As steadfast as Mount Phuxailaileng
(Baonghean)Turning the pages of the 40-year history of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade's development and growth, Colonel Vi Văn Dĩnh, former retired commander of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade, paused for a long time before a photograph capturing the moment when local people and soldiers joined forces to pull a large truck up a steep, muddy road. With tears welling up in his eyes and a voice full of emotion, he told me: "Back then, when we first set foot on this land at the foot of Phuxailaileng mountain, facing countless hardships and difficulties, if it weren't for the help of the people of the ethnic groups in Kỳ Sơn district, we would certainly have found it very difficult to complete our mission."
In 2002, upon our arrival from Cam Xuyen district (Ha Tinh province), at the temporary encampment of the Regiment in Hom village, Huu Kiem commune, the ethnic people of Ky Son district organized a celebratory rice wine feast to welcome the soldiers. As the Regiment moved into the four communes of Nam Can, Na Ngoi, Muong Ai, and Muong Tip to carry out the task of building the Ky Son Economic-Defense Zone, wherever we encountered steep, muddy roads, the villagers helped the soldiers push their vehicles; wherever there were no roads, the people helped the soldiers clear them. And when the Regiment chose this land in Phu Kha 2 village to establish a permanent base, the Mong people here yielded their forest land and cultivated fields to the soldiers. Seeing that the soldiers did not yet have houses, the Mong people of Phu Kha 1 and Phu Kha 2 villages encouraged each other to go to Phuxailaileng mountain to collect wood and palm leaves to help the soldiers build houses… The kindness and affection of the people of the ethnic groups in Ky Son district will forever be etched in the memory of the officers and soldiers of the 4th Economic-Defense Regiment, and we always promise ourselves to do everything for the people.
Shortly after settling down at the foot of Phuxailaileng mountain, a fire broke out in Ai Khe village, part of Muong Ai commune, high in the mountains, inhabited by the Mong ethnic group. Thirty houses were destroyed by the flames. At that time, the project to support the construction of stable housing for the ethnic minority had not yet arrived. Officers and soldiers of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade persuaded Mr. Lau Va Chu to take the lead in moving his home from the high mountains closer to the main road, and they contributed their salaries and labor to help him rebuild his house. With Mr. Lau Va Chu's new house built in this new land, the Mong people of Ai Khe village, trusting the soldiers' words, followed the 4th Brigade and established Huoi Khe village, where they have lived and prospered ever since.
The people in the Ky Son Economic-Defense Zone lack proper housing, or their homes are inadequate to protect them from the sun and rain. The soldiers of Regiment 4 are finding ways to help. The people in the Ky Son Economic-Defense Zone still have meager meals, and the soldiers of Regiment 4 are finding ways to assist them. Every day, despite their busy schedules, from the regiment commander to every officer, staff member, and soldier, they still dedicate time to visit each family to check on their meals. During these visits, witnessing the extremely meager meals of Mr. Mua Ba Phuong's family in Phu Kha 2 village, Colonel Vi Hieu, Commander of the 4th Economic-Defense Regiment, couldn't hold back his tears.
Although Mua Ba Phuong's family cultivated a considerable amount of ginger and cassava under the unit's project, their large family size meant they remained impoverished. Colonel Vi Hieu, along with other officers and soldiers, discussed the matter and agreed that Mr. Mua Ba Phuong would choose two female buffaloes of a suitable breed, with the unit paying for them and allowing the family to raise them until they gave birth to calves. Once the calves grew up healthy, the mother buffaloes would be transferred to another needy family. Colonel Vi Hieu also personally took Mr. Mua Ba Phuong to Trung Luong village (Duc Tho, Ha Tinh) to learn blacksmithing and cast iron casting, providing the family with additional work during the agricultural off-season.
Medical soldiers from the 4th Engineering and Defense Regiment visited villagers' homes to provide medical examinations.
For the soldiers in white coats at the combined military-civilian medical clinic of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade, their dedication to the people is demonstrated in their spirit of always seeking out and treating the local people. Despite the small number of personnel, the constant demand for medical care from both civilians and soldiers, and the difficult terrain, they still take turns visiting the most remote and inaccessible areas. Once, in the middle of the night, they received a report from Quac 1 village that a three-month-old Hmong baby had been bitten by ants (because the mother had hung the baby in a sling on a tree branch while working in the fields). According to the informant, the baby had died and the family was preparing for burial… Without hesitation, Lieutenant Tran Ngoc Tai, the head of the clinic, led a team of emergency doctors and nurses on foot through the forest, racing against time and through the darkness to save the baby. When they arrived, the baby was already in a state of clinical death… Nevertheless, with all the heart of a doctor, they did their best to save the baby, and the child was saved.
The dedication to the people shown by the officers and soldiers of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade is also demonstrated in their courageous rescue of civilians in times of disaster. Whenever floods occur, the soldiers of the 4th Brigade are always present to help people safely cross dangerous areas due to landslides and strong currents. During the devastating flood of 2009, while crossing a spillway in Nam Can commune, Mr. Tran Van Hai and his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy (Ms. Thuy was pregnant with their first child at the time), were swept away by the water. Lieutenant Vu Dinh Tan, who was on duty that day, disregarded the danger and quickly jumped into the floodwaters to save both of them.
Every officer and soldier of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade always has a heart for the people, not only when they are performing their duties in the land at the foot of Phuxailaileng mountain, but even when they have to leave their unit for training and work. Lieutenant Colonel Trinh Ngoc Que, Deputy Commander of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade, during his time studying at the Army Academy, borrowed a relative's house to let the brigade's officers stay there to learn how to grow cold-climate plants and vegetables from Da Lat, which he then applied to the land at the foot of Phuxailaileng mountain. The lily cultivation model has been successful, and now they are waiting for the artichoke season to bloom to verify and expand it, opening up another way out of poverty for the local people…
Officers from the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade are purchasing ginger from local people.
The road ahead for the soldiers of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade is still fraught with challenges, as they have been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of developing the four communes of Tri Le, Hanh Dich, Nam Giai, and Thong Thu in Que Phong district into a shining example of economic and defense development in western Nghe An province. But no matter how difficult the circumstances, with their spirit of serving the people and the love and support of the people, they will stand firm like Mount Phuxailaileng to overcome all difficulties and challenges.
Ho Linh
