Khe Sanh fires you… | News

Mr. Nguyen Hung (53 years old, resident of Tan Hop Commune, Huong Hoa District), every time he heard the siren of an ambulance, he would get up with tears in his eyes.

“The earth is hard”

The name Khe Sanh will surely remind many people of the fierce memories of a time of bombs. To achieve victory, fully liberating Khe Sanh on July 15, 1968, dubbed Dien Bien Phu’s second victory, many soldiers fell down. During peacetime, the soldiers of the 337 Division returned to their post near this historic site to build the economy and defense in 5 border communes, especially the difficult areas of H. Huong Hoa. In this October, Group 337 rushed to overcome the consequences of natural disasters, rescue and rescue. And then after exhausting days to help people overcome the consequences of rain, floods, disasters …

Tran Thi Loan (50 years old, resident of TT.Khe Sanh) said that among the dead soldiers he knew several people. So when he heard the bad news, he fell off his limbs. “Today, nobody in the neighborhood wants to do anything. They went in and out to wait for the ambulance. A few days ago I saw them pass by the house, still smiling … ”, he choked.

Sigh night

The outpost command post is located at kilometer 15 of the Ho Chi Minh Highway, the west branch. The scene of the landslide was located at Km. 17. Inside the headquarters, late at night at 6:10 p.m., loud sighs were heard. Among the people staying at the headquarters at the time were the elite soldiers and the soldiers assigned to direct and directly supervise the road paving work at night. At night, many other officers and soldiers have to maneuver out of the landslide area to ensure safety.

The meal hastily where the rescue force searched for 22 missing officers and soldiers from Division 337.

Present on the scene early, Lt. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Vice Minister of National Defense, stood impatiently in and out of the rain to check that the dump truck was “mending” a portion of the nearby mountain. I was very excited. “Actually, there (at the Km17 – PV scene) no one said they were impressed. The Doan 337 brothers’ living area was very good, I didn’t think it was at the foot of the mountain. From above, up to 200 meters away, “Lieutenant General Cuong said.

Outside it was pouring rain, inside the headquarters there was an urgent meeting between the army generals and the Quang Tri provincial government to discuss the rescue plan. The operational PVs are unable to attend the meeting, but still feel the tension on each face during the rush meal past 9pm. The cadres from the general level to the officer level did not say a word … An officer from Military Region 4 reminded us to go back to the back of the camp to eat with the engineer as he sighed: “I can’t swallow. While I’m still sitting here with a bowl of hot rice, you’re lying out there under a pile of cold rocky soil. It hurts my colleagues … “. We left the Advanced Headquarters in the tank of the Army of Engineers at 11 pm on October 18. On the body of the vehicle that was shaking violently on the bumpy road, the young soldiers and soldiers they were silent as well.Everyone repressed their emotions.

Fuel “scraping” for rescue

It wasn’t until the 22 bodies were discovered on the afternoon of October 19 that many people had time to “check” the work. On the condition that the site is completely isolated from a series of landslides, if there are not two heavy excavators from the Huong Phung 2-3 wind power project, which is about 5 km away, perhaps the search will continue. dragged on. Mr. Tran Hoai Nam, project manager, said that after receiving the news in the early morning of October 18, he immediately dispatched two excavators to Division 337. “But the car just left the site about 200 meters, then ran into a slow losing road. Again the brothers must be instructed to urgently drive motorcycles to cut mountains in ta-luang to clear the route. On the other hand, due to almost 10 days of heavy rains, the fuel for the machinery ran out, I mobilized about 10 people to “poke” the fuel in other vehicles, “he said. About 200 liters of oil from such a way, for the work to continue …

Mr. Ho Qua (second from right) handed over the house to the army for use as a search and rescue headquarters.

In the days of being in Huong Phung commune, PV Thanh Nien realized that the feelings of the whole country not only for the dead, but also for the rescue forces. The man Van Kieu Ho Qua (57 years old) led his wife and children to leave the house on stilts to establish an advanced command post. Her newly married son voluntarily reserved a bedroom for officers and soldiers to rest … Sitting in a house on stilts seeping in a heavy rain, Qua said: also helping our fellow citizens. I’m sitting here, after all, there is a warm kitchen, and you guys are so cold on the mountain … “.

The leadership of the Ministry of Defense entered the deep forest of Quang Tri to command and search for 22 cadres and soldiers who were missing due to landslides.

In the late afternoon, the ambulance carrying the last body was covered in thick fog on Ho Chi Minh Street and then 9th Street. Khe Sanh did not sob from the rain like the previous afternoon. But just sad and sad as if I wanted to say goodbye to you in peace …