LEADER OF THE TRAINING MISSION
Colonel CAO DINH KIEM
Deputy Head of Political Department
President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum High Command
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Liberation Day of the Southern region, reunification of the Fatherland (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 1985), Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum High Command organized the "Swift March, Decisive Victory" movement to enhance vigilance, combat readiness, and strengthen the forces for officers and soldiers to meet the mission of "Preserving and ensuring the absolute safety of President Ho Chi Minh's body" in the long term.
The march took place on a hot, sultry summer evening. All HCYU members gathered at the Unit 275’s Yard, organized into two military wings: the first wing consisted of Youth Union members from the Unit 275; the second wing comprised the youth force from other units. The departure time was 8:00 PM, and the march was required to follow the specified route, ensuring speed and absolute safety for personnel and equipped weapons.
The preparation order for the march was announced. Surprisingly, the Internal Security Department of the HCYU informed that Major General Luong Soan - the Commander and Heads of the units of the High Command - would also participate in the march. Everyone was surprised. Major General Luong Soan was a senior leader at the head of the High Command, with numerous important responsibilities. He was much older than us and held a respected position. Nevertheless, here he was, along with other unit leaders, carrying a backpack. Perhaps the leaders knew that besides the equipped weapons, the backpack had to weigh at least 30kg.
In front of the troops, Commander Luong Soan boldly declared: "I will lead the first wing. Comrade Hoang An - Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Affairs will lead the second wing. Unit leaders, followed by the marching formation to encourage and assist the youth union members."
This was our first march - we, officers and soldiers, young members. It was an honor for us to join a highly experienced general. Therefore, everyone felt proud, excited, and eager to demonstrate their youthfulness and march quickly. However, this excitement did not last long. After about 15 minutes, signs of fatigue appeared, the pace slowed down, incomparable to the robust and vigorous stride of a general over 60 years old, who remained resilient, agile, and experienced over more than 40 years of revolutionary activities, advancing through the wilderness. With a lively, enthusiastic, straightforward, and approachable demeanor, General Luong Soan marched and shared with us the revolutionary traditions of his homeland Quang Nam, his family circumstances, and the process of enlightenment and revolutionary activities.
As it turned out, we eagerly asked questions: "Commander, Where in Quang Nam is your hometown?" "Is your hometown difficult and impoverished?" "How is the indomitable heroic tradition in the two resistance wars against French colonialism and the U.S. imperialists in Quang Nam?"
With a warm, Central Vietnamese accent, Comrade Luong Soan recounted, "My hometown is in Tam Hai commune, Tam Ky district, Quang Nam province. It is a coastal commune with beautiful scenery, and the local people mainly make a living by fishing near the shore due to the lack of means to go far. Life is extremely challenging and arduous. Due to the family's difficult circumstances, I only completed the third grade, then had to work and do odd jobs for landlords to ease the burden on my parents, despite diligent labor. However, I was mistreated by the landlord and, unable to endure it, I returned home without accepting the wages (a piece of cloth representing a year's labor for the landlord's family).
Upon returning home, though still young, I actively participated in helping the family with suitable tasks, while unaware that my parents and older siblings were engaged in revolutionary activities and hiding revolutionary cadres in the house. Personally, I sensed and always wondered, 'Why does our family eat boiled sweet potatoes every day, while my parents are still cooking rice and bringing it into a closed room for someone?' Curious and not clear about the situation, along with perceiving the activities of my parents and siblings in the house, a subjective awareness of the injustice of French colonialism and the severe exploitation of the arrogant landlord class, I took a rather daring action. That day, I unexpectedly ran straight into the room and witnessed the cadres printing documents, spreading revolutionary leaflets. All doubts were dispelled, and I officially learned about the activities of my parents, siblings, and the hidden revolutionary cadres.
From that moment, feeling my enlightenment, the organization tested and assigned me tasks such as guarding, serving, and making contact for the organization. After a period of tasks and successful challenges, around 1942, the organization officially recognized and assigned me the task of protecting and making contact for the revolutionary cadres and the Provincial Party Committee's secret activities at the local level."
Later, we learned that Comrade Luong Soan's homeland was a poor coastal area with rich cultural traditions, patriotism, and revolutionary spirit. His close relatives belonged to the poor peasant class, yet they early on grasped the revolutionary spirit and provided a foundation for nurturing revolutionary cadres of the Party and the Provincial Party Committee in Quang Nam. With a grown-up comrade, a senior leader of the Party and the State, such as Comrade Vo Chi Cong - a member of the Political Bureau, the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Comrade Luong Soan himself was educated, nurtured, and directly influenced by the revolutionary traditions of the local area, his family, the revolutionary atmosphere of senior cadre comrades, and his own efforts. Thus, he quickly gained insight and enthusiastically participated in the revolution.
The dynamic atmosphere of the march and the affection of Comrade Luong Soan made us feel more comfortable. A young, sweaty soldier walked quickly towards the Commander and asked, "Commander, could you share a memory of your youth activities?"
After a moment of thought, Commander Luong Soan continued the story: "In October 1943, just turning 20, I officially left my family to join the activities of the Vu Hung Guerrilla Unit. Despite the hardships and sacrifices, I remained eager, actively training to become a Deputy Team leader, leading the unit in many battles. In August 1945, I directly commanded the unit to seize control of the administration in Que Son district, Quang Nam province. Later, the Vu Hung Guerrilla Unit became a legendary historical tradition in the revolutionary struggle for the provincial government in 1945. In September 1945, I voluntarily enlisted to serve the Vietnam People's Army. In July 1946, I had the honor of officially joining the ranks of the Party. I directly participated in many battlefields in various capacities.
There are many memories, but the most memorable and difficult story is my injury. While fighting at the Kon Tum battlefield, in a battle at the Mang Den outpost - a strong defensive point of the French forces, our forces organized several waves but could not penetrate inside to completely annihilate the enemy. The losses were unfavorable for us, so the High Command had to decide to withdraw, organize reconnaissance, study in-depth, build multiple plans, train, educate ideology, and prepare thoroughly in all aspects, resolve to fight and win for the upcoming guerrilla attack. This time, I was directly assigned to command one direction, according to the combat contract, the order to fire simultaneously was given, and the battle quickly ended in victory. While commanding the troops to continue pursuing the fleeing enemy and consolidating, clearing the battlefield, an enemy mortar behind us that had not been completely eliminated suddenly fired wildly, causing me to be seriously wounded. A wound through the abdomen, a wound on the arm. My injury story has very dramatic details, only those who have been in the war, directly experienced combat, truly understand the circumstances, the harshness of war, and believe that it is true. Those who have only heard the story may find it like a soldier's joke.
My abdominal wound was severe, my intestines protruded, and I lost a lot of blood. Since the bandages were limited, the military doctor had to take a rice bowl, press it into the wound, then use a cloth and bandage to tightly wrap the abdomen to stop the bleeding, and handed it over to two medics to rush me to the rear military station for timely treatment. When transporting, we had to pass through dense forests. While moving, the rescue team heard the roaring sound of an approaching herd of elephants. The situation was unexpectedly dangerous; if we continued, it would be unsafe, but turning back was not possible in time. Any small noise could attract the attention of the herd, posing a great danger to everyone. In my position as a commander, with some experience and being seriously injured, I gave the order for the two medics to leave me behind and run away from the elephants. I lay back, held my breath, waited, and if attacked by the elephants, I would die alone. Fortunately, the elephants, for some unknown reason, changed direction. When the area returned to calm, the two medics returned to find me. When we met, we were very moved, embraced each other, cried, rejoicing for the lucky survival, and then continued the journey to take me to the military station for timely treatment.
Later, on one occasion (around 1983-1984), on the way from home (Trich Sai village, Buoi) to work across Hoang Hoa Tham street, I coincidentally recognized one of the two medics who carried me for treatment, who is now known as Mr. Giang, specialized in delivering beer to the Central agencies in Hanoi, commonly referred to as 'Mr. Bia.' The two of us meeting and recognizing each other was unexpected but extremely touching. We hugged each other, shedding tears like the day 30 years ago in the old forests of Tay Nguyen. From then on, we continued to regularly visit each other, recalling old memories. Mr. Giang also gave me back the cloth used to bandage my wounds as a souvenir."
The story of the revolutionary activities and profound memories of Major General Luong Soan is a valuable lesson for our self-cultivation, training, and efforts. Even during that time, it made us forget the heat and all the exhaustion. The marching distance seemed short, and before the story was over, we had safely returned to Unit 275, fully accounted for in terms of personnel and weapons, 10 minutes before the scheduled time, and earlier than the second wing of the unit. Each of us felt excited, happy to return to the unit for rest and preparation for new tasks in a state of admiration and respect for the top leaders, who, despite being at the head of a unit, were virtuous, approachable, enthusiastic about their work, and passionate about the mass movement, especially the young generation whom the Commander always loved and trusted.
