His blood and bones have mixed with the waves of the East Sea.

Immortal epic

During the visit, giving gifts,Happy New Year to the soldiers and people on Truong Sa archipelagowith the Naval Region 4 Command throughout the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023, when setting foot on the large islands of Song Tu Tay and Sinh Ton, visiting 2 sacred pagodas with a list of 64 heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the war to protect Gac Ma island engraved on 2 steles here. My colleague Ngo Quang An, when reading the name of the 6th martyr "Phan Huy Son, born in 1963, sacrificed on March 14, 1988, hometown Dien Nguyen, Dien Chau, Nghe An" choked up and exclaimed "Brother, Uncle Phan Huy Son is from the same village as me". This emotional moment of "meeting" also made me sob.

Reporter Ngo Quang An next to the memorial stele of 64 heroes and martyrs who died on Gac Ma Island. Photo: Tien Dong

Looking back at history, in early 1988, during the campaign to defend the island against China's expansion, Navy transport units were ordered to transport equipment to build Truong Sa. On March 14, 1988, at the three reefs of Gac Ma, Len Dao, and Co Lin in the Sinh Ton archipelago,Spratly IslandsWhile the Vietnam People's Army Navy engineering forces were approaching to build the island, heavily armed warships of the Chinese army set fire to and sank three transport ships HQ604, HQ605 and HQ505. The unequal battle resulted in the deaths of 64 of our navy soldiers and the injury of many others.

In the face of an unequal battle, the naval soldiers were brave and determined to keep Len Dao and Co Lin islands. Although Gac Ma island has been illegally occupied by China for 35 years, the image of Vietnamese naval soldiers standing in a circle to protect the national flag on Gac Ma island has become an "immortal circle" forever engraved in history books, becoming an epic that still echoes in the hearts of millions of Vietnamese people.

Fresh flowers are dropped into the Gac Ma sea to commemorate the heroes and martyrs. Photo: Quang An

The historical event of Gac Ma has fully and clearly demonstrated the qualities of steadfast revolutionary soldiers, the excellent sons of the country, ready to sacrifice themselves, not retreating, determined to use their blood to protect the sacred sea and islands of the Fatherland.

The stele in memory of 64 heroes and martyrs who died on Gac Ma Island on March 14, 1988. Photo: Quang An

In the stele of the heroic names of 64 martyrs who died at Gac Ma Island, located at Song Tu Tay Pagoda and Sinh Ton Pagoda, in addition to martyr Phan Huy Son, there are 6 other martyrs from Nghe An. They are martyr Le Ba Giang from Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City), martyr Pham Van Duong from Nam Kim Commune (Nam Dan), martyr Ho Van Nuoi from Nghi Tien Commune (Nghi Loc), martyr Cao Dinh Luong from Trung Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh), martyr Tran Van Minh from Quynh Long Commune (Quynh Luu) and martyr Nguyen Tat Nam from Thuong Son Commune (Do Luong).

Solemnly held a memorial service for heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country's sea and islands. Photo: Tien Dong

Continuing the tradition

Also during the business trip to Truong Sa archipelago, we happened to meet Captain Dam Minh Anh, from Dien Nguyen commune, Dien Chau district, on ship 490 to receive a mission at Song Tu Tay island. When talking about martyr Phan Huy Son - the son of Dien Nguyen who heroically sacrificed in the Gac Ma incident 35 years ago, Captain Dam Minh Anh could not hide his emotion: My house is only about 2 km from the house of martyr Phan Huy Son, so I have heard the story of martyr Phan Huy Son and met his family members directly.

That day, I had just turned 18 years old, hearing the news about the son of my homeland who died in the cause of protecting the sacred sea and islands of the Fatherland, I felt a sense of pride in my heart. But I never expected that today I would continue on that path, together carrying out the mission in beloved Truong Sa.

Captain Dam Minh Anh - working at Song Tu Tay Island

The touching moment when the fresh flower wreath was dropped into the Gac Ma sea. Photo: Tien Dong

“As an island soldier for nearly 30 years, I have experienced and understood the hardships and difficulties in protecting the Fatherland at the forefront. The sacrifice of martyr Phan Huy Son as well as 63 comrades in the Gac Ma incident has made the later generations of island soldiers like us appreciate it even more, and at the same time, it is also the motivation for us to strive and be determined to sacrifice our blood and bones to carry out the task of protecting the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland…” – Captain Dam Minh Anh determined.

Met Lieutenant Ngo Quang Dat, a native of Son Hai Commune (Quynh Luu) on Sinh Ton Island, who has just come here to work. Dat is very young, born in 1998. After graduating from the Army Academy in 2020, in July 2022, Dat left for work on Sinh Ton Island. Dat said he was born exactly 10 years after the Gac Ma incident. When listening to previous generations recount and reading the history of the Navy, he himself did not fully understand the sacrifices and losses that his fathers and brothers had gone through.

When arriving at the island, feeling the distance, looking at the stele with the names of 64 heroes and martyrs in Sinh Ton pagoda, although they were not born on the same day, month, and year, the date of sacrifice was only one number, March 14, which made me feel even more proud to continue on the glorious path of protecting the sea and islands of my homeland.

Nghe An Newspaper reporter talked with Lieutenant Ngo Quang Dat next to the stele with the names of 64 heroes and martyrs who died at Gac Ma, currently placed in the pagoda on Sinh Ton Island. Photo: Quang An

Returning to the mainland, I told the story of meeting Dat to his father, Mr. Ngo Thai Duong. Mr. Duong could not hide his emotion and pride. Since the day his son left for Truong Sa to work, because of the mission assigned by the Fatherland, because of the geographical distance and communication conditions not allowing, Mr. Duong rarely had the chance to talk to his son, let alone see him more solid in the Navy uniform after being exposed to the sun and wind of Truong Sa.

Dat is the eldest son in the family, with two younger siblings. Mr. Duong used to work as a seaman, but after many years of hardship and struggle with the wind and waves, he switched to driving. In his conversations with his son, he always encouraged Dat to strive and complete his assigned tasks excellently, even though the distance from his hometown to Truong Sa is very far.

Young soldiers completed their mission in Sinh Ton, solemnly saluting the souls of 64 martyrs who died at Gac Ma Island to return to the mainland. Photo: Tien Dong

Truong Sa stained with his blood and bones

We arrived at the house of gratitude of the family of martyr Phan Huy Son in Dien Nguyen commune (Dien Chau), a small house with a deep alley. Mrs. Tran Thi Ninh, the beloved wife of martyr Phan Huy Son, was a bit surprised when a stranger came to visit. After knowing that we had just returned from Truong Sa, she quickly removed the bicycle chain, wrapped it around us twice as a lock and explained - "There are only two of us in the house, but we have to lock the door firmly like this, otherwise Ha sometimes can't control himself and escape, it's very difficult to find him...".

We visited the house of martyr Phan Huy Son after returning from the trip to Truong Sa. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Ha is the name of the first son of martyr Phan Huy Son. Due to his mental disability, he is not as normal as his peers. Mrs. Ninh also had to give up all her farming work to stay home and look after her son. One time, she came home late from the fields and could not find her son. The gate was wide open. She frantically went to look for him and found him huddled in a corner under a banyan tree at the village entrance. From then on, whenever she had to go out, she had to lock the door many times for fear that her son would get lost.

Remembering her husband who sacrificed his life in Gac Ma, Mrs. Ninh could not hide her emotions. Flipping through the carefully packed files about martyr Phan Huy Son, Mrs. Ninh said, “My husband and I are the same age. After finishing high school, we got married at the end of 1981. After 4 months, he joined the army and was sent to study medicine. In 1984, our first son was born but he was mentally disabled, which made us feel like our hearts were broken into pieces.”

After finishing school, martyr Phan Huy Son was assigned to work on Song Tu Tay Island. After 2 years, the unit gave him a 4-month leave. However, when there were 15 days left of his leave, the unit called and said he had to return immediately to reinforce the island. So he said goodbye to his wife and children and left. During the days he was on leave, his second daughter, Phan Thu Trang, was also pregnant.

Over the past 35 years, Mrs. Tran Thi Ninh has never stopped thinking about her husband Phan Huy Son who heroically sacrificed himself on Gac Ma island. Mr. Quang An

He left on January 16 and died on January 27. That day, I was working in the field when someone ran out to report that 64 people had died at Gac Ma. I was stunned because that was the voyage that Mr. Son had boarded the day before. At that moment, the whole world seemed to collapse...

Mrs. Tran Thi Ninh - wife of martyr Phan Huy Son

Now that the emotional wound has gradually healed, the daughter has also gotten married, in the house of gratitude built by her husband's old unit, Mrs. Ninh still diligently takes good care of her eldest son to not let down her husband's efforts. Every year, on the day of martyr Phan Huy Son's sacrifice, she goes to the martyrs' cemetery of the commune, sits by the windy grave, and prays for her husband's spirit to bless and protect her and her child.

After saying goodbye to us, Mrs. Ninh still had a burning wish that one day she would find her husband’s remains and bring them back to her homeland for burial. However, after returning from Truong Sa, attending the memorial service for the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives at the Gac Ma incident in 1988 was extremely sacred and touching. We understood that their blood and bones had merged into the waters of the East Sea…