Returning from American-backed prisons.
(NAO) -Over 30 years have passed, and the war has faded into memory... There is a soldier who returned victorious from a US-backed prison. With his wooden crutches, he diligently works in a corner of the market every day...
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I met Dao Duy Tri through a former comrade who was a soldier in the 27th Regiment (Nghe Tinh Soviet Regiment). People said that his wife, Le Thi Lien, was a wonderful woman, a courageous woman who dedicated her youth to him, shouldering the responsibility of building a family and raising three children to adulthood. I went to Thai Hoa market, looking for the parking lot, and saw a bustling scene of people and vehicles. Dao Duy Tri was struggling on his wooden crutches to receive and return vehicles to customers. When he saw me, he smiled, a truly kind smile...
...On the morning of January 5, 1970, Dao Duy Tri's unit, C3/D2/E27, launched an attack on Hill 161 in North Quang Tri. During the attack, Dao Duy Tri was wounded in the leg and could no longer move with his unit. His comrades bandaged him temporarily and hid him in a thicket to continue attacking the enemy's outpost. When they returned, they could no longer find Dao Duy Tri. Later, they learned that while their unit was advancing, enemy helicopters had dropped troops from behind, and Dao Duy Tri had been discovered and captured by the enemy, who took him back to Dong Ha.
Because he refused to reveal unit secrets to the enemy, Dao Duy Tri was subjected to all kinds of torture by the US-backed South Vietnamese regime, resulting in permanent disability. First, they cut away flesh from his hands and feet. After treating the wounds, they dislocated his left foot, then sawed off his right leg. After treating the leg wounds, they amputated his left arm and pulled out the tendons, causing complete muscle atrophy in his right arm, until Dao Duy Tri was almost completely incapacitated before they stopped. They imprisoned him in Tong Duy Tan prison and Non Nuoc camp (Da Nang). In 1972, they transferred him to Phu Quoc Island. At that time (1972), his unit was certain that the enemy had eliminated Dao Duy Tri, so they sent a death notice to his local area and family. After the Paris Agreement was signed (1973), Dao Duy Tri was released and welcomed back to his hometown.
A former comrade of Dao Duy Tri, now a journalist named Le Ba Duong, recounted that after Dao Duy Tri was captured by the enemy, his unit implemented all precautionary measures, but monitoring revealed no information, no unit, and no garrison location of the Regiment was compromised, proving that the enemy could not extract any information from Dao Duy Tri. It was precisely because of this that, after his release, Dao Duy Tri was very proud and extremely happy to be living in the trust of his comrades, fellow soldiers, family, and hometown.
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But what few people know is that a brave, heroic soldier returned victorious from a prison held by the US-backed South Vietnamese regime.
Text and photos: Tran Canh YenDien Chau - Nghe An
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