Dien Bien soldier met Uncle Ho 3 times

(Baonghean.vn) - At the age of 84, Colonel Nguyen Dinh Chuan (from Son Tan, Huong Son, Ha Tinh, residing in Hamlet 18, Nghi Phu Commune, Vinh City, Nghe An), his memory has decreased a lot. However, the memories of the days of "sleeping in the tunnel, eating rice balls, blood mixed with mud" in Dien Bien and especially the sacred memories of meeting Uncle Ho 3 times are still deep in his mind.

He emotionally recounted: The first time he met Uncle Ho was in the summer of 1953, on a beautiful evening in the Doan Hung bamboo forest, Phu Tho. That day, he and his comrades were mobilized to build the first firepower unit of the army, Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment 367, Artillery Division 351. Uncle Ho and comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh rode horses and crossed the forest to visit. On behalf of the Division, Political Commissar Pham Ngoc Mau came out to welcome Uncle Ho. Seeing Uncle Ho, unable to contain their emotions, everyone in the unit raised their torches and shouted loudly:

Colonel Nguyen Dinh Chuan (3rd from left) at the meeting of Dien Bien Phu War Veterans - Vinh City in 2013.

- Long live President Ho!

He waved to everyone and gently reminded:

- You guys lower the torches or else the shack will catch fire, reveal the secret, the enemy will come and attack, it's not safe.

Talking to the cadres and soldiers, Uncle Ho praised and complimented our army and people for their heroic fighting and great victory in the Northwest campaign. He analyzed the situation and upcoming tasks and advised them to always be vigilant and maintain their fighting spirit to deal a decisive blow to the French invaders, forcing them to give up their ambition to invade. He emphasized: “The 351st Division is the first firepower unit of our army. You must quickly master the equipment, preserve and maintain weapons and ammunition well, and train yourself to be proficient in techniques and tactics so that in the first battle, you will make achievements and win big.”

In the middle of the Doan Hung bamboo forest, Uncle and his nephew sang loudly the “Song of Unity”. Amidst the singing and applause that echoed throughout the forest, Uncle and comrade Nguyen Chi Thanh waved goodbye to everyone and leisurely mounted their horses to return home.

Only then did we learn that Uncle Ho visited the Regiment to prepare our minds and organize us - the first generation of Vietnamese anti-aircraft artillery soldiers - to march to Guangxi (China) to receive weapons, equipment, and combat training so that in the spring of 1954, we could return to the Fatherland and unleash a storm of fire on the French colonialists in the "decisive blow" of the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Firmly believing Uncle Ho's instructions, the officers and soldiers of the 367th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment successfully completed their mission, contributing to shooting down 62 French enemy planes, supporting the Dien Bien liberation forces. In this historic campaign, the battery commander Nguyen Dinh Chuan was awarded the Medal of Merit (Third Class) and 2 Certificates of Merit from the Regiment and the Front.

The second time he met Uncle Ho was after the Dien Bien Phu victory when Uncle Ho and the Central Committee returned to the Capital. After successfully completing the task of parading troops at Ba Dinh Square on the occasion of September 2, his unit was honored to welcome Uncle Ho and Chief of the General Staff Van Tien Dung back to visit.

Uncle Ho smiled happily, raised his hat high and waved to the soldiers who were neatly and solemnly welcoming him.

- The day before, on the holiday, Uncle Ho and the Central Committee "approved" you guys. Today, Uncle Ho came to visit so that you guys could "approve" him!

The entire army shouted “Long live President Ho”. Thunderous applause resounded throughout Bach Mai airport. This time, Uncle Ho spent a lot of time talking to the cadres and soldiers. He said in general: After nine years of arduous fighting, we have liberated half of the Fatherland, the task of implementing the Geneva Agreement, moving towards the struggle to unify the country is still extremely heavy. The enemy is extremely vicious, cunning, and brutal, so the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army must truly unite well, actively contribute to building a strong North to serve as a solid foundation for the struggle for unification...

Finally, Uncle Ho started playing the "Song of Solidarity" again and from the high podium, he lovingly raised his hat, waved to everyone, and then left.

The third time he met Uncle Ho was on the morning of February 16, 1969, the first day of the Year of the Rooster, at the Air Defense - Air Force Hall. Uncle Ho entered the hall, waved his hand to signal everyone to sit down. He said:

- Today, Uncle Ho, comrade Nguyen Luong Bang and comrade Van Tien Dung, on behalf of the Central Committee and the Government, come to visit you. Happy New Year, wishing you new progress and new victories!

He asked:

- Who shot down the most American planes?

Colonel Dang Tinh, Political Commissar of the Army Corps, stood up and said:

- Sir, comrade Nguyen Van Coc has shot down 9 planes.

He smiled happily:

- Uncle Coc, come here with me. This year I hope to have more Cocs!

Uncle shook hands with comrade Coc very firmly, then turned to the hall and said:

- So, do the girls have many achievements? Send one of them up here.

Emulation fighter Vu Thi Hue for two consecutive years was sent to Uncle Ho's side. Uncle Ho looked at Hue lovingly:

- This year, try your best to become a competitive soldier again!

Uncle Ho's health had recently deteriorated, and everyone who saw him had tears in their eyes. He introduced Comrade Van Tien Dung to speak to the officers and soldiers. When the Chief of the General Staff spoke of "Raising strong and good troops", Uncle Ho smiled and asked everyone:

- Are there any foster parents here?

The whole hall echoed:

Yes, sir.

He looked around the hall and said:

- Send a foster sister and a foster brother up here.

Uncle shook hands with the two soldiers, then he asked:

- Do you read the books "For the country and for the people" and learn from the examples of "Good people, good deeds"?

Yes, sir!

- That's good. Reading is learning. Learning must go hand in hand with practice.

Having met Uncle Ho three times, his endless love gave him strength for 40 years in the army fighting on the battlefields. Whenever there were difficulties, hardships, fierceness, and danger, he always remembered Uncle Ho and from deep within, a miraculous determination and strength continued, helping him overcome everything to complete his duty as a soldier./.

Article and photos:Nguyen Khac Thuan