Liberating Dien Bien - leaving behind deep affection: Part 2 - Copied at A1 National Martyrs Cemetery

Is there any place with as many martyrs' cemeteries as in Vietnam? And on this land of Vietnam, is there any place with as many martyrs' cemeteries as in Dien Bien? A1, Doc Lap, Him Lam, Tong Khao, Ban Keo... have become the eternal, warm homes of thousands of soldiers, frontline laborers... who stopped in this sunny and windy borderland 70 years ago.

Keep only your first name and last name.

I have been to many national martyrs’ cemeteries, standing silently before the endless rows of graves, to pay my respects, to imagine the image of young soldiers charging forward with bright bayonets. They fell down and then smiled and fell into a peaceful sleep, allowing the young buds and green shoots of spring to grow from the soil filled with the smell of gunpowder.

But only at the A1 National Martyrs Cemetery can we see something special. So special that it makes our hearts ache. Of those 644 graves, only 4 graves have names: Hero To Vinh Dien, hometown Nong Cong, Thanh Hoa, died on February 1, 1954; Hero Be Van Dan, Phuc Hoa District, Cao Bang, Squad Leader, Company 674, Battalion 251, Regiment 174, Division 316, died on December 12, 1953; Hero Tran Can, hometown Yen Thanh, Nghe An, died on May 7, 1954; Hero Phan Dinh Giot, hometown Cam Xuyen, Ha Tinh, died on March 13, 1954.

The remaining 640 graves of martyrs have not been identified. The heroes and martyrs have sacrificed everything for the country, their youth and future. Only their names and hometowns are kept to themselves.

Only 4 years after the Dien Bien Phu Campaign was completely victorious, when the country was still in turmoil and the wounds of war were still crisscrossed, our compatriots and soldiers established the A1 cemetery, right on the battlefield where the sound of bombs had just disappeared. This alone shows that, no matter the circumstances, paying tribute to and remembering the heroic martyrs is a responsibility and a command of the heart. Although the story "The comrades buried as gun mounts/ Heads covered with loopholes/ Crossing the barbed wire mountains/ Stormy and stormy..." has passed 70 years, to be replaced by "Three thousand days of resistance/ No night is happier than tonight/ The historic night of Dien Bien Phu shines brightly...", the sacrifice of the heroic martyrs has never and will never be forgotten.

The 3.2-hectare A1 National Martyrs Cemetery is located at the foot of A1 hill and was built in 1958. After two renovations, today this place has become a symbol of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory, demonstrating the will and strength of Vietnam and has become a place for our people to return to every time they set foot on the scorching land of Dien Bien.

The "two-faced tablets"

- How did the family know this was his grave?

- Definitely. The family has been here many times. This must be his grave!

I asked and was answered firmly by the grandson of martyr Nguyen Van Ty. He and his family strongly believe that the person lying under the grass is his grandfather - martyr Nguyen Van Ty in Ky Chau, Ky Anh (Ha Tinh).

I bowed and left without asking any more questions, because it was difficult to explain that among the 640 anonymous graves, there were many graves with "two-sided steles", in front was "Tomb of an unidentified martyr", and behind was a name and age: Martyr Nguyen Van Chuat, Nhan Quyen, Binh Giang, Hai Duong; Nguyen Van Chu, Hung Dao, Tu Ky, Hai Duong; Nguyen Van Bau, Hai Duong; Nguyen Dinh Bao, died April 15, 1954, Dong My village, Ly Thuong Kiet commune, Yen My, Hung Yen... And there were many more "two-sided steles" with the names of martyrs from Tri Thien to the North.

- Families somehow identify one of the 640 unmarked graves as their relatives. Maybe they "find" their relatives through spirituality, extrasensory perception - a caretaker answered when I asked.

During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, thousands of families are still waiting for their loved ones, even if it is just a single line of news. It has been 70 years, a lifetime, all data and information have gradually faded, but with strong faith, the families believe that they will find their loved ones, even if there is only a handful of soil under the green grass in the remote border area. That is the morality of the Vietnamese people, the blood bond of the Vietnamese people, inseparable. The story of the "two-sided steles" probably also comes from that!

And there is another reason why many families believe that their loved ones are here, still looking up at the distant mountains every day to protect the borders of the Fatherland. That is After the liberation of Dien Bien, our Party, State and people chose the most beautiful valleys as burial places for the martyrs, with plaques inscribed with each person's name with all respect and affection. No one could have predicted that the fierce floods that swept through the valleys would return just a few months later to find the cemeteries in ruins... All the tombstones were gone, so the Dien Bien soldiers, though immortal, have now become anonymous.

Opposite the gate of the A1 National Martyrs Cemetery is the A-shaped Memorial. On top is a large star and 644 small stars. On both sides of the Memorial are two ancient banyan trees blooming white and giving off a strong fragrance. Next to them are two clusters of statues of Thai and Kinh women and a baby holding a silk ribbon, along with two soldiers wearing guard uniforms standing shoulder to shoulder in an attacking position.

These days, a voice still resounds warmly at the A1 National Martyrs' Cemetery: "... the blood of the fallen heroes has soaked every inch of land and blade of grass in the fortifications and trenches, dyeing the national flag redder, making the homeland greener. The sacrifices of the martyrs have contributed to the blossoming of independence in our country, the fruit of freedom... Our Fatherland and our people will forever remember the heroic martyrs' contributions."

Next time: Hai Duong people stayed to build this land