Priceless battlefield relics of Nghe An veterans

"Soul mate" of the soldier

On the occasion of the country's major holidays, veterans who fought on the Quang Tri battlefield, from Chau Nhan commune (Hung Nguyen) gathered together to recall old memories. Each person brought with thembattlefield relics, recalling the heroic period, associated with marches and battles.

Mr. Le Cong Tam (born 1953) brought along a parachute hammock, a keepsake that has been with me for over 50 years. He said: “This hammock and some of my belongings were given to me in 1971, before I went to the South. Since then, it has been associated with the fierce fighting days on the Quang Tri battlefield, never leaving it, even when I was injured and had to be transferred to the rear.”

The soldier's hammock was used to rest on the march and after battles. To Mr. Tam, the hammock was also like a friend, because when retreating to the bunker to take shelter from enemy bullets and artillery, there was no mat to lie on, the hammock was used instead of a mat.

During the “Red Summer” of 1972 in Quang Tri, Mr. Tam was injured by a collapsed bunker due to artillery fire. His comrades used this hammock to carry him down to the boat on the Thach Han River. Then the frontline workers used the hammock to transfer him back to the field station to treat his wounds. A week later, when he returned to his unit on foot, the hammock was spread out on the side of the road during breaks...

While Mr. Le Cong Tam was talking about his hammock, Mr. Tran Van Duong (born in 1951) fondled it, occasionally lifting it up to look at it. This hammock had been with him for 7 years as a soldier, following him to the trenches, down to deep tunnels and marching through the mountains and forests.Truong Son.

Normally, when guarding a checkpoint, the ango is used to hold food and rations for each soldier. When marching, it is used to cook rice and food, replacing the pot. Because marching in the vast mountains and forests, when stopping, soldiers find vegetables, tubers, usually wild bamboo shoots, to cook.

On the day of his return, Mr. Duong had an amphibious rifle in his backpack, an item that held many memories of his military life. It continued to be used in daily life, following its owner to the fields and on long trips, and was later kept as a souvenir.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Ky has 10 years of military service, and was a reconnaissance company commander. For scouts, binoculars are an "inseparable" item when on duty. It helps them observe from a distance to grasp the terrain, terrain, and enemy defenses to draw maps, helping unit commanders develop combat plans.

Mr. Ky still clearly remembers one time when he and 3 teammates went to scout an enemy company, 4 people at 4 corners using binoculars to observe. When coming out, the enemy discovered and fired at him, in the midst of the bullets, Mr. Ky still hugged the binoculars and rushed into the forest. "Every time I remember my years in the army, my comrades and the fierce battles, I take out the binoculars. Now, it is like a close friend," Mr. Ky shared.

The "collections" of memorabilia

The war has long since ended, the soldiers who fought against the invaders, preserving independence and peace, most of their hair has turned gray. Therefore, many people have spent time, effort and money collecting artifacts so that future generations can better understand the war. Some people have "collections" of battlefield memorabilia, kept and displayed in their homes as family "museums".

Veteran Le Manh Hai in Le Loi ward (Vinh city) was a soldier of Division 320, participating in 3 wars (the war against the US, the southwestern border war and the northern border war). Returning to normal life, although busy with business, he still spends time collecting battlefield memorabilia.

Mr. Hai's collection currently has hundreds of items.artifacts, mostly weapons and equipment of officers and soldiers in the southern battlefield. For Mr. Hai, each souvenir is a treasure associated with each battle he participated in, each battlefield he went to.

These are the military uniforms, military equipment, and personal equipment of the soldiers (including a model gun, a backpack, a hat, a belt, a gun, a canteen, an alcohol bottle, etc.). The canteen that was destroyed by bombs and bullets of a soldier who died was collected by Mr. Hai at the 1015 peak and the tail of a 120 mm mortar shell collected at the 1049 peak in Sa Thay district (Kon Tum)...

Mr. Hai shared: “Whenever I am under pressure at work or miss my comrades, I look at the souvenirs to return to the glorious and heroic years of my youth. There, there were hardships, dangers and the glory of victory, and deep comradeship…”.

Also in Vinh city, Mr. Dao Tam Tinh in Hung Loc commune is known as the owner of many valuable antiques, his private house has become a “museum”. In it, he dedicates a corner to artifacts related to wars as a slice of history.

The collection features a large canteen for storing coolant for trucks, a bicycle used by a liaison officer on the Truong Son route, and a plastic raincoat used by soldiers. There are also haunting artifacts such as pieces of a downed American plane, cluster bomb shells, and rocket shrapnel.

Cong Kien