The beginning of a legendary path

• May 8, 2009 12:51

On September 9, 1964, on a narrow land at the foot of Dong mountain in Lat town, Tan Ky army and people, Youth Volunteers, 98th Engineer Regiment made the first hoes to build the Ho Chi Minh strategic motorized road, on the basis of continuing and upgrading the 559 strategic road. Milestone 0 of the legendary Ho Chi Minh road - the road symbolizing the strength of the rear towards the front line in the resistance war against the US to save the country, was placed in Tan Ky from that day...

Heroic land and "homeland of all homelands"


Milestone 0 - Tan Ky

It was no coincidence that the Politburo chose Tan Ky as the starting point of the legendary route, because historically this land was a solid rear base for many resistance wars against invaders. History books clearly record that in 1423, commander Le Loi and military advisor Nguyen Trai led troops from Thanh Hoa along the upper road through Tho Xuan, Nhu Xuan (Thanh Hoa) to Bai Chanh, Thai Hoa (Nghe An) and stationed troops in Tan Ky. Therefore, on Tan Ky land there are still historical sites such as Bai Tap (where Le Loi trained cavalry), Bai Quyen (where he practiced martial arts), Dong Voi (where elephant troops gathered), Nui Don, Bai Loi Loi...


During the war against the US, Tan Ky was an important area, chosen by the Province and the Military Region Command as a strategic rear base. Here, strategic traffic routes 15A and 15B ran through and important high points such as high point 886 in Len Roi, 159 in Bo Bo range, 722 in Bu Loi... Many main units of the Military Region and the Ministry of National Defense gathered in the district before going to the South such as divisions 316, 224, 304, 312... That is why this place was one of the key targets of US aircraft attacks.

According to many witnesses, from 1965 to 1972, Tan Ky had to endure bombs and rockets almost every day. 1,081 of Tan Ky's elite children were sacrificed, 1,486 people were injured, 997 people were infected with Agent Orange... However, Tan Ky remained steadfast in its role as the "great rear" of the "great frontline". Tan Ky's army and people organized closely to prevent and effectively fight the enemy, shooting down 2 American planes in June 1966, destroying 59 time-delayed bombs, filling 2,500 bomb craters, repairing 26 bridges and underpasses, ensuring that over 100 km of roads in the district were always safe and smooth. Providing human and material support to the frontline, the district had 382 youth volunteers and 3,175 people participating in frontline labor, contributing thousands of tons of food and tens of thousands of tons of provisions to units stationed in the district.


During those fierce days, Tan Ky was also an evacuation site for many agencies, factories, schools and a place where many people from the delta districts came to reclaim land. In particular, from 1968 to 1973, Tan Ky received, sheltered and protected over 30,000 people from Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Cam Lo of Quang Tri province who were evacuated. Tan Ky people fought and produced at the same time, "sharing a bowl of rice in half, a grain of salt in half" - giving up land, fields, helping with seedlings... so that the evacuated people could quickly integrate, stabilize their housing and produce. Many touching stories about the spirit of "the healthy leaves covering the torn leaves" of local people with the evacuated people are still told today, in both Nghe An and Quang Tri regions.

Thanks to that, after only 5 years (1968-1973), in the "evacuee villages" of Tan Ky, more than 2,600 children were born, more than 350 new party members were admitted; nearly 1,800 hectares of land were reclaimed and restored. Poet Xuan Duc from Vinh Linh - Quang Tri wrote simple verses about those days full of warm human affection.


Farewell to my hometown Vinh Linh

Out to the countryside of Tan Ky, Nghe An

Listen to the melancholy song of the Con River

This is Tan Ky, the homeland of all homelands.

.................................

Strange land but full of people

Everyone thought they were living in Vinh Linh.


Since those heroic days of production and fighting, Tan Ky has had one person awarded the title of Hero of the Armed Forces, Major Dang Van Dai, and one person awarded the title of Hero of Labor, Comrade Luong Van Hau. In addition, there are five Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and nearly 1,000 war veterans who have just received the Truong Son soldier medal (nearly equal to the number of Truong Son war veterans in Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast provinces). In recognition of the achievements of the land that started the legendary Truong Son route, the Party and State have awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces to the Party Committee and people of Tan Ky district and seven communes of the district, namely Ky Tan, Ky Son, Nghia Hop, Nghia Dong, Nghia Binh, Giai Xuan and Tien Ky.


Move up to prosperity


Coming to Tan Ky today is coming to a countryside that is changing on the path of industrialization and modernization. Gone are the days when Tan Ky was considered a dead end, with the only route connecting to the lowlands being Tan Ky - Do Luong - Vinh.

Roof tiles exported to the market.

Ho Chi Minh Trail, the legendary strategic road that Tan Ky people directly participated in building and through which they contributed human and material resources to the frontline during the resistance war, was upgraded and expanded into Ho Chi Minh Trail during the industrialization and modernization period. The 38 km of road passing through 6 communes in the district is considered by the Party Committee and the government as a great advantage that needs to be promoted in the process of planning economic, cultural and social development. The district has also built a complete fishbone road system along the route to serve economic development and people's livelihood.

Thanks to that, in recent years, the lives of Tan Ky people have improved in all aspects. The average economic growth rate from 2006 to 2008 is estimated at 11.2%. Previously, Tan Ky only produced 30,000 tons of food per year, but now it has grown to 60,000 tons per year. Forestry has been constantly developing, especially the movement of planting raw material forests with trees such as hybrid acacia, eucalyptus... In the past two years, the annual forestry planting has met and exceeded the target.

In particular, in 2008, the forestation area reached 1,500 hectares, 150% of the plan. In industry and handicrafts, the district maintained stable operations of sugar factories, bio-organic fertilizer production enterprises, rubber processing workshops... Tan Ky town, thanks to the Ho Chi Minh road, has strongly developed with more and more commercial and service centers springing up. Cultural and social activities such as education and health care have many positive changes. The poverty rate decreased from 32% in 2005 to 25% in 2008.


Looking to the future


Based on the potential and strengths of the district, the Party Committee and the government of Tan Ky district are building and implementing many action programs to effectively exploit the potentials, serve socio-economic development, and ensure national defense and security. With abundant mineral resources (such as kaolin clay, limestone, granite, marble, white stone...), Tan Ky has completed the initial planning for the development of small industrial parks in the communes of Dong Van, Nghia Dung, and Giai Xuan.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Thuy - Chairman of the District People's Committee said: "The district is gradually creating an investment environment, surveying and planning to build a cement factory to take advantage of raw materials and an abundant young labor force. Currently, the province has introduced 2 investors in Ho Chi Minh City to the district."

In addition, traditional craft villages such as Cua brick and tile craft village (Nghia Hoan), bamboo and rattan weaving village (Ky Tan), mulberry cultivation and silkworm raising village (Nghia Dong)... are also focused on investment to expand production scale, improve equipment to improve product quality. Key raw material crops continue to be planned for development in the direction of expanding area, increasing productivity (rubber trees, with more than 1,000 hectares, are oriented to develop to 5,000 hectares). Along with the orientation to increase the capacity of the Con River sugar factory from 1,250 tons/day to 1,650 tons/day, the sugarcane growing area will be increased from 3,500 hectares to 4,500 hectares.


Along with economic development, Tan Ky is also focusing on developing culture - tourism through promoting the historical - cultural value of milestone 0 and Ho Chi Minh road. According to Mr. Thuy, the district is planning to build a town park with the monument "Rear towards the front line". In addition to the meaning of commemorating the heroic years of our army and people on this legendary road, the park is also a place to serve the entertainment needs of the people, improving the cultural and spiritual life of workers, especially workers in factories and industrial parks in the future.

However, for this idea to become a reality, it requires investment attention from the province and the Central Government. We believe that the event to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Truong Son road and the traditional day of the Truong Son soldiers held at the milestone number 0 will be the driving force to encourage the Party Committee and people of Tan Ky to continue to overcome difficulties and successfully complete the socio-economic goals set by the 18th District Party Congress.


Minh Quan