The old soldiers carried stones up the mountain to erect a memorial to their fallen comrades.

THE OLD BATTLEFIELD WAS A TIME OF BLOOD AND FIRE

The soldiers, the "warriors" of the 320th Division A, who participated in the historic battles of Hill 1015 (Sac Ly) and Hill 1049 (Delta), now Ro Koi commune, Sa Thay district, Kon Tum province, on April 24, 1972, surely still remember those arduous and fierce battles, accepting sacrifices and losses to fight the opening battle of the campaign, creating a springboard for the forces to attack and liberate the Northern Central Highlands. Hill 1015 (Sac Ly) is a location bordering three districts: Sa Thay, Dak To, and Ngoc Hoi (Kon Tum province). This hill has a particularly important military strategic position. Kon Tum is a strategically important area in the Central Highlands' strategic defense system.

According to Colonel Nguyen The Tan, former Commander of the 320th Division and Deputy Head of the Liaison Committee of the Delta Division, on November 19, 1971, General Van Tien Dung, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, visited the Division and spoke with key officers. There, the Chief of the General Staff said: "This time, the Ministry has assigned your Division to a new battlefield to carry out a strategic offensive. This is an extremely important area, an extremely arduous and difficult battlefield. But no matter how difficult it is, you must fight well and destroy each combat group right in their stronghold."

Lieutenant General, Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Quoc Thuoc and his comrades revisit the old battlefield (veteran businessman Le Manh Hai is standing on the far right).

Following the directives of the General Staff, on March 30, 1972, the Central Highlands Front Command assigned the 320th Division, using the 52nd Infantry Regiment, to encircle the enemy on Hill 1049. The 64th Infantry Regiment was deployed to approach Hill 1015, ready to engage any enemy airborne landing to rescue the enemy's paratrooper battalion. On April 3, 1972, the 52nd Infantry Regiment attacked Hill 1049 but failed to dislodge the enemy, suffering significant casualties. On April 8, 1972, the Front Command assigned the 320th Division, using the 64th Infantry Regiment, to encircle and destroy the enemy's paratrooper battalion. Our artillery heavily bombarded the prepared targets. The attacking forces simultaneously advanced towards their objectives. After three days of fighting, the 64th Infantry Regiment and its reinforcements completely annihilated the 11th and 2nd Parachute Battalions. They killed 260 enemy soldiers, captured 166 others, shot down 20 aircraft, and seized numerous enemy weapons and war equipment. To achieve this opening victory at Heights 1015 and 1049, hundreds of soldiers from the 320th Division A "forever twenty years old" perished there.

BENT BACK, GRAY HAIR, CARRYING STONES UP THE MOUNTAIN, CARVING A MONUMENT OF GRATITUDE TO COMRADES

To express gratitude and honor the courageous sacrifices of their comrades, and in accordance with the wishes of generations of officers and soldiers of the Division, especially those surviving comrades who fought on these two high points, the Liaison Committee of the 320th Division, with the agreement of the Kon Tum provincial government, has decided to proceed with the construction of a memorial monument at the historical sites of high points 1015 and 1049. The construction principle is "Socialization of funding, receiving support from the voluntary contributions of everyone. The Liaison Committee does not solicit money, does not call for investment in construction, and does not create proposals to request state funding."

Explaining this idea, veteran Le Manh Hai - Director of Phu Nguyen Hai Co., Ltd., Head of the Traditional Liaison Committee of the Delta Division, 320th Division in Nghe An and Ha Tinh - emotionally said: "Our division matured and went through many battles in the Route 9 - Southern Laos campaign, then was deployed to the Northern Central Highlands battlefield. The Central Highlands battlefield had extremely difficult and arduous fighting conditions; a bowl of rice was shared, a cigarette was divided in two, two people shared a blanket on a cold, rainy night... In such difficult conditions, the camaraderie among comrades was immense. Tonight, we share a cigarette and a piece of dried food, but tomorrow, in battle, some are still alive, others are gone. It's heartbreaking and deeply moving to think about it. How can we not feel pain seeing our comrades fall? Nearly half a century has passed since the war ended, but we veterans of the 320th Division always remember our fallen comrades. With the same aspirations, we all met and agreed on the idea of ​​returning to the old battlefield to build a memorial monument to commemorate them." "Remember and honor the comrades who fell for the bright future of the nation."

Veterans of the 320th Division and ethnic minority people on the day of the inauguration of the memorial monument at Hill 1049 DELTA.

After surveying and selecting the site, 28 veterans of the 320th Division A in the Nghe An - Ha Tinh area set up tents, carried stones, and constructed the memorial monument at two high points, 1015 and 1049. During the construction process, according to veteran Dang Dinh Quyen, Deputy Head of the Liaison Committee, he personally led the group of veterans, many of whom were in their seventies, to the mountainous forest area to open roads, dig foundations, and oversee the construction. The group included veterans Kieu Dinh Minh and Tran Quy Thang from Ha Tinh; and veterans Nguyen Tien Suu, Dau Dinh Toan, and Nguyen Huu Chat from Nghe An. There were some very touching cases, such as veteran Ho Sy Tuong from Nam Dan district, who, despite suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia and recovering from surgery, hid his illness to participate with his comrades in carrying stones up the mountain to erect the monument. He passed away after the monument was completed and inaugurated. Meanwhile, veteran Nguyen Huu Thanh and his wife joined in cooking meals for her husband's fellow soldiers.

The stones for the memorial plaques were also meticulously prepared by the veterans. The stones were purchased from Thanh Hoa, cut into slabs, transported to Ninh Binh for carving patterns, then shipped to Nghe An and taken to the temple of King Quang Trung on Quyet Mountain (Vinh City) for inscription. In November 2017, they were transported to Sa Thay. From Sa Thay, trucks were hired to transport them to the mountaintop. There are five stone plaques, the heaviest measuring 3.6m x 2.2m and weighing 11 tons. The road to the mountaintop is steep and only accessible by vehicles. Besides transporting materials by truck, many other tasks such as cutting trees, paving the road to prevent vehicles from slipping, carrying sand, and setting up temporary shelters were all undertaken by the veterans. On January 2nd, 2018, two plaques on high points 1049 and 1015 were placed in their correct positions. The monument stands majestically, facing the magnificent Po Ko River, with Highway 14 and the peaks of Dak To - Tan Canh, places bearing many heroic historical imprints from the years of fierce war.

FINAL SIDE

With heartfelt gratitude to their comrades and the "sweat and tears" of businessman Le Manh Hai, four memorial monuments have been erected to commemorate fallen soldiers. In January 2018, the Chu Bo memorial monument in Duc Co, Gia Lai, costing 1.3 billion VND, was completed. In May 2018, two more memorial monuments at high points 1015 and 1049 were inaugurated, costing 3.6 billion VND. In April 2019, the Dong Du memorial monument in Cu Chi, costing 3.2 billion VND, was completed. Besides the efforts of the veterans, the design, construction, and technical supervision of the staff of Phu Nguyen Hai Co., Ltd., along with some officers and soldiers from the 320th Division, the 9th Division, and the 4th Corps, contributed to the construction of these four memorial monuments. A portion of the funding for these monuments was contributed by veterans of the 320th Division A, totaling 450 million VND. The family of Lieutenant General Khuất Duy Tiến donated 450 million VND. The remaining more than 7 billion VND was contributed by businessman and veteran Lê Mạnh Hải.

Currently, Hill 1015 - Sac Ly, located in Ro Coi commune, Sa Thay district; and Hill 1049 - Delta, located in Ho Moong commune, Sa Thay district, have been classified as provincial-level historical relics by the Kon Tum Provincial People's Committee. April 21st is chosen as the annual festival day (commemoration of the battle) for officials and people from all over the country to come here to offer incense and pay tribute to the sons and daughters who fell for the Fatherland, so that independence could flourish and freedom could bear fruit.

Here, the author would like to add more about the dedication and contributions of businessman and veteran Le Manh Hai. Born the second son of the renowned Phu Nguyen gold and silver merchant family in Vinh, during the war against the US, young Le Manh Hai joined the Red City self-defense force to protect the neighborhood.

In 1971, amidst the most intense phase of the war against the US, Le Manh Hai enlisted to defend the Fatherland, joining the 320th Division A and fighting in the B5 battlefield, Central Highlands Front. Le Manh Hai participated in the Spring-Summer 1972 campaign, with famous battles at peaks 1015 and 1049... contributing to the liberation of Dak To - Tan Canh and a vast area of ​​the Central Highlands.

During the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, Le Manh Hai and his comrades participated in capturing the Dong Du base in Cu Chi, launching a direct attack on Tan Son Nhat airport, and advancing with other units into Saigon, completely liberating the South. After the country was unified, Le Manh Hai again fought against the encroachment of the Pol Pot regime and participated in the campaign to liberate Cambodia from the genocidal regime.

Veteran and businessman Le Manh Hai, along with his comrades, at a reunion.

Having excellently fulfilled his duties as a soldier during the war, Mr. Le Manh Hai was discharged from the army and transferred to work at the Nghe An Department of Industry until his retirement in 2007. Returning to civilian life, he established Phu Nguyen Hai Co., Ltd. Besides creating jobs for the children of veterans, the company's headquarters also serves as a meeting place for the Veterans' Liaison Committee, a place to reminisce about the unit's traditions on holidays. The company and Mr. Hai have achieved many successes; however, the most valuable thing about him is his unwavering remembrance and gratitude towards his comrades...

Nguyen Huu Mai