Special inscription on Elephant Mountain in Nam Dan

(Baonghean.vn) - Traveling on Highway 46, one can see a large line of words carved on Elephant Mountain in Nam Tan Commune, Nam Dan. Few people know that this line of words appeared 70 years ago.

Elephant Mountain belongs to Thien Nhan range - one of the three major mountain ranges in Nam Dan district (Dai Hue, Hung Son, Thien Nhan). The mountain has the shape of a lying elephant, its head facing Dun mountain, its trunk falling into Lam river, so since ancient times, the local people here have called it Elephant Mountain. Currently, the foot of Elephant Mountain is the residential area of ​​hamlets 3, 4, 5, 6 of Nam Tan commune.

The inscription carved on Elephant Mountain in Nam Tan, Nam Dan.

What is special is that on the northern slope of Elephant Mountain, there is still a large line of letters carved during the resistance years, expressing the affection of our army and people for Uncle Ho. According to the elders in Nam Tan commune, during the peak of the resistance war against French colonialism, to express their affection for leader Ho Chi Minh as well as their determination to fight the French, a unit of soldiers stationed in Nam Dan district, in coordination with local youth union members and teachers and students of Tan Loc Secondary School, carved on Elephant Mountain the words "Long live President Ho Chi Minh".

35 years later, in 1972, when Uncle Ho passed away, and the resistance war against the US was still raging, the Party Committee of Nam Tan commune decided to revise the inscription on Voi mountain and assigned the Nam Tan secondary school to do so. The inscription “Long live President Ho Chi Minh” was revised to “Forever grateful to great Uncle Ho” and remains to this day.

Mr. Ho Sy Phuc (80 years old) in hamlet 4, Nam Anh commune, who worked at Nam Tan secondary school from 1970 to 1979, said that at that time, the school was located at the foot of the mountain, and he, along with a number of teachers and students in the school, took on the task of re-engraved this inscription.

Mr. Phuc said: After agreeing on the idea, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Xuan from Xuan Hoa commune and I went up the mountain to measure. At first, we planned to translate this line of words to run backwards towards Dun mountain to make it symmetrical, but due to the unfavorable terrain, we decided to carve it in the exact position as it is now. Every day, in the morning we are busy teaching and learning, in the afternoon, teachers and students go up the mountain, mainly mobilizing 7th grade students - the final grade, each session from 10 to 20 students.

45 years have passed, Mr. Phuc also does not remember specifically how many days it took to complete the "construction", only remembering that it was done in the winter of 1972, the letters were very large, each stroke was about 1 meter wide, 6 - 7 meters high. The students used hoes to dig up all the grass on each block of letters, then sprinkled lime powder on it, the whole line of letters used up hundreds of kilograms of lime powder.

Mrs. Tran Thi Xuan (61 years old) in hamlet 4, Nam Tan commune, living at the foot of Voi mountain, who participated in carving this inscription, recalls: “Back then, I was in 7th grade, a member of the Youth Union, so I was mobilized to carve the inscription on Voi mountain. That year, there was no road up the mountain like now, both teachers and students just followed the mountainside, working for many days and it was very fun”.

The project was completed, and everyone was excited. The words “Forever grateful to great Uncle Ho” stood out on the green background of Elephant Mountain, and could still be seen clearly from this side of the Lam River. When the US stopped bombing the North to sign the Paris Agreement, Nam Dan district hung a large flag on the top of Elephant Mountain, fluttering above these words.

On the occasion of the 127th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday and the 60th anniversary of his first visit to his hometown, Nam Dan District Youth Union implemented a plan to restore and rebuild the inscription in mid-March 2017. The project was invested by Nam Dan District Youth Union, mobilizing capital from socialized sources. The inscription was designed with reinforced concrete, paved with white ceramic tiles, with strokes 2 m wide and over 9 m high, and is expected to be completed on the occasion of National Day 2017.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Duc Minh, Deputy Secretary of Nam Dan District Youth Union, affirmed: “This is a special inscription, with profound historical and humanistic significance. The construction and restoration of the inscription on Elephant Mountain is both a sentiment for Uncle Ho and a reminder and education for the younger generation about revolutionary traditions and love for the homeland and country.”

Huy Thu