Thanh Chuong - land of heroes

(Baonghean.vn) - Nature did not generously bestow Thanh Chuong with available resources, but from poverty, this land produced many famous generals.

Promoting the Soviet tradition of Hanh Lam - Vo Liet, through the two resistance wars against France and the US, Thanh Chuong was an important rear base, and also a fierce battlefield against destructive wars. With their outstanding contributions in the rear, more than 50,000 Thanh Chuong children went to fight on the battlefields. Promoting the tradition of their homeland, they fulfilled their duty to the Fatherland. Among them, 11 people were awarded and posthumously awarded the noble state title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces".

Thanh Chuong landscape. Photo: internet.

Many of them, when mentioned, terrified the enemy, such as Lieutenant General Nguyen De (nicknamed Ba Trung) - a famous general in the Southwest region. The story of Lieutenant General Nguyen De - the son of the heroic land of Vo Liet has become a legend that is forever remembered by the people of the "nut village".

Born into a poor family in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An), before the age of 4, little boy De had to suffer the fate of an orphan, then 3 years later his mother remarried and followed his stepfather to make a living in the South. At the age of 7, Nguyen De became a servant for a wealthy family in the village.

After 4 years of living there, when he had fully experienced all the bitterness and humiliation, his mother returned from the South and paid the landlord 30 Indochinese piastres to redeem her son. Then, the mother took her son thousands of kilometers to the Binh Ba rubber plantation in Xuan Loc (now Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province). Here, the boy, over 10 years old, officially became a plantation worker, living a miserable and bitter life under the whips of the plantation guards.

Lieutenant General Nguyen De (middle) and the IX Military Region Forward Command planned to open the 1974-1975 Winter-Spring campaign at the Vinh-Tra front. Photo: Document

April 1945 marked a turning point in the life of the young man from Nghe An who was wandering in the South. Joining the Vanguard Youth Organization, Nguyen De was assigned to distribute propaganda leaflets, then became a liaison for the Viet Minh Front at the district level. Due to his active and enthusiastic activities, and his participation in political training, Nguyen De was appointed as the leader of the Vanguard Youth of Phuoc Thieng commune (Long Thanh district). From then on, with his revolutionary will and mettle, Nguyen De always made outstanding achievements in his missions, 'crossing' through two long-term resistance wars of the nation with the mindset of 'the spearhead...'.

The story of Lieutenant General Nguyen De is still clearly remembered by the people of Vo Liet, that after being busy on the long battlefields, when the important work of the country had subsided, the Lieutenant General had time to return to find his old hometown. Having been away from home since childhood, he missed his hometown but did not know exactly where it was. He searched and asked for a long time before he was overwhelmed with happiness when he found his hometown of Vo Liet - the place where he was born and raised. The life and career of Lieutenant General Nguyen De is an indomitable heroic epic, representing thousands of children of Thanh Chuong who rose from hunger and slavery to seek the light of revolution.

Vo Liet Communal House (Thanh Chuong). Photo: Cong Kien.

Leaving from Thanh Chuong countryside, with the spiritual strength and tradition of their homeland, none of them thought that they would become heroes in the war. However, perhaps it was the endurance, hard work, bravery, perseverance, and determination of the "naughty" people that helped them become soldiers in the top ranks of many units. Like Hero pilot Nguyen Ngoc Do, Hero martyr Nguyen Xuan Can, Hero Hoang Dinh Kien, Hero Nguyen Quang Trung... Some were illustrious in their military careers, but some left the army like ordinary soldiers. And many, leaving their guns, simply held the plow firmly in their hands at the end of the river and the beginning of the sandbank.

The heroes of the revolutionary homeland are now mostly old and weak. Some have passed away according to the law of life, some have left their homeland to live on the old battlefield, some have followed their children and grandchildren to live all over the country, only Hero Nguyen Quang Trung remains. Awarded the title of Hero when he was just over 20 years old, now, the war hero of the past is about to enter his old age. In the stories of peacetime, there are still many heroic and tragic memories of the war days nearly half a century ago. Their stories are always simple but are a source of strength, contributing to educating the revolutionary tradition for the next generations.

Thanh Chuong is a heroic land. In 1996, the people and armed forces of Thanh Chuong district were awarded the title of People's Armed Forces Hero. Then, 11 communes of the district: Cat Van, Thanh Linh, Thanh Ngoc, Thanh Dong, Ngoc Son, Thanh Khai, Thanh Duong, Thanh Tuong, Thanh Hung, Thanh Ha, Thanh Van were awarded the title of People's Armed Forces Hero. Of which, 3 communes have 2 heroic children: Cat Van commune (People's Armed Forces Hero Tran Kim Cau, Hoang Dinh Kien); Phong Thinh commune (People's Armed Forces Hero Dang Dinh Ho, Nguyen Ngoc Do); Thanh Xuan (People's Armed Forces Hero Bui Dinh Huong, Nguyen Canh Dan). That glorious traditional source is forever the luggage, the pride that gives wings to the steps forward of Thanh Chuong land today.

Tran Dinh Ha

Thanh Chuong Radio