The story of the stone carrier who built Truong Sa in the past

(Baonghean)If you don't ask him anything but just look at his agile figure, few people would dare to believe that this year he is over sixty and is fighting the terrible liver disease "K" every day. War invalid Vo Van Thiem, hamlet 9, Ly Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district enthusiastically tells about his life, when he was eighteen or twenty years old, he wrote a volunteer application to join the army...

Send love to the homeland's sea and islands

In 1968, when he was just 18 years old, Vo Van Thiem volunteered to join the 27th Regiment to fight in the fiery B5 Quang Tri - Thua Thien Hue battlefield. In a battle at Hill 544 (Pu Lo peak), he was seriously injured, transferred to the rear area for treatment, then demobilized and returned to his hometown. Vo Van Thiem volunteered to be the secretary of the Commune Youth Union, both "cutting and carrying", facing hardships and difficulties, but as a hard-working village boy, a soldier of Uncle Ho, with many initiatives, Vo Van Thiem was trusted by the people and respected by his superiors.

Three years later, the young man once again volunteered to join the district police force to maintain peace day and night for the rice land. After 8 years of work, he was transferred to be in charge of organizing the district government, then completed the university program of economics. His life is truly full of interesting experiences and no matter what position he is in, he has made his own mark. In 1988, he was assigned to join the commercial exploitation team of ship code 02 of Yen Thanh Transport Company. When the ill-fated ship had an accident at Quy Nhon port in mid-1990, he and 3 friends hired someone to salvage it and then negotiated with Yen Thanh district, bought it back, brought it to the Navy port 46 to repair and "gave birth" to the Song Dinh ship. In 1991 - 1992, Mr. Thiem and his friends entered into a joint venture with the Naval Academy to use the ship to transport rocks to build Truong Sa island...



West Rock Island. Photo: Cong Sang.

More than 20 years have passed, but for Mr. Thiem, the story of transporting rocks to build Da Dong Island seems to still be intact. On the first trip out to sea, the Song Dinh ship carried 400 tons of rocks, pressed the waves, and headed straight for Da Dong Island, carrying with it the overflowing feelings of letters and gifts from the soldiers' families on the mainland. After a 3-day, 2-night journey at sea, the ship finally got close but had to anchor about half a kilometer away from Da Dong Island. The first time riding the waves here, Mr. Thiem and his friends could not believe that it was an island, it was just like a small rock rising up in the middle of the vast waves, the vast sky and earth opened up before his and his "colleagues' eyes". At the "milestone" marking the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland's sea and islands, he wanted to shout out loud because not many people have ever set foot here. The Dong Da Island in the story told by Mr. Thiem is a coral reef submerged under the sea surface. When the tide of Truong Sa is low, the island rises above the water surface, forming an outer shield to protect the eastern flank of the South Central provinces. It can coordinate with the islands in the Truong Sa archipelago to form a continuous battle formation against the invasion of foreign forces. To build a foothold on the submerged island, it takes a lot of effort, money, and dedication from the island's officers, soldiers and people of the whole country!

The soldiers loaded the rocks onto small boats and dragged them to the island, carefully and meticulously as if they were moving the treasures of their lives. It took more than a week for all the rocks on the boat to be transported to the island, and that was also the time Mr. Thiem and his friends could stay and have interesting experiences on this beloved island.

Living on the island, he witnessed the awareness and sense of responsibility of the officers, soldiers and people on the island. The island soldiers are always ready to fight, vigilantly monitoring and recording every movement at sea. With the island and the soldiers, our fishermen have a reliable support when catching seafood nearby. The island is always the place for fishermen to come to when they encounter difficulties, the island soldiers always support and create the most favorable conditions for them. Although very narrow, the island is still a common home for beloved animals brought here from the mainland in each shipment. The island soldiers make use of all possible space and styrofoam boxes to increase production and improve their lives. Therefore, green vegetables are not a luxury on the island.

During its time at sea, the Song Dinh ship also transported rocks to Sinh Ton Island, Son Ca Island, Song Tu Tay Island many times... But the first trip to Da Dong Island left the most impression on Mr. Thiem: "I feel very lucky and proud to have spent many days on Da Dong submerged island. The sound of roosters crowing in the middle of the vast ocean waves is so familiar and familiar, the presence and the most eloquent proof of the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands. I lived meaningful days with the people, ate vegetables grown by the island soldiers in baskets of soil brought from the mainland, and shared the laughter with the navy soldiers on the sacred submerged island of the Fatherland. It felt like I was living another life."

Planting forests and taking care of gratitude work

When we came to visit his house and expressed our desire to write about his life, he raised his rough hands and shook hands enthusiastically: "There are so many people out there who deserve to be praised. They are seriously wounded soldiers, my comrades who left part of their bodies on the battlefield... I just went to Saigon to "burn my liver" (treat liver cancer with radiation - PV). When I got home, I rushed back to work. There are even hills of raw materials, my children are far away, I have to try to do it for the green of my homeland's mountains and forests, I don't feel secure leaving it to someone else at this time..." Then he laughed heartily, and rushed back to work like a young man, even at the age of 63.

At that time, the State had a policy of greening barren hills and forests, and few people dared to accept them because they knew what to plant and what to raise to gain economic benefits. He discussed with his wife about receiving nearly 83 hectares of forest land in the Treo Man area, a few kilometers from home, to grow raw materials. "Many people said I was crazy. I had a salary and some savings, so why should I work hard? My children were worried about their education. Who would plant and protect the forest for me? I thought to myself, the forest is gold. In a short time, someone would regret not investing in the forest. Thinking like that, I was determined to do it and had to allow myself to win, not to fail. Knowing that my will could not be stopped, my wife had to spend all her capital and borrow more money to "take a gamble" with me. But now I have won big" - Mr. Thiem pointed to the vast acacia forest that was about to be harvested, smiled contentedly and continued telling the story.

With all the money he had, he bought eucalyptus seedlings and hired villagers to plant them for a whole year to cover the entire area. Not only did he hire people to plant and harvest, he also assigned forest plots to families, paid for their protection and care, so the forest grew well. 83 hectares of bare hills that were eroded by rain and sun all year round have now closed their canopy, and green has appeared, signaling a life that is beginning to improve. In a mountainous commune that is still one of the poorest in the district, Mr. Thiem's ​​hiring of workers to plant forests, creating jobs for dozens of workers, and actively participating in charity work, supporting his hometown and village have begun to be praised by everyone.



Mr. Vo Van Thiem was awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal by the State and many certificates of merit. Photo: VD

In the late 20th century, the movement of growing raw materials in Nghe An was not yet developed, there was no place to import them in the province, so he had to hire a car to transport them to Hai Phong to sell. Every penny he earned was reinvested to restore the green color to the mountains and forests. "When I received and planted the forest, the term farm rarely appeared, because at that time the whole country only had a few models. Eucalyptus was also a "trendy" raw material at that time, so I had a decent harvest. But every penny I earned was reinvested, hiring excavators to level the ground, clearing a spiral path from the foot to the top of the mountain so that cars could reach the top, convenient for harvesting wood later. Up to now, eucalyptus is "out of date", raw materials are in the lead, and even if the price drops, I am still satisfied because the green color has covered the entire area" - Mr. Thiem confided... In addition to his passion for planting forests, he also has a chance with ornamental plants. In his garden there are hundreds of bonsai trees of all kinds, some of which are worth billions of dong. Many people have asked to buy them, but he still keeps them as souvenirs and takes care of the garden in his spare time.

Fortunately returning after the war, war invalid Vo Van Thiem not only threw himself into production, improved his life, enriched his family and hometown, and restored the green color to the mountains and forests, but also actively participated in the work of Gratitude. For him, that was the reason for living, a meaningful job to educate his children and grandchildren to live a useful life, to be responsible for life, for the Fatherland and homeland. It was from the thought that he was luckier than his fallen comrades that in 1995, he discussed with his wife to take care of and support Heroic Mother Le Thi Em in Bao Thanh commune, whose husband and two sons were martyrs. At the end of 2009, Em's mother passed away, Mr. Thiem continued to worship and comfort her spirit... He and his family were awarded certificates of merit many times by the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee for their outstanding achievements in the Gratitude movement.

When this article is completed, I still feel that I have only exploited a very small part of the personality and willpower of war invalid Vo Van Thiem. He confided all his feelings, he lived his life with a belief and a belief: "I feel that I am still very healthy, surely God will help me overcome my illness. I live to continue to love my homeland's mountains and forests, to enrich my family, my homeland and my country."

Vo Dung