The Ben Thuy Ferry suicide warriors then and now?
Now, on Ben Thuy bridge day and night, there are countless trips of vehicles going back and forth from North to South. Does anyone know that on these two banks of Lam river, there was once a Ben Thuy ferry unit that during the long and fierce war bravely and intelligently brought tens of thousands of ferries across the river, hundreds of mine-clearing and magnetic bomb-clearing operations to clear ferries and traffic, so much sweat and blood was shed... contributing to the historic Great Victory of Spring 1975.
For more than 10 years, from 1964 to 1975, hundreds of officers and soldiers of Ben Thuy ferry - a unit awarded the title of Hero twice - worked day and night, overcoming storms of bombs and bullets to bring tens of thousands of trucks and soldiers to the South to support the front line. Especially during the two escalating wars of destruction by the US imperialists (from 1964 to 1973), they not only operated the ferry across the river but also acted as suicide warriors to clear mines and magnetic bombs on Lam river to clear the ferry. Many people heroically sacrificed their lives and were seriously injured while on duty.
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We would like to present some typical cases. The first one is Mr. Hoang Ma Tuan, now 74 years old, from Dien Van commune, Dien Chau, who joined the army from 1958 to 1966, transferred to Ben Thuy ferry to work as a mechanic, then taught himself to drive a canoe to ferry across the river. He participated in rescuing wounded comrades on Lam river many times and he himself was injured many times, especially when he was evacuating a ferry and was discovered by the enemy and sank the ferry, but to this day he has not received any benefits. His family's situation is very difficult and he is always sick due to his injuries.
The second person is Mr. Ho Cong Uan, from Quynh Hau commune, Quynh Luu but now lives with his children in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai. He was originally an engineer in Hoang Mai and was assigned to Ben Thuy ferry from 1968-1973. He was injured many times in both Hoang Mai and Ben Thuy but has not yet been recognized as a disabled veteran. The third person is Mr. Ho Trong Hat, from Quynh Hong commune, Quynh Luu, who worked at Ben Thuy ferry from 1968-1973. He was injured many times while ferrying the ferry across the river to clear mines, but has not yet received disability benefits.
Similar to the above cases, Mr. Pham Chinh Nghia from Hung Xa commune, Hung Nguyen enlisted in the army from 1964 to 1971, mainly working at Ben Thuy ferry and was injured many times while on duty. Mr. Nghia confided: Just because his family was too poor, the house was made of thatched roofs and earthen walls, so all the original documents were damaged by termites, so now he had to accept it. It should be added that Mr. Nghia, along with Mr. Nguyen Tan Thai from Hung Lam commune, Hung Nguyen, Mr. Vo Trong Ly and a few others, were the first people to drive a canoe to search for mines at night since 1966. All of them were blown up by mines, which threw the canoe and themselves high up and sank into the river, and were saved by their teammates. Mr. Nguyen Tan Thai also had the initiative: "Turn the canoe around" to quickly ferry the ferry across the river, reducing the trip time from 20 minutes to 7-10 minutes, which contributed significantly to the achievement of being recognized as a Heroic Unit twice. Mr. Vo Trong Ly was also the person who lifted the magnetic bomb wing to save his comrade who was crushed by the bomb wing on the ferry dock.
I would like to mention the case of Mr. Hoang Nghia Cu from Hung Linh commune, Hung Nguyen who was also injured many times while driving a canoe but like the above cases, he has not yet received disability benefits. In particular, Mr. Cu and three other comrades in September 1968 bravely used a rubber boat to capture an American pirate alive at night on Con Noi in the middle of Lam river, more than 500m from Hung Hoa dike.
There are still many Ben Thuy ferry suicide warriors with many memories of that day, some still alive and some dead in many rural areas. They all have a common wish to organize a meeting to review the heroic years and to revisit the land where they devoted their youth, sweat and blood to connect the traffic arteries for the victorious front.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Long, who had worked at Ben Thuy ferry from 1965 to 1974 and is now retired, took responsibility for the liaison committee of Ben Thuy ferry suicide fighters and confided: We, the Ben Thuy ferry soldiers, are lucky to be alive today and wish to have a meeting to review those fierce years and express gratitude to our old comrades, especially those who sacrificed and suffered many losses and disadvantages. At the same time, we hope to have a cultural work that marks the heroic period of that time to contribute to educating the tradition for today's young generation.
Mai Ho Minh
