Son La province verifies information about Nghe An martyr's sacrifice at Co Noi Intersection

On the morning of August 22, the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee coordinated with the Propaganda Department of Son La Provincial Party Committee to organize a working session to provide information and verify the martyrs who died at Co Noi Intersection (Son La).

Comrade Le Thi Hoai Chung - Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee chaired the meeting. Also attending were comrade Lo Minh Hien - Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of Son La Provincial Party Committee.

Working session scene. Photo: Quang Minh

During the resistance war against French colonialism, the volunteer forces made very important contributions, helping the army and people of the whole country to the final victory. Among them, the two typical volunteer youth teams 34 and 40 (cadres and soldiers mainly came from the old Zone 4 area) fought side by side with other forces and achieved many feats.

Especially in the Co Noi Intersection area, Mai Son district, Son La province, many soldiers heroically sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.

In order to commemorate, show gratitude and honor the great contributions of the heroic martyrs who were the youth volunteer force, Son La province has a policy to restore the Co Noi T-junction relic site, including carving a memorial stele for the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives here.

At the meeting, the representative of the Propaganda Department of Son La Provincial Party Committee requested verification of 9 martyrs who were from Nghe An who sacrificed at Co Noi Intersection in the 1953 - 1954 Winter-Spring Campaign. Currently, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has identified information about 5 martyrs; the remaining 4 martyrs continue to be reviewed and verified to supplement.

Panoramic view of the Youth Volunteers Monument at Co Noi Intersection today. Photo: Son La Newspaper

In the coming time, the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee will actively coordinate with localities and related units to continue verifying and providing information about Nghe An martyrs who sacrificed at the Co Noi T-junction to serve the construction of meaningful projects that Son La province is implementing.

Co Noi Junction is the junction between National Highway 41 and National Highway 13, a narrow and deep valley, with hills on both sides. During the campaigns of the resistance war against French colonialism, typically the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Co Noi Junction had a strategic position. This was the gateway to the Northwest - the vital road connecting the Northern Delta with the Viet Bac War Zone, Zone III, Zone IV with the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. In his memoirs, General Vo Nguyen Giap wrote: "Co Noi Junction is a pass that all those who go to battle must pass."

The French colonialists took full advantage of the weak point of Co Noi Junction to concentrate their air force to fiercely attack this junction in order to cut off the only vital road to Dien Bien Phu. One day, they dropped 300 bombs, time-delay bombs, and butterfly bombs, weighing 69 tons of explosives. Not only focusing on attacking Co Noi Junction, the French air force also widely attacked the surrounding area to destroy the weapons and food warehouses, barracks, and kill our soldiers, laborers, and Youth Volunteers who were on duty to serve the combat at this key point. To serve the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, many cadres, soldiers, and youth volunteers sacrificed their lives at this key junction.