Land with 3 river sides

(Baonghean) - That land is surrounded by rivers on three sides. The Lam River flowing through Bara Do Luong forms an “s” and Luu Son commune is located at the starting point. That picturesque countryside during the years of resistance against American imperialism was devastated by 7,600 bombs of various types with an estimated weight of nearly 2,300 tons. Now life has returned to normal, although there are still villages that celebrate the death anniversary of their loved ones on the same day.

Tran Phu hamlet is located on a low hill called Ru Nay or Ho Tieu Tam Dinh. That's why the hamlet was once known as Luu Tieu. We visited the house of Mrs. Tran Thi Thi in Tran Phu hamlet at noon on a day in July. She is 86 years old this year but she is still very lucid. When asked about her family, she counted on her fingers, her mouth smiling with the scent of betel: "I have 9 children, 17 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren. You see, the house is always bustling..." A moment later, she fell silent, wiped her tears: "9 children but lost 3. I know how much I love them". The day of June 20, 1965 became a pain, a haunting obsession that haunted her throughout her life as a mother who lost 3 children at the same time.

The old Dien Tien ferry (Luu Son) was one of the sites of US air strikes.

That day was also a summer day, the weather was gloomy and hot. Everyone in the village went to the fields, some helped the main army units stationed in the commune. In the middle of the morning, suddenly a group of planes tore through the air. A series of bombs fell on the small village of Luu Tieu. The tiled roofs, the houses, and the bamboo banks were burning fiercely. When people arrived, almost the entire village had been plowed up and destroyed by bombs. No one could recognize their own houses. Dozens of people collapsed because of what they saw. Mrs. Tran Thi Thi choked up and did not want to recall that heartbreaking moment. She only knew that in the blink of an eye, her family lost 4 people, her father-in-law and 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. Everyone knows that war is painful and loss. But its brutality is beyond the most horrifying human imagination. 21 people, including children and the elderly, were killed by the bomb, a painful truth. The whole village was immersed in an atmosphere of mourning and death. Mrs. Tran Thi Thi wiped away her tears and muttered: "Mrs. Phuong's family lost 3 grandparents, Mrs. Hoa Loc's family lost a daughter, Mr. Thi also lost his grandmother..."

Mrs. Tran Thi Thi introduces her family's house which was rebuilt after the bombing on June 20, 1965.

Also on that gloomy summer day in Luu Tieu village, old lady Le Thi Bon was heartbroken because she lost her two children, her son Bui Huu Tien and her daughter Bui Thi Tu. Right after that tragic event, Mrs. Bon's other children joined the army, went to the front line, and all aimed to contribute to reclaiming justice and preserving peace for the village. But then Mrs. Bon's two sons remained forever on the battlefield. They were martyrs Bui Huu Thi and Bui Huu Ky, who sacrificed their lives in 1970 and 1971, respectively, on the southern battlefield. Even though in 2014, Mrs. Le Thi Bon was awarded the title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother by the Party and State, perhaps nothing can fill the pain of mothers who lost their children. And in Tran Phu hamlet, the 20th of the 5th lunar month every year becomes the common death anniversary for dozens of souls.

Why did that small piece of land suffer so much pain and loss? Mr. Tran Dinh Lam - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luu Son Commune (Do Luong) said that during the years of resistance, Luu Son was located in a strategic area. To the north of the commune is the Bara Do Luong irrigation project, providing water for production in the Yen - Dien - Quynh area (Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu). Luu Son Commune is also an area with Highway 7A running through it, which is the central area, a springboard for supplying and transporting human and material resources for the Southern Laos front. In addition, in Luu Son, there are also 2 ferry terminals, Dien Tien and Luu My, at the beginning and end of the commune, taking turns transporting weapons, ammunition, and necessities across the river to the battlefield. In addition, on this piece of land of about 4km2, there is also a military food warehouse, along with a system of ships transporting by river to serve the front line...

Since August 5, 1964, after fabricating the "Gulf of Tonkin incident", the US imperialists have been frantically escalating their bombardment of the North of our country. Spread over the key area of ​​Truong Bon and the vital traffic route 15A connecting to National Highway 7A, Luu Son has become a "bomb bag" and shared the fire with the whole country. Many main units have been stationed here, directly fighting the imperialist air force. That is the anti-aircraft artillery position deployed in the middle of the field of Dien Bien hamlet, also known as Dong Tu position; the missile position stationed next to the food warehouse; the radar unit stationed in Phu Tho village; the anti-aircraft artillery unit protecting the Bara dam irrigation project...

Because they recognized the dangerous terrain, the enemy frequently bombed this land. The history of Luu Son commune also recorded: “At 12:30 on March 19, 1965, many groups of American planes swooped down and dropped bombs on the food warehouse of Soi market, burning down over 100 houses of the people of Quang Trung and Dien Hong villages. The state warehouse collapsed and food was burned. For 10 consecutive days, people took turns transporting thousands of tons of food”. “On September 12, 1966, the enemy bombed the artillery position, threatening to destroy the 100mm ammunition depot. Although the American planes were still roaring, the militia arrived in time and safely evacuated the ammunition depot”.

“At 1 p.m. on June 16, 1968, enemy aircraft fiercely bombed the Dong Tu anti-aircraft artillery position, the bunker of the Company 2 - Regiment 222 Command, and buried 2 100mm cannons and 1 observation device. Under the bombs of American aircraft, the Luu Son militia calmly treated and transported dozens of wounded soldiers to safety. At the same time, they organized the burial of 19 heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives”. “On November 14, 1968 alone, the enemy attacked Luu Son commune 9 times with all kinds of bombs such as magnetic bombs, cluster bombs, anti-personnel bombs... killing 39 innocent people and injuring 65 others. Also on this day, 5 young girls were killed by enemy bombs while they were planting rice and serving in combat...”.

Mr. Tran Dinh Quy, former captain of Luu Son Commune, told about the days of bombs and bullets.

Up to now, Mr. Tran Dinh Quy, in Dien Bien hamlet, former commune team leader of Luu Son from 1966 to 1969, cannot remember how many times the villagers participated in supporting the army to fight the enemy. "No one evacuated. Everyone stayed to produce, raise livestock and serve the resistance war" - Mr. Quy said. Then he also said that the Vietnamese Army is the army of the people, it is a close relationship. At that time, the army was protected and cared for by the people, every family had soldiers living in their house. Villages, hamlets, and fields all became battlefields, bullets, bombs, and death lurked day and night, but the army and the people worked together, were not afraid, and were not discouraged.

Mr. Tran Dinh Quy still remembers the time when bombs were dropped right in the middle of the Dong Tu battlefield, the entire battlefield was almost buried, there were soldiers whose bodies were covered in flames, despite the planes hovering, the bombs exploding and shaking the earth, hundreds of militiamen and local people rushed out to dig through the mud to save soldiers, and move the artillery. "That time, the people saved 34 soldiers. It was very difficult, but tears of joy" - Mr. Quy recalled.

During the 8 years of fighting against the escalating campaign of the US Air Force, Luu Son land had to bear the brunt of nearly 2,300 tons of bombs with 7,600 bombs of all kinds. Bombs and bullets killed 85 innocent people, injured nearly 150 others. 362 houses were destroyed, nearly 170 buffaloes and cows died. In the whole Luu Son commune, there was no intact village, many cultural works were damaged. The commune also had 192 martyrs, 29 wounded soldiers and 31 sick soldiers who devoted their lives to the independence and freedom of the country. In 1995, Luu Son commune was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and State to remember and honor the feats of the people and this land in the sacred resistance war of the nation.

As a land of historical rendezvous, Thanh Luu land in the past and Luu Son today are continuing to write successes on a new journey. With a population of 6,500 people, the poverty rate of Luu Son is now only 1.62%, down nearly 3% compared to 2014; fairly rich households account for 50%. Luu Son is a typical example of the province in winter vegetable production with a value of 70 - 80 million VND/ha. Implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Construction, up to now, Luu Son has achieved 16/19 criteria and is striving to become one of the 4 communes of Do Luong district to reach the finish line this year.

I remember my mother once said: “You must go far away, our homeland has so many stories. Our country is not like that”. My mother is no longer here, she left and carried with her the burden of life, carrying with her the wound across her hip from the war bombs. When I remember my mother, I often think of the image of a barefoot nurse, carrying a first aid kit on her shoulder, precariously running between artillery positions, on a field that had been carved into deep craters by bombs. On that piece of land surrounded by rivers on three sides, the green was endless.

Dao Tuan