Bắc giang
“Clear the roads for the army troops to win fall-winter battlefield”
Memory of Deo Ca
More than 60 years ago, Deo Ca had harsh terrain with deep abyss in one side, hilly mountain in another side surrounding an only path and swampy fields below. This place was damaged by French invaders with some hundred tonnes of bomb per day aimed to prevent Vietnamese’ reinforcements for Dien Bien Phu campaign.
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The members of the Ex-Youth Volunteers’ Association of Dong Huu commune educate the tradition to the students at junior high school in Dong Huu commune at the relic site.
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In response to the urgent calling of the resistance, two units of youth volunteers C231 and C232 were established in 1951 and 1953 with more than 500 officials and soldiers managed by former Bac Giang Department of Public Transport. They swore to “die for Deo Ca’s survival”.
Nguyen Van Bang (born in 1933) at Suoi Doc hamlet, Dong Huu commune, one of the ex-youth volunteers told: At that time, the enemies crazily damaged Deo Ca with from 4 to 8 air troops bombing this area daily.
Besides, they shot the areas of Deo Ca, Bo Non and Pha Soi with cannons every 5 minutes during the nights. C231 and C232 rapidly repaired the damage.
One group went to the forest cutting trees for leaves to pad on the muddy roads to help the trucks pass over. At the swampy sections, they had to push the trucks together. In addition, there was a bomb disposal unit removing bombs from the hills and roads. Bang was assigned to monitor and flag the unexploded bombs.
Despite of his old age, Luu Van Nang (born in 1933) at Trai Vanh hamlet, Dong Huu commune still remembers the hard, dangerous but heroic part of his life at that “fire pan”.
The area of Deo Ca shuddered in smoke of bombs and guns during 35 days and nights shot by the enemies (from 4 April to 7 May 1945). He used to be in charge of rock blasting.
“It was very dangerous. My team dug holes to put the mines in while connecting the slow burning fuses and wire. We had to be very careful to save our lives. Our team launched the emulation campaign “clear the roads for the army troops to win the fall-winter battlefield”. The more difficulties we faced, the more resilient we were and we strongly believed in a comprehensive victory”, said Nang.
The peaceful homeland
Pham Duc Nguon, Chairman of the Ex-Youth Volunteers’ Association of Dong Huu commune is among the persons spreading love and pride of the revolutionary tradition to the young generations with the historical stories of Deo Ca.
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The members of the Ex-Youth Volunteers’ Association of Dong Huu commune in Yen The district offer incense to pay tribute to the heroes and heroines who devoted their lives at Deo Ca. |
Deo Ca was ranked the title of historical and cultural relic by Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee in 2007.
We followed Dam Van Thoi, Vice Chairman of the communal People’s Committee of Dong Huu commune to the former “Nga Ba Dong Loc” (Dong Loc intersection). It took us quite lot of time to reach the peak although it is not a long distance. Thus, we could find how brave the ex-youth volunteers.
Deo Ca hamlet is changing. The concreted roads run to a number of small allies. The local people mainly do farm work gaining high productivity thanks to advanced science and technologies. The commune established the Relic Management Board to preserve and promote this historical value.
We left Deo Ca but the stories of the ex-youth volunteers breaking rocks to open roads who always kept optimistic spirit despite the difficulties and danger still imprinted on our minds.
The forests of evergreen and growing trees replaced the bomb holes representing the changes and prosperity of the heroic land of Yen The.
Mac Yen
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