No one in Tien Dong commune (Tu Ky, Hai Duong) knows when the Quan Riec banyan tree was built. But the story of the indomitable, loyal, and steadfast veteran female party member - Tran Thi Huu (103 years old, 75 years in the Party) associated with this banyan tree has long been ingrained in the minds of many generations of party members and people here.
June 3, 2024 is a special day for Mrs. Tran Thi Huu. It is the day she received the 75-year Party membership badge two years early. This is a worthy reward for a veteran female revolutionary party member who has been loyal to the Party for three-quarters of a century.
On the occasion of receiving the 75-year Party membership badge, Mr. Huu was taken by local leaders, representatives of all walks of life, and relatives to visit the Quan Riec banyan tree at the beginning of Quan Loc village, and take photos as documents to serve the work of compiling the history book of the commune Party Committee in the next period. It has been 5 years since he fell and had to use a wheelchair, he had the opportunity to go to the place that used to be his "headquarters" during the resistance war against the French. At his rare age, poor health, and somewhat declining memory, but as soon as he saw the banyan tree, Mr. Huu's eyes lit up, memories of a long resistance period came flooding back. Pointing to the highest peak of the banyan tree, he said slowly: "In the past, I climbed up to that high peak. When the enemy was about to enter the village, I informed the guerrillas and villagers."
Mr. Huu was born into a poor farming family, with difficult circumstances. He lost his parents at a very young age and later lived with his brother's family. Growing up with the Party guiding his path, Mr. Huu was quickly enlightened with revolutionary ideals. In 1947, she joined the Women's Association for National Salvation in Tien Dong commune and became one of the first local guerrillas just a year later.
According to the book "History of the Party Committee and People of Tien Dong Commune in the period 1930-2005", from 1950, the French expanded their occupation of Hai Duong province, implementing the plot of "Using war to feed war, using Vietnamese to rule Vietnamese". Tien Dong Commune was located in the middle of the enemy's encirclement. Here, they regularly organized sweeps, looted property, killed innocent people, enticed local reactionary groups to use all means to divide revolutionary forces, forced people to establish militia, expanded the occupied area... Implementing the direction from the superiors, the Tien Dong Commune Party Cell (now the Tien Dong Commune Party Committee) led party members and people to consolidate the fighting village, build trenches, ramparts, dig shelters, and promote guerrilla warfare against the enemy to establish militia...
Being a quick and resourceful person, Mr. Huu was assigned by the Party cell to be a "long-distance messenger" to inform the armed forces and the people when the enemy from the guard posts prepared to enter the village. Taking advantage of the tall Quan Riec banyan tree with its lush branches and leaves, from early morning to late afternoon every day, except on stormy days, Mr. Huu regularly carried a self-rolling tin loudspeaker, rice balls, and a water bottle to climb to the highest peak to observe the enemy's activities at the posts around the commune such as An Tho, Quy Cao, Coi, Don Giao, and Rua. Whenever he saw the enemy coming out of the post, he closely monitored the situation, informed the people and guerrillas to prepare for shelter, and deployed combat plans.
At that time, Mr. Phung Thanh Mien (90 years old, 70 years of Party membership, nephew of Mr. Huu), former Secretary of the Tien Dong Commune Party Committee from 1989 to 1995, was just a 16-year-old teenager. His house was near the Quan Riec banyan tree, so Mr. Mien could easily observe his aunt performing her daily duties. "Mr. Huu was as quick as a squirrel, constantly climbing from branch to branch to monitor the enemy situation. He stayed up in the tree almost all day, not afraid of hardship, sun or rain. Mr. Huu was very brave, if the enemy reached the village entrance and the villagers and guerrillas had not yet taken shelter, he would not come down," Mr. Mien recalled.
The history of the Party Committee and people of Tien Dong commune recorded: "Thanks to the bravery and the loudspeaker signals of comrade Tran Thi Huu, the people were assured to work and produce, and the guerrilla forces had enough time to deploy to fight the enemy in a timely manner."
Being trained and tested through practical struggles helped Mr. Huu gain the absolute trust of the local revolutionary government. On March 10, 1951, he was admitted to the Party.
Mrs. Pham Thi Xuyen (68 years old, eldest daughter of Mr. Huu) shared: "Now she is weak and tired, but before, my mother would occasionally tell her children and grandchildren about the day she had the honor of becoming a Party member. She said that was a historical milestone in her life. Only by following the path of true struggle led by the Party can the revolution reach final victory."
Some elderly party members in Tien Dong commune who lived near the time of Mr. Huu said that from 1950-1953, Mr. Huu regularly climbed the Quan Riec banyan tree to perform "long-distance escort" duties. At night, he participated in enemy agitation work at enemy guard posts and secretly transferred documents to the troops... Mr. Huu alone crept through the fields, swam across many deep rivers, secretly approached enemy guard posts, and used loudspeakers to persuade the children of his hometown who had followed the enemy to return to their families and fight with the villagers.
During the period of 1951-1953, Tien Dong was one of the communes in the lower Tu Ky district that was continuously swept by the French. They committed many crimes, arrested and killed hundreds of civilians, frantically hunted down guerrillas and soldiers in hiding, destroyed houses, and burned down shelters. Typically, on April 20, 1951, the French and their lackeys launched a sweep into the two villages of Hoa Nhue and Quan Loc, shooting dead 84 people, mostly the elderly and children, raping many women, and burning down hundreds of houses... The enemy's large sweeps made some cadres and party members waver and lose confidence in the resistance.
However, the party members in Tien Dong commune, including Mr. Huu, remained steadfastly loyal to the Party and the revolution. Together with the local guerrilla force, he actively participated in reassuring the people's thoughts, preventing spies and protecting secrets, promptly detecting and advising the Party cell to expel party members with wavering thoughts and lacking will from the Party. On the other hand, he actively mobilized young people to join the guerrillas, restored and consolidated the resistance bases, coordinated with our troops to destroy traffic routes that hindered the enemy's movement. He strengthened education for the masses to clearly see the enemy's plots and believe in the Party's leadership. Mr. Huu enthusiastically participated in distributing leaflets, writing slogans, and agitating the enemy...
In April 1953, Mr. Huu was unfortunately arrested by the French while distributing leaflets. They took him to Cang May Chai prison (Hai Phong) for detention. "My mother said that during the 1 year and 2 months in prison, the prison guards continuously beat and brutally tortured her in an attempt to extract information. They tortured her with electricity until she fainted, tied her hands and feet, and hung her in the air all day under the scorching sun... She suffered a lot of physical pain but she refused to say a word. Because they couldn't get any information, they had to release her in June 1954," said Ms. Pham Thi Xuyen.
Mrs. Xuyen said that because of the enemy's electric shock, from that day until now, whenever the weather changes, Mr. Huu gets a headache. She leaned over to her mother and asked: "Back then, when you were captured by the enemy and imprisoned, why didn't you reveal any information to avoid being tortured?" Mr. Huu smiled and answered intermittently but arrogantly: "What are you afraid of? I accept being killed by the enemy but will never reveal any revolutionary information."
After being released by the French, Mr. Huu returned to his locality in the context of the revolutionary movement in Tien Dong and the communes in the lower district being pushed up. He continued to enthusiastically participate in the revolution and together with local cadres and people carried out the task of "both resisting and building the country" until the day the resistance war against the French won complete victory. With his steadfast, indomitable spirit and his sacrifices and contributions to the revolution, Mr. Huu was awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal by the State, and the Administrative Resistance Committee of Hai Duong province awarded him the title of Emulation Fighter and a Certificate of Merit.
Having spent his entire youth fighting for the revolution, it was not until he was 35 that Mr. Huu started a family with Mr. Pham Van Quyen, who was from the same commune. The couple had 3 children (1 boy, 2 girls) and raised a 7-year-old nephew, the son of his younger brother (who was killed by the French).
Mr. Pham Van Quyen (died in 1995) was a party member, participated in two resistance wars against France and the US, was a severely wounded veteran, and was awarded many medals and orders of various kinds by the State. His two children were party members, and had joined the army and youth volunteers. The nephew of the couple, Pham Xuan Trung (born in 1952), participated in the resistance war against the US to save the country, and heroically sacrificed himself on the southern front in 1973.
Later, Mr. Huu was a Party Committee member, held the position of Standing Committee of the Commune Committee, participated in the Cooperative Management Board and many other tasks assigned by the locality. He was a pioneer and exemplary in implementing land reform, eliminating illiteracy, enthusiastically leading the way in eradicating feudalism, private ownership, individualism, promoting collective spirit... In any position, Mr. Huu always completed his tasks excellently, and was trusted and loved by the Party Committee, government, and people.
During the resistance war against the US, Mr. Huu continued to participate in the Administrative Resistance Committee of Tien Dong commune, made many contributions to the revolution, and was awarded the Third Class Resistance Medal against the US by the State Council.
From the time he retired until his health no longer allowed, Mr. Huu regularly attended Party cell meetings, was exemplary and pioneered in performing his duties, proposed many solutions in developing Party members, building solidarity and unity between the Party and the people...
The prestige and influence of veteran female party member Tran Thi Huu has spread to this day. In monthly meetings, the Party cells of Tien Dong Commune Party Committee often mention Ms. Huu as a symbol of will, dedication, loyalty to the Party, and responsibility to the people. Comrade Pham Quang Tri, Party Cell Secretary and Head of Hoa Nhue Village, said: "Comrade Huu is like a living torch, illuminating the thoughts and actions of our generation of party members today. Following her example, the party members in the Party cell enthusiastically and exemplaryly implement and mobilize their children and grandchildren to participate in local movements and campaigns. For many years, the village Party cell has achieved the title of clean and strong".
According to comrade Pham Minh Thao, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Tien Dong commune, along with the Quan Riec banyan tree, the name of Mr. Huu has "turned into a relic", woven into verses, creating one of the important "red addresses" of the locality, contributing to educating patriotism for today's and future generations. "Many young people in Tien Dong now know the local history by heart, especially the story of veteran female party member Tran Thi Huu next to the Quan Riec banyan tree, with a very good will to strive. Although it is only a small commune, the number of party members of the Tien Dong commune Party Committee is currently up to nearly 300 people", comrade Thao informed.
Most of Mr. Huu's grandchildren, both paternal and maternal, have reached the age of joining the Party. He has a grandson who is an officer in Naval Region 4. Mr. Pham Van Thuan (40 years old, Mr. Huu's grandson) works as a service driver in Tien Dong commune and has been admitted to the Party for many years. Mr. Thuan said: "When I first joined the Party, my grandmother often told me that as a Party member, I must be an exemplary leader in all movements and must put the interests of the collective above personal interests. Whatever brings benefits to the homeland and the people, I must actively do. I am still following her teachings every day and feel that life is meaningful and happy. When my children grow up, I will also encourage them to strive to become Party members to maintain the revolutionary tradition of my family and homeland."
Tien Dong is a commune in the lower district of Tu Ky. The Tien Dong Commune Party Cell (now the Tien Dong Commune Party Committee) was established on October 10, 1946. Through the resistance wars, the army and people of Tien Dong contributed more than 4,500 tons of food to the revolution, and mobilized nearly 600 young people to join the army to fight the enemy. On August 13, 1972, the commune's militia and self-defense force achieved an outstanding feat when it shot down an American A6 aircraft with infantry guns. The whole commune has 183 martyrs, 117 wounded and sick soldiers, and 18 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers. In 2013, Tien Dong Commune was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the State. For many years, the commune's Party Committee has continuously achieved the title of clean and strong, the economy and society have increasingly developed, and the people's lives have been happy and prosperous. The whole commune currently has 142 military officers and soldiers, the most in the district.
Content:GOING STRONG
Presentation, photos:TUAN ANH