About the place where the 'son of heaven' landed in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - In the middle of Ke Tam village field, Chau Phong commune (Quy Chau) there is a stele recording the feat of a Hero of the Vietnam People's Air Force, the locals call it "Son of Heaven" stele.

Special landing of MIG-17

The stele is designed in the shape of a tower, about 4m high. The stele is engraved with a 5-pointed star, a fighter plane, a picture of a heroic pilot, the flag of the Vietnam People's Air Force and some patterns that represent the Thai ethnic culture. The person named on this stele is Lieutenant General Tran Hanh - former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, former Deputy Minister of National Defense and Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Association.

A stele commemorating the exploits of Lieutenant General and pilot Tran Hanh was erected in the middle of Tam village's fields, close to the location where the plane landed 51 years ago.

The stele clearly states: “This place marks the victory of the April 4, 1965 battle of the Vietnam People's Air Force at 10:30 am. The MiG-17 squadron, including pilot Tran Hanh - Squadron Leader (No. 1), Pham Giay (No. 2), Le Minh Huan (No. 3), Tran Nguyen Nam (No. 4), bravely fought and shot down 2 American F-105D aircraft to protect Ham Rong Bridge (Thanh Hoa).

Comrade Tran Hanh and Le Minh Huan each shot down one plane.

The image of a star, an airplane and a photo of pilot Tran Hanh are engraved on the stele.

Pilot Tran Hanh cleverly maneuvered to avoid two "Rattlesnake" missiles of the US Air Force. The plane ran out of fuel, so he decided to land on his belly here. The cadres and people of Ke Tam village, Chau Phong commune took good care of the injured comrade Tran Hanh after landing, and from this place - the motherland - brought "Kham Kloi" (called "son of heaven" in Thai) back to the heroic Red Star Air Force.

In a number of books and newspapers, the pilot of that year repeatedly recounted his memories of the air battle on April 4, 1965. That day, upon receiving news that enemy aircraft were invading the airspace of the North, the MIG 17 squadron led by Captain Tran Hanh was ordered to take off.

The victory on April 4, 1965 is clearly recorded on the stele.

Arriving at Ham Rong (Thanh Hoa), Tran Hanh’s squadron discovered a group of F-105 bombers with F-100 support. Taking advantage of the enemy aircraft’s dive and tilting its wings to drop bombs, Tran Hanh decided to approach the target and then pulled the trigger of the 23mm and 30mm guns. One F-105 was destroyed, a “fireball” erupted in the sky of Ham Rong.

Pilot Tran Hanh (Photo courtesy)

At that moment, the F-100s accelerated to chase Tran Hanh’s MiG-17. Realizing that he was in a dangerous situation, he controlled the plane to dive and then flip upside down to avoid the two “Rattlesnake” missiles. Looking up at the compass to find an escape route, Tran Hanh discovered that the needle shaft was broken and forced him to fly straight west. A few minutes later, the fuel indicator light came on.

The rice field where pilot Tran Hanh's plane landed 51 years ago.

The situation was dire, as there was not enough time to land at any of the nearest airports. Tran Hanh’s MiG-17 was in free fall, and he was ordered to abandon the plane and parachute to save his life. But the pilot still tried to control his plane.

From the cockpit, he saw a rice field by the stream and decided to land on the belly of the plane. The MiG-17 slid across the rice field and stopped. The pilot fainted. When he regained consciousness, he saw a large crowd of people surrounding him, speaking a strange language and taking him to a temporary detention camp in a valley.

Mr. Lu Xuan Hong - one of the witnesses of pilot Tran Hanh landing in Tam village told the story 51 years ago.

That same night, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Que - Commander of Regiment 64 (Division 320) went to Ke Tam to find out the situation and confirmed that the victim was Captain Tran Hanh, a pilot of the Vietnam People's Air Force. At that time, the Thai people in Ke Tam shouted: "Kham Kloi! Kham Kloi! (Son of God! Son of God!).

The place where love is imprinted

Coming to Tam village this time, we met Mr. Lu Xuan Hong (80 years old), who 51 years ago participated in the Youth Union and the Militia Team of Chau Phong commune. Mr. Hong recounted that upon receiving the news that a sewing machine had fallen in the middle of the field, the Militia Team on duty and the people of Tam village thought it was a "pilot" and immediately organized a siege.

Tam Village Kindergarten - a gift of gratitude from Lieutenant General Tran Hanh to the local people.

Coming closer, they saw a five-pointed star printed on the pilot's shirt, so everyone agreed not to shoot him dead but to take him back to the village to find out more information. Later, a military officer came to confirm that the person who had an accident in Tam village was a pilot of the Vietnam People's Army. Everyone in the village was happy, because it was the first time they saw a Vietnamese piloting a fighter plane.

To show gratitude to the people of Ke Tam, Lieutenant General Tran Hanh has returned to visit Tam village many times. In 2012, he mobilized to build and donate a kindergarten worth about 1 billion VND to Tam village. Recently, when a working delegation from the Ministry of National Defense visited Chau Phong commune, he sent a letter to visit the cadres and villagers.

The letter Lieutenant General Tran Hanh just sent to the cadres and people of Tam village.

In the letter, Lieutenant General Tran Hanh wrote: "It has been 51 years, when I remember the loving care of the Tam villagers for the Vietnamese pilots who returned to the locality, I am still very moved and deeply grateful...".

Cong Kien