Bach Long Vi sea and sky
(Baonghean) -The working group of the Navy Region I and representatives of some central agencies, reporters visited Bach Long Vi, the heroic island. One side of the Fatherland's frontier was waiting for us in the blue sunshine and wind of the East Sea.
After more than 10 hours of cutting waves through the night, the ship HQ 635 of the Navy Region A took us to Bach Long Vi Island. Bach Long Vi port looked like two giant, dark crab claws spreading out to welcome us amidst the shimmering, sleepy lights of fishermen. On the wharf, the dark blue uniforms of the navy soldiers and youth volunteers were visible... I suddenly remembered a time when Bach Long Vi was an island of fire, an island of steel, an unsinkable warship. The resilient army and people of Bach Long Vi shot down 25 American planes, was a heroic unit of the People's Armed Forces, worthy of being the island outpost of the Fatherland in the Gulf of Tonkin, and suddenly the melody of the song "Bach Long Vi, homeland island" filled my heart, evoking so many memories of a tragic time...
Bach Long Vi - The rock that blocks the waves of the East Sea
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Bach Long Vi Island is located in the Southeast, 133km from Hai Phong city. Legend has it that, long ago, a white dragon flew down from the sky and stayed in the sea of Quang Ninh - Hai Phong. The head and body of the dragon belonged to Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh, and the dragon's tail was Bach Long Vi Island. But at that time and until now, Bach Long Vi was still a deserted island, with only cacti and white sand, seemingly completely isolated from the mainland. Bach Long Vi, in addition to the name White Dragon Tail, was formerly also called Vo Thuy Island (meaning no water). Later, there was a period when it was called Phu Thuy Chau (meaning a pearl floating on the water), and to this day there are still relics of Thuy Chau village on the island.
Bach Long Vy is the farthest island of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. The island has geographical coordinates (20o07'35'' and 20o08'36'' North latitude; 107o42'20'' - 107o44'15'' East longitude. Due to its location in the middle of the Gulf (110 km from Hon Dau - Hai Phong, 70 km from Ha Mai Island, 130 km from Ta Chiao Cape - Hai Nam), the island has an important position in expanding the sea areas and delimiting the Gulf of Tonkin. In addition, the island is also located on one of the 8 major fishing grounds of the Gulf, and has an important position in the economic development strategy, security and maritime defense of our country in the Gulf of Tonkin.
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During the fierce war years, especially after August 5, 1964, Bach Long Vi Island became one of the important targets of US imperialism. They once declared "Flattening BLV Island in the middle of the Gulf of Tonkin" with thousands of planes and warships, destroying this island of just over 2.3 square kilometers. Hundreds of tons of bombs and bullets were dropped, each square meter of the island's surface had to endure up to 3 bombs and dozens of artillery shells. But with the oath "As long as there are people, there will be islands", with only rifles, submachine guns and PK 12.7mm machine guns of the 152nd team and militia, 25 modern US aircraft were shot to pieces right in the sky of the island. On December 31, 1973, the 152nd battalion was awarded the title "Heroic Unit of the People's Armed Forces" by the Party and the State. The island also received the greetings of President Fidel Castro and the Cuban people, the World Peace Council Medal and the mementos of beloved Uncle Ho. These are sources of encouragement and motivation for the army and people of Bach Long Vi island to be steadfast and resilient at the forefront.
Peaceful island town
Leaving the HQ 635 ship, stepping onto the harbor, a newly built structure with a capacity of 500 ships, the Island welcomed us with the peaceful features of a small town. Throughout the shallows are cacti, a plant associated with the island. In every season, the island's cacti bloom. Amidst the barren sea wind and salty mist, each yellow flower of this austere plant is like a spot of faith, peaceful yet steadfast.
On the concrete roads winding around the island, new houses have sprung up, there are quite a few stylish villas, spacious offices located in the middle of casuarina gardens and fruit trees. Several market streets are full of fresh fish, squid, vegetables. On both sides of the road, there are restaurants, hair salons, post offices, karaoke with music echoing. A few dogs calmly look at visitors from afar. A touch of the mainland in the heart of the island town.
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Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, from Thuy Nguyen (Hai Phong), was quickly arranging the new vegetables sent from the mainland to her vegetable and fish store while chatting. She and her husband have been on the island for 5 years and currently have 2 children, the eldest of whom is 11 years old. Every month, there are about 3-4 boat trips to the island, and her goods are also sent by boat. "My husband and I are determined to stay on the island for a long time, our children are already used to the island. Besides, business here is okay" - Ms. Le confided.
At the beginning of the concrete road, some fishing women took advantage of the opportunity to bring the fish and shrimp they had caught the night before to the island town to sell early so they would be fresh. Buckets of abalone were placed under the oleander bushes to avoid the sun, waiting for people to pay. Large snails and sea cucumbers used to be Bach Long Vi’s products, but now they are rare because they have been left to float for a while, and fishermen have overexploited them.
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In Bach Long Vi, besides the navy, army, and border guard uniforms, we almost everywhere saw the withered grass green color of the Youth Volunteers' uniforms, because they are the core shock force on the island. The Youth Volunteers participated in building the Red River Youth Park, building the Central Cultural Park, building the General Hospital, building the Memorial to the heroic martyrs who fell to protect the sky and sea of the Fatherland so that Bach Long Vi has the appearance it has today. The Youth Volunteers participated in planting forests to bring green to the island...
The imprint of international friends still remains with the forest of the Vietnam - Japan Kitakanto Bach Long Vi Red Cross Friendship Association. Thousands of forest trees, tons of green vegetables, and food for production are soaked with the sweat of the male and female Youth Volunteers. After 18 years on the island, the Youth Volunteers have become an indispensable part along with the storms and harshness of this island border area. 57 team members, plus 3 commanders of the Youth Volunteers Union, each with a different personality and circumstances, but all share the same ideal of leaving for tomorrow to start a career, not afraid of hardship.
Currently, the Youth Volunteers have up to 35 households, of which about 15 are the homes of female Youth Volunteers and young soldiers. In a corner of the Central Cultural Park, a group of team members are diligently trimming each row of green hedges in the campus as beautiful as a villa garden. Team member Vu Thi Ngoc Bich, 19 years old this year, is at the most beautiful age of youth, as beautiful as her fresh face covered with a few drops of sweat tilted under the brim of her floppy hat. Bich is from Tien Lang (Hai Phong), and has been on the island for 4 years now. "At first, my parents were very strict, thinking that I was a girl far away from home, but I was determined to join the Youth Volunteers, and besides, I have my aunt and uncle here...!" Bich smiled. "What about a lover?" The young team member blushed again. "I already fell in love with the island, so I haven't thought about that yet."
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The island's population is quite diverse: households; youth volunteers; civil servants, officials of the district's departments; the Fisheries Logistics Service Center; the Hydrometeorological Station; the Maritime Security Unit, the Post Office and a number of businesses. In addition, there is a large number of transient people from fishing boats anchored around the island (sometimes up to 800 boats) and many seafood purchasing and service boats come here to do business, sometimes up to 120 boats.
On the island, 4 residential clusters have been formed, concentrated in the southwest and southeast of the island, behind the port and boat anchorage area. The islanders are mostly adults of working age and male, including 3 main occupational groups: fishing, aquatic exploitation and services, animal husbandry, and cultivation.
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Fishing on the island is mainly abalone diving and coastal fishing, in addition to catching sea cucumbers. Before 1988, grouper and grouper could be caught by hook and line, netting about 40 - 50 tons, abalone exploited about 30 - 40 tons fresh each year. Abalone diving season is from January to August.
See you soon, far away island
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On the way to the wharf to return to ship HQ 935, preparing to say goodbye to Bach Long Vi, we again saw clusters of cacti blooming yellow on the sandbanks. The national flag in front of the houses was fluttering, highlighting the red lines between the green of the trees, the island, and the sky. Seeing us off to the dock, Captain Dang Cong Thanh said: “I have the opportunity to invite everyone to the island to celebrate Tet with the Youth Volunteers and soldiers here. Tet in Bach Long Vi has many happy things that you don’t have on the mainland…”.
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Now, Bach Long Vi has truly risen after the fierce sweep of storm No. 10 (late 2009). Around the island, there are no more traces of the days of fighting the storm. The broken TV tower has been reinstalled. The wind power pole - the symbol of Bach Long Vi that was knocked down has also been restored. The roofs of the offices that were blown off, the casuarina trees that fell all over the island after the storm are now only in the memories of the young islanders. The sound of children studying has resounded in the spacious 2-storey primary school - kindergarten. And the ships have peacefully returned to the Bach Long Vi port, preparing for days at sea with full holds of fish.
Tran Hai