Vitality at the forefront
(Baonghean) - The land on the island is coral sand, so it is almost impossible to grow fruit trees, only suitable for brackish water plants such as: Candlenut, square-fruited Indian almond, maple, coconut and vines and weeds.
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| Comrade Ho Phuc Hop (middle) - Head of the delegation of Nghe An province held a memorial service for heroic martyrs who heroically sacrificed to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands. Photo: Sy Thanh |
Leaving Da Thi, we arrived at Nam Yet Island, the island known as the “green paradise” in Truong Sa... Nam Yet Island has an oval shape, slightly narrow in width, and lies in the East-West direction. At the lowest tide, the island is about 3-4m high.
The soil on the island is coral sand, so it is almost impossible to grow fruit trees, only suitable for brackish water plants such as: candleberry, square-fruited Indian almond, maple tree, coconut and climbing plants, weeds. However, with the hard work and efforts of the officers and soldiers on the island, they have been able to grow some green vegetables such as water spinach, squash, pumpkin...
Leading us to visit the island, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tho, from Dien Chau district, Nghe An, the island commander, proudly introduced: "The efforts of the soldiers have turned the island from coral and sand into a fertile island with many green trees and fruit trees such as coconut, papaya, banyan tree, banyan tree, green vegetables and efforts to build the island into a solid defensive fortress to protect the sacred territorial waters of the Fatherland". On the island, there is also a cultural center that was built quite spaciously; a lighthouse to guide ships passing by; Nam Huyen pagoda serving the spiritual and cultural life, especially for fishermen at sea. Leaving Nam Yet island at 4 am, all the soldiers on the island saw us off at the dock. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tho gave our group a banyan tree, a candleberry tree and a national flag with the signature of the commander and the seal of Nam Yet island to convey the hearts and memories of the island soldiers to the mainland and their homeland of Nghe An.
Leaving Nam Yet Island, we continued our journey to Sinh Ton Island, passing through other submerged islands: Tien Nu Island, Dong A Rock Island, Le B Rock Island, Co Lin…, all of which have majestic guard stations, in every direction you can see the blue of the sky and the sea, while the brown soil is only limited to small trays used to grow green vegetables, an orchid placed in the office, giving the island an ecological feel. We said goodbye to the island with gifts of sea snails, colorful coral branches and filled with the love of those who have the mission of guarding the sea.
When our group stopped at the Gac Ma - Co Lin island area, exactly 30 years ago, on March 14, 1988, the heroic struggle and sacrifice of officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy took place for the integrity of the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. The memorial ceremony for the heroic martyrs of the Vietnam People's Navy who sacrificed their lives on the Truong Sa archipelago was held respectfully and solemnly on the deck of the KN-491 ship. There were heroic sons of the motherland Vietnam who remained forever in the deep sea thousands of meters in the vast ocean, in the roaring waves, in the salty sea water like blood and tears...
What surprised me as soon as I set foot on Truong Sa town (often called Truong Sa big island) was the cool green and bustling national defense and civilian works. Over the past 4 decades since liberation, with the will and determination, the army and people here have transformed Truong Sa big island from an island of white sand into a green area with many modern constructions, creating the appearance of a typical urban area of Truong Sa island district. Economic works combined with national defense serving the people such as airports, satellite telephone signal transmission stations, hydrometeorological stations, lighthouses, satellite television transmission stations, clean energy systems, medical stations, etc. were built to contribute to improving the lives of the army and people on the island, successfully implementing the program "reaching out to the sea" set forth by the Party and State.
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| Peaceful life of people on Sinh Ton Island. Photo: Sy Thanh |
The guest house, Uncle Ho memorial house, martyrs memorial, pagoda, traditional house, primary school are places for cultural exchange and traditional education for the army and people of Truong Sa island town. Currently, the cultural and spiritual life of the army and people here is quite well guaranteed. 100% of households and military units are equipped with televisions, satellite signal reception systems, modern digital karaoke systems are equipped to the squads. On the island, there is a reading room with nearly 5,000 books and over 30 newspapers of all kinds, a law bookcase.
The islanders are young couples who volunteered to come here to establish a hamlet. The hamlet is a series of solidly built houses, the streets are named after straight rows of banyan trees; there is an area for growing vegetables and raising poultry. We visited the family of To Hoai, from Dien Bich commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An. The whole family of Hoai happily went to the gate to welcome fellow countrymen; stories about daily life, lifestyles mixed with the pain of missing home made the atmosphere of the conversation lively, warm with the love of homeland on a remote island. |
| Officers and soldiers of Nam Yet island welcomed the delegation to visit and work. Photo: Sy Thanh |
We left Truong Sa Lon after an "all-out" cultural program between the artists and the soldiers and civilians on the island. At 9 p.m., when the ship KN-491 blew its whistle to leave the port, we were deeply moved by the image of the soldiers and civilians of Truong Sa Lon standing in two rows along the ship's hull and singing loudly... On deck, the members of the working group shouted "the whole country for Truong Sa", and received a unanimous response from the port "Truong Sa for the whole country".
On April 16, 2018, the Truong Sa voyage ended with a closing ceremony, awarding commemorative medals and Truong Sa soldier badges to the members of the delegation. In each of us, the image of soldiers guarding the island, the sound of children studying, the peaceful image of a monk giving calligraphy in the middle of Truong Sa still lingers...