Hong Quang - the one who stays in this land!

Portrait of martyr Hong Quang from family archives

Many times I wondered why martyr Hong Quang from the remote village of Dang Giang sacrificed and lay down his life in Thanh Dong?

One day in early July, the month of gratitude to war invalids and martyrs, also the month of the death anniversary of martyr Hong Quang, I went to Dang Giang village, Hoa Phu commune, Ung Hoa district (former Ha Tay province, now Hanoi) to satisfy my curiosity.

Like still at home

Dang Giang village road has many old trees, maybe still the same from hundreds of years ago, the only difference is that the roads have been concreted.

Writer Trang Ha and People's Artist Lan Huong (who played the little girl Ha in the famous movie "Em Be Ha Noi" and are also 2 of the many grandchildren of martyr Nguyen Van Trach - alias Hong Quang) welcomed and took me to the ancient house of Mr. Nguyen Viet Binh (grandfather of martyr Hong Quang) in Dang Giang village. The house was built during the time Mr. Nguyen Viet Binh passed the Hoang Giap Doctorate exam in 1889. Although it was worm-eaten and had some parts that were degraded, the entire yard, house, gate and ancient tree at the front of the house remained almost unchanged.

Writer Trang Ha and People's Artist Lan Huong, nieces of martyr Hong Quang, introduce the martyr's relics at his church in his hometown.

Taking her time with simple stories, writer Trang Ha helped me imagine the place where martyr Hong Quang was born, the brick yard where he took his first steps, and played with his siblings... Trang Ha lived for many years with her grandmother - the biological mother of martyr Hong Quang and her father, Mr. Nguyen Van Kinh - the younger brother of martyr Hong Quang. In the family, stories about martyr Hong Quang were told every day, as if he was still present, so the children and grandchildren knew them by heart. Hong Quang was the eldest son, followed by 8 younger siblings.

In the article “A story just told about a loyal soldier” in Tien Phong newspaper published in July 2010, writer Trang Ha wrote: “My uncle’s name is Nguyen Van Trach, born in 1918. When he joined the revolutionary movement, for some unknown reason, the organization gave him the alias Hong Quang...

My grandparents lived a simple life. He was an official in Thai Binh, so my father, although not from Thai Binh, still became close friends with many intellectuals from the rice fields.

One day, the old lady saw a carpenter with a chisel, saw, and axe in his hand entering her temple. It turned out to be her eldest grandson.

The grave of martyr Hong Quang at the Martyrs Memorial of Hai Duong City is shaded by green trees.

Lifting the towel, he was radiant, 1m75 tall, 70kg in weight, smiling with white teeth. He lamented, "My son, I sent you to study law, how did you end up like this?"

My uncle (martyr Hong Quang - PV) said, you led the Hanoi Youth and Student delegation to participate in the rally at the Fair on May 1 (1938), and had just been elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Democratic Youth Union, so the French expelled you from Law School. You were on a business trip.

That was the last time my uncle saw him...”

In Hoa Phu commune now, in the yard of the commune's secondary school, there is a bronze statue of martyr Hong Quang.

In Dang Giang village, since 1992, the family and clan built the Hong Quang martyrs' church, which is also a place to preserve many valuable documents and photos of many generations in the family.

Martyr Hong Quang (standing 3rd from left) taken in 1935 with his family in Tien Hai, Thai Binh

The Hong Quang martyrs' shrine is clean and neat because every day, descendants from the family and the village come to clean and worship. Most of his siblings and nieces live far away, but they always take turns coming back to burn incense. His 8 younger siblings and now his grandchildren's families all worship Hong Quang martyrs. "He stopped, forever young at the age of 23 in the living space of the whole family, like a source of anchoring kindness and goodness in all his siblings and descendants" - writer Trang Ha said.

"Bring that loyalty to dye the country red"

This is a verse in the poem "Praise to Comrade Hong Quang" written by comrades to send the martyr to his final resting place.

A brief biography and some documents written about martyr Hong Quang (such as the books: Hong Quang - Love and Ideals compiled by journalist Le Bieu; Hong Quang - A young, patriotic, resilient, indomitable intellectual by Le Viet Trach, published by Labor Publishing House...) all recorded that Hong Quang was studious and good at studying. In 1937, he passed the Baccalaureate exam and then entered the Law School. In 1938, he attended a training class on Marxist-Leninist theory organized by the Central Committee specifically for 20 young people with good academic qualifications.

Hai Duong City Martyrs Memorial, where martyr Hong Quang's grave is located, is a place where the province and city organize activities to honor the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland.

On May 5, 1938, Hong Quang attended the National Conference of the Democratic Youth Union at No. 28, Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi and was elected to the Executive Committee. The enemy discovered Hong Quang's activities and expelled him from the Law School when he was in his second year. The Party organization assigned him to be in charge of the Dong Xuan bookstore, in front of Dong Xuan Market (Hanoi), creating conditions for him to contact comrades in the organization. He was arrested, sentenced to one year in prison, and imprisoned at Hoa Lo.

In 1940, after being released from prison, he secretly operated in Phu Tho province and was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party. Later, the Northern Regional Party Committee assigned him to join the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee. In the summer of 1941, Hong Quang was arrested in Hung Yen while on his way back to take up the position of Secretary of the Hung Yen Provincial Party Committee.

The enemy took him to Hai Duong to torture, interrogate, and entice him, but Hong Quang always maintained his revolutionary spirit. “After the torture, enticement, and bribery, my uncle decided to go on a hunger strike, silently keeping the work secrets about his comrade “Uncle D” in the Regional Party Committee, who, 50 years after my uncle passed away, returned to visit his comrade’s grave and stopped forever in 1941. At that time, “Uncle D” had become an important leader in the Vietnam People’s Army” - according to the article by writer Trang Ha.

Next, she wrote: "My grandmother told me that the enemy sent her in to do "psychological warfare". My grandmother saw my uncle covered in skin and bones, full of injuries, flies racing to crawl into his wounds, eyes, nose and ears sucking blood and pus, torn into pieces of shorts, his stomach sunk to the bone, my grandmother burst into tears."

Some documents record that after 47 days of hunger strike, on July 6, 1941, Hong Quang died at the age of 23.

“My father told me that in 1941, a horse-drawn carriage carrying a coffin, with only a simple white wreath, left Hai Duong prison, followed by an old woman and her two daughters. The horse bowed its head and pulled the carriage through many streets in Hai Duong town, and people were afraid to come out to see,” writer Trang Ha recounted.

Hong Quang Street in Hai Duong City

The martyr's mother fought fiercely to reclaim her son's body. Hong Quang's grave was located on the road leading to Hai Duong train station, and was later moved to the Hai Duong City Martyrs Memorial, next to Hong Quang High School.

“Just believe that soon, the red flag will fly all over the country” – exactly 4 years after his death, his words of encouragement to his mother became a reality. The noble sacrifice of martyr Hong Quang and many other heroic martyrs made the August Revolution a success.

Gratitude to the deceased

Although located in Hai Duong, over the years, the grave of martyr Hong Quang has always been carefully cared for and kept clean in a green tree-lined campus. In July 2021, for the most recent renovation, Hai Duong City invested about 6.9 billion VND to renovate the city's martyrs' memorial and the grave of martyr Hong Quang... The entire brick wall was removed, replaced by a system of green trees creating an open space for people to burn incense and visit at any time.

The Hai Duong City Martyrs Memorial was built in 1978. This place has now become a place for the province and city to organize activities to honor the heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the Fatherland. With a cool green campus, this place has now become a "red address" to educate traditions and history for many young generations, and is also a place that regularly attracts a large number of people, students, and children to visit...

In Hai Duong city, there is a high school named after martyr Hong Quang.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, one of the many children who called martyr Hong Quang their uncle and who also had a special appearance similar to him, recalled that his father, Mr. Nguyen Van Kinh - martyr Hong Quang's younger brother, once said that in a letter martyr Hong Quang sent to his children, there was a passage: You must have a noble ideal to pursue. If you don't have an ideal, it's better to just die. The word IDEAL was capitalized by him.

From a person born into a prestigious family, with enough conditions to study, live a peaceful and happy life, but Hong Quang gave up everything, including his steadfast love for Mrs. Vuong Kieu Ai Mai to follow the revolutionary path, bringing freedom and happiness to the people. This noble sacrifice is due to the two words he capitalized above.

This article is like a stick of incense offered to the heroic martyrs in the month of July, and also hopes to be a reminder for future generations to never forget the merits of those who came before!

LINH AN