Seventy years have passed, but the memories of the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954 have never faded in the mind of veteran Ly Van Ngoan from Dong Tien hamlet, Phu Thanh commune, Lac Thuy district.
Old as he is,
veteran Ly Van Ngoan still maintains the quality of Uncle Ho's soldiers.
Ngoan said he volunteered to join the army when
he was only 19, and he was admitted to Regiment 55 in the central province of
Thanh Hoa. In January 1954, he was transferred to Regiment 77, which was
assigned to design artillery fortifications for Division 351 to serve the Dien
Bien Phu campaign.
"We began to shell Doc Lap Hill, one of the
strongest posts of the enemy, at 3am on March 15, and the attack ended at
6:30am the same day, with the complete annihilation of this stronghold, forcing
French forces to flee to Muong Thanh – the central keep,” he recalled.
For A1 Hill, the veteran said after four days of
fighting, Vietnamese soldiers controlled only a small part of the position as
it was defended by an elite battalion. Given this, the Campaign Command decided
to dig tunnels to bring in guns and blow off the enemy’s bunkers. "With strong determination, we wiped out the
stronghold,” he said.
Following the second phase of the campaign, the
soldier took prisoners to the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, and
was given other tasks. After completing his military services in 1962,
Ngoan worked at the Moc Chau Farm, and as a teacher at a husbandry school from
October 1965 to 1985 when he retired.
The veteran was presented with the second-class
Victory Medal, the Glorious Soldier Order, the first-class Anti-American
Resistance Medal, and the Dien Bien Victory Badge.
Nestled in the northwest, Hoa Binh province stands as a strategic gateway, connecting the bustling capital of Hanoi with the Red River Delta, north central and northeastern regions. Its unique location also links it to Upper Laos, making it a pivotal area for trade and cultural exchange.
The 17th-tenure Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee recently convened its 20th meeting. The session was chaired by Nguyen Phi Long, alternate member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee; Bui Thi Minh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairwoman of the provincial People's Council; and Bui Duc Hinh, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee. Also in attendance were other members of the provincial Party Committee and leaders of several provincial departments and agencies.
A delegation of the Indian Embassy in Vietnam led by Ambasador Sandeep Arya paid a working trip to Hoa Binh province on April 1, aiming to explore cooperation opportunities. The delegation was received by Nguyen Phi Long, alternate member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee, along with Nguyen Van Chuong, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, and representatives from various departments and agencies.
A delegation from the Standing Board of the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee led by Nguyen Phi Long, an alternate member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, on March 20 inspected the progress of the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway project in Mai Chau district.
The Steering Committee for the Development of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation of Hoa Binh province convened a meeting on March 11 to deploy key tasks.
Lac Son district is reorganising and streamlining its organisational apparatus and the contingent of officials, civil servants and public employees in line with Resolution 18 issued by the 12th Party Central Committee.
