The image of the heroic Red Village militia will forever shine

(Baonghean) Oh, the girl of Lam River, in your old hometown of Lang Do, hatred like a sea of ​​fire has risen up...". The beautiful image of the Lang Do militia girl during the years of fighting against the Americans to save the country was portrayed by musician Nguyen Nhung through the song "The Militia Girl of Lang Do" which became a testament to the heroic time of the Hung Dung Air Defense Militia Platoon (Vinh City).

In 1964, when the US imperialists used the Gulf of Tonkin incident to escalate the bombing of the North by air force, Hung Dung's air defense militia platoon was established and joined other forces to fight back against US aircraft, protecting key points such as Ben Thuy ferry, power plant, gas depot, Vinh City Party Committee... Also from those years, the Red village militia girls, with their hands on the plow and their hands on the gun, never left their homeland, directly joining local troops and main force troops to fight against US aircraft with 12.7mm and 14.5mm artillery.

Female militia Nguyen Thi Dan on the side12.7mm gun that shot down American planes.
Photo: Document

The most outstanding feat was in 1968, when the Red Village militiawoman Nguyen Thi Dan and her comrades directly shot down an American plane in the sky of Vinh City with a 12.7mm gun. In recognition of these glorious feats, in 1971, the Party and State awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces to the Red Village militiawoman.

After the restoration of peace, the militia force of Do village - Hung Dung continued to promote its glorious tradition, making an important contribution to maintaining security and order and fulfilling national defense and military tasks in the ward. Over the past 5 years, the militia force of Hung Dung ward has continuously been awarded certificates of merit by the Provincial People's Committee for its excellent performance in national defense and military tasks.

The day we visited the Red Village female militia squad, in the hot sun of an early summer afternoon, at the training ground, Squad Leader Nguyen Thi Thanh and her sisters were practicing disassembling and assembling guns. Taking advantage of the break, she excitedly told us: "Wearing the red-brown uniform of the Red Village female militia, we sisters feel very honored and proud to follow in the heroic tradition of the ladies and gentlemen who have made our homeland famous. To be worthy of that honor and pride, our squad realizes that we need to strive to train ourselves to be virtuous and talented enough to be worthy of being the ones to follow in the footsteps of the old tradition."

Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung - Party Secretary, Chairman of the People's Council of Hung Dung Ward said: "In 2011, under the direction of the City Military Command, the Ward Party Committee rebuilt a female militia squad named "Red Village Female Militia Squad" to recreate and preserve the image of the Red Village militia in the past. Right in the 2012 training season, the Red Village female militia squad participated in night live ammunition shooting with a high rate of good and excellent performance, and was evaluated by the City Military Command as one of the units that excellently completed the task; had a model of a continuous system and commanded night shooting, winning the first prize in the 2012 model school supplies sports competition. That affirmed the efforts of the sisters when they were honored to stand in the ranks of the Red Village militia force, they continued to promote the tradition of the previous generation to successfully complete today's task.

With those efforts and determination, Nguyen Thi Thanh and her teammates are recreating the image of a brave and resilient Red Village militia girl in the new era, worthy of the heroic tradition of the Red Village militia "even though the sun scorches her cheeks, even though the wind and rain are strong, her heart is still as happy as red fireworks".

Duc Dung