Memories of a Saigon commando soldier

Activities in the river area

On May 4, 1966, when he was just 19 years old, Nguyen Xuan Chien enlisted in the army and was stationed at a unit of the Left Bank Military Region (later Military Region 3) in Bac Ninh. After 3 months of training, the new recruit Nguyen Xuan Chien was sent to study military medicine at the Left Bank Military Region Medical School. In January 1968, according to mission requirements, he was transferred to the South and in June 1968, he was added to Team N15 (Saigon - Gia Dinh commandos), stationed in Dong Thap Muoi.

Mr. Chien said that his work at that time was mainly serving the rear; performing military medical duties, providing first aid to wounded soldiers. In May 1969, Mr. Chien and the Saigon Special Forces N15 were mobilized to the Can Duoc area (Long An) to gradually penetrate deeper into the inner city of Saigon. As a special forces soldier, Mr. Chien was given a (fake) identity card and civilian clothes to facilitate his activities and movements.

Mr. Chien said: "At that time, our team mainly had the task of organizing and hiding troops, hiding in the mangrove forest, preserving our forces, waiting for orders to attack the inner city. All activities and daily life depended on the mangrove forest, using the river as a fighting base." During the day, Mr. Chien and his teammates cut down coconut leaves to build living mats and cook rice; at night, they went ashore, went into people's houses to propagate and mobilize people to follow the revolution. When the enemy raided one place, they moved to another place.

Former Saigon special forces soldier Nguyen Xuan Chien remembers most the time in early August 1969 when the enemy raided the Can Duoc area, many of our forces were wounded while he was the only medic in the entire team. Mr. Chien both took care of and participated in transporting the wounded to safety. “That morning, the enemy continuously fired artillery from Long An to the Can Duoc area. After that, they continued to bomb and sweep the entire Phuoc Van river range. While I was treating two wounded people, another person was hit by a bomb and died right next to me, and I was wounded in the head by a bullet. Before I could regain my composure, the enemy continued to land and sweep. Due to serious injuries, the unit was unable to transport the wounded out of the base, and I and two other comrades were captured by the enemy,” Mr. Chien recalled.

Join the Ho Chi Minh Campaign

The enemy took Mr. Chien to Long Binh, Bien Hoa (Dong Nai) for torture. With the integrity of a special forces soldier, Mr. Chien resolutely refused to reveal his organization or identity. By the end of 1969, Saigon special forces soldier Nguyen Xuan Chien was exiled to Phu Quoc Prison.

After more than 3 years of being detained and tortured here, on March 27, 1973, Mr. Chien was released and taken by the State to Xom Giua (Tay Ninh) for care and recuperation. In June 1973, his old unit, the Saigon - Gia Dinh Military Region, welcomed him back and assigned him to work at the General Staff Department. In October 1974, he was admitted to the Party.

In preparation for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, from early April 1975, he was assigned by the Saigon-Gia Dinh Military Region to go to the grassroots to develop local troops and guerrillas and self-defense forces. The unit's mission at that time was to strengthen tactical training in capturing, holding and protecting targets in urban areas; destroying evil puppet forces, building forces, organizing armed propaganda, destroying evil, and breaking shackles in the suburbs of the city.

On the morning of April 30, 1975, his unit was assigned to lead the main force into Saigon. He was assigned to lead the way at Ba Queo intersection, then Bay Hien intersection, the enemy's Capital Special Zone, and then the General Police Department. "Witnessing our forces advancing deep into Saigon, capturing targets amid the cheers and encouragement of the people, my emotions at that moment seemed to explode. When we heard the news that Saigon was completely liberated, we hugged each other, cheering and being happy," Mr. Chien recalled.

After the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, the main army units withdrew, Mr. Chien's unit continued to stay and take over Saigon. Shortly after, he transferred to work at the Military Medical Department, General Staff Office of Ho Chi Minh City Command; then at the end of March 1979, he was mobilized to join the volunteer army to help Cambodia. In 1980, he was injured in Cambodia and was sent to the North to recuperate and then discharged. At the end of 1980, Mr. Chien worked at Cam Giang District Hospital (now Cam Giang District Medical Center) and retired in 2005.

77 years old, 50 years in the Party, veteran Nguyen Xuan Chien has always been an exemplary Party member, actively participating in activities in residential areas.