhan - Mr. Thao's older brother at that time belonged to the 57th Regiment, doing the task of cryptography, transmitting signals and information. After the Dien Bien Phu battle, Mr. Nhan continued the resistance war against the French and the Americans. In 2006, due to old age and poor health, he passed away.
Mr. Hoang Dinh Thuyet - Mr. Thao's brother also joined the army in 1951, at that time he worked at the Department of Information and Communications of the General Staff. Mr. Thuyet said: "The battle of Dien Bien Phu was a fierce and unique battle. At that time, our forces were very weak, weapons and equipment were inadequate, a platoon only had 3 guns. To have weapons, our army had to defeat the enemy and use the enemy's guns to fight. Therefore, after the battle, when we heard that the Vietnamese army had won the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the whole mountainous area suddenly cheered and was extremely happy. Only when we completely won did I believe that I was still alive because the battle was so fierce."
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| Mr. Hoang Dinh Thuyet and Hoang Dinh Thao talked with the Commune Veterans Association about the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. |
After the battle of Dien Bien Phu, Mr. Thuyet's army returned to Hanoi. During a break, he walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and saw a young soldier who looked like his brother Nhan. He got closer and recognized Nhan. The two brothers hugged each other emotionally, both happy and sad.
As if by an unexpected premonition, at the same time, Mr. Hoang Dinh Thao's army also stopped in Hanoi. At that time, all three of them just learned that their brothers had all survived the battle of Dien Bien Phu and returned. They met right in the middle of Hanoi, were moved and hugged each other and cried. At that time, all three brothers took a photo together as a souvenir to send back to their families. Mr. Thuyet shared: "At that time, we were really choked up and didn't know what to say, we just knew that all three brothers had survived and returned from the Dien Bien Phu campaign, which was already a miracle."
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| 2 brothers and a photo taken in Hanoi. |
“At that time, we were so choked up that we didn't know what to say. We only knew that the fact that all three of us survived the Dien Bien Phu Campaign was already a miracle.”
In the days of peace, Mr. Thuyet and Mr. Thao occasionally took out the photo of the three brothers meeting in Hanoi to look at. It was a memorable moment when all three brothers survived and returned after the fierce battle. Until now, the photo, which has been stained by time, has been carefully preserved by Mr. Thuyet, hanging in the middle of the house as a heroic memory.
Returning to their hometown after so many years of participating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, those soldiers actively encouraged their children and grandchildren to live exemplary lives. In 1984, Mr. Thuyet retired and was assigned the important responsibility of being the Chairman of the Commune Veterans Association. During his time in the locality, he was an exemplary role model.
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| Brothers Hoang Dinh Thuyet and Hoang Dinh Thao review the medals they have won. |
“The three brothers Mr. Thuyet, Mr. Thao, and Mr. Nhan are rare cases who all participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. After returning to their locality, Mr. Thuyet actively participated in activities. He was one of the first veteran presidents of the commune. Later, Mr. Thuyet also actively participated in talking about tradition with the younger generation.”
The war has long since ended, and there are not many people like Hoang Dinh Thuyet, Hoang Dinh Thao and his brother left. Those soldiers always fought with all their might, “heads covered with loopholes, rushing through barbed wire mountains, rushing like a storm”. We need to respect and be grateful to the generations who have devoted themselves to the cause of defending the Fatherland.
