Those who established sovereignty in Truong Sa at that time

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Exactly 32 years since the day they established sovereignty in the Truong Sa archipelago, four former naval soldiers Hoang Van The, Tran Van Giao, Nguyen Huy Tuan, and Le Huu Giap had the opportunity to meet each other. All were filled with pride and emotion. The “soldier spirit” of the past was still the same, except that their hair had many silver strands and they were no longer on the same ship as 32 years ago.

Front row from left to right: Former chief engineer of the 11 heroes ship: Nguyen Huy Tuan, maritime officer Le Huu Giap, soldier Nguyen Huu Tiep, deputy engineer Tran Van Giao, veteran Vu Ngoc Son. Photo courtesy

The conversation after 32 years of meeting again, at the age of over 60, they still innocently called each other "that guy, you, me, he" full of marine spirit. Then they became pensive and tearful when recalling the days of sharing hardships, fighting the waves and talking to each other in the vast ocean. "Those were the most beautiful days of my military life. Da Lat that day is forever imprinted in my heart. Every time I tell the story, I just want to cry" - veteran Colonel Tran Van Giao, former deputy engineer of HQ-11, emotionally said.

After the incident of the Chinese navy shooting dead 64 Vietnamese naval officers and soldiers on March 14, 1988, to establish territorial sovereignty, the Central Military Commission of the Ministry of National Defense assigned the Navy to organize forces, means and vessels to urgently march to the Truong Sa archipelago to establish sovereignty. Together with the E83 Naval Engineering Unit, Regiment 131, the HQ-11 anti-submarine ship of Brigade 171 was assigned the task of patrolling and directly protecting the islands and submerged islands in the Truong Sa archipelago that we had established sovereignty over (planting markers and markers) on the islands.

From left to right: Veteran Colonel Tran Van Giao, veteran Le Huu Giap, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Van The, veteran Nguyen Huy Tuan. Photo: Mai Thang

The voyage of the 82-meter-long anti-submarine ship with a displacement of 1,140 tons (maximum), and 105 sailors, starting from Vung Tau military port, after more than 3 days and nights, arrived at the Truong Sa sea area. Captain Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quang Tao was commanding the troops to drop anchor and lower the boat for the reconnaissance force to grasp the situation on Truong Sa island, when he received an urgent order from the Navy Command to urgently send the ship to Da Lat island to guard and urgently plant the flag on the coral reef.

Veteran Le Huu Giap, former Lieutenant - the HQ-11 ship's officer, recalled: "After the March 14, 1988 incident, China was very eager to send warships to Truong Sa in an attempt to capture uninhabited islands. Knowing this intention, the Navy ordered ship 11 to urgently approach Da Lat island. At that time, there were two Chinese warships 30 nautical miles from Da Lat island, intending to capture it, but when they saw the submarine hunter 11 coming, they turned around and quietly retreated. As quick as lightning, Uncle Tao (captain Nguyen Quang Tao - PV) ordered us to lower the boat. At that time, there was no national flag. I brought red paint and a sheet of corrugated iron. Da Lat island was half-submerged at that time, and there was a "lost" ship lying on the island for an unknown time. We painted the national flag on the sheet of corrugated iron and hung it on the mast of the "lost" ship to establish sovereignty. This is a memorable and proud memory. first, Mr. Giap recalled.

Protect the outpost

Ship 11 is currently on duty at sea. Photo: Mai Thang

After planting the special flag establishing sovereignty over Da Lat Island, the HQ-11 ship continued to stay there for a week to protect the outpost. While waiting for the 240 Pilot ship of the Saigon Military Port to pull out the bunker to set up station, the officers and soldiers patrolled day and night under extreme stress. On one hand, they had to face the prolonged hot weather while the ship was at sea for a long time, with food and fresh water running out; on the other hand, they had to face the lurking Chinese ships that could appear at any time.

Da Lat Island stands proudly in the middle of Truong Sa. Photo: Mai Thang

“After 4 days of pulling the bunker, Ship 240 finally arrived. At that time, pulling the bunker onto the island was extremely difficult. We did it by hand, there were no cranes or machines like today. We waded into the sea, the water was up to our chests. We used the ship's pan rope to connect to the bunker, and pulled it to the island. Above the sun, below the salt, everyone's hair was red, their skin was black, and their beards were growing wildly. At that time, there was no water to bathe, no knife to shave. For a whole week, we didn't see our faces because there was no mirror to look at. But there was a lot of affection. Cigarettes were shared among the squad, letters were read together by the whole ship, and the whole industry listened to stories about lovers" - Colonel Tran Van Giao, former deputy engineer of Ship 11, recalled the unforgettable memories of that day.

Having completed the mission of establishing sovereignty over Da Lat Island, the HQ-11 continued its mission on Nam Yet and Sinh Ton Islands. Among them was the particularly important event of rescuing three American pilots on Da Lon Island in mid-June 1988.