Tears of Vi Xuyen

Thirty years after the devastating battle, soldiers of the 356th Division returned to the Vi Xuyen battlefield where their comrades lay amidst rocks, bombs, and mines.

Vi Xuyen was shrouded in rain, and the soldiers of the 356th Division stood weeping, looking towards their comrades lying amidst rocks, bombs, and mines on the border...

Memories on the "hill of minced meat"

The old soldiers, veterans of countless battles, their uniforms worn and tattered, stood gazing at the mountain and weeping. For 30 years, the "hill of minced meat" has remained like an unhealing wound, aching at the slightest touch. This is the name soldiers gave to Hill 772, where nearly 500 soldiers of the 356th Division fell in the battle on July 12, 1984.

Veterans embrace a jar containing soil taken from Hill 468, where soldiers of the 356th Division sacrificed their lives years ago - Photo: Nguyen Khanh

For former soldier Tran Quoc Son, this is his first time returning to the battlefield. Thirty years ago, this young man from Hanoi left school, underwent a short training course, and went to the Vi Xuyen battlefield. Few imagined the war would be so brutal, with people falling one after another under the enemy's artillery fire. 

“All the enemy’s heavy firepower came down on us. After only an hour of fighting, our battalion commander and deputy commander were killed. The survivors helped the wounded, and the healthy carried the dead. We retreated to the rear with very few people left. Most of our comrades were left behind and will never be able to return home again,” - former soldier Tran Quoc Son sobbed.

Pham Van Gia is not a soldier from the 356th Division; he is a veteran of the Western Truong Son Mountains. But the haunting memories of the past lead this old soldier to take up photography and photograph cemeteries across the country. "Only after having children do I truly understand the loss of those who died. Those buried here were only eighteen or twenty years old," Gia said, unable to hold back his tears. 

The soldiers of the 356th Division standing beside him added, "There was one who died when he was only 17 years old." Then they all clung to each other's shoulders and wept. Not a single soldier knew how many members of the 356th Division were still alive when it was disbanded. "When soldiers died on the battlefield, reinforcements were sent up from below. We could count the dead, but we couldn't count the living," said former soldier Nguyen Van Kim.

“Not only at the high points, but many more fallen comrades lie buried in Chinese territory. After the battle on July 12th, China did not allow us to go and retrieve the bodies of our fallen comrades. After 3-4 days, they used dump trucks to fill the pits with bodies, then dumped them into the fire, burned them, and covered them up. They then poured concrete over the pits where the Vietnamese soldiers were buried and leveled the ground.” 

For so many years, we have only hoped, one way or another, to be able to bring the bones and soil from where Vietnamese soldiers lie buried alongside their comrades,” said former soldier Do Quang Huy, his eyes welling up with tears. “Even though soldiers have suffered defeats, they have also achieved victories. We only hope that the Fatherland will once again publicly remember their names,” Mr. Huy expressed.

Come back here, comrades!

For 30 years, they longed to bring their comrades home, but their hopes remained just hopes. Hundreds of martyrs still lie scattered on the mountaintops and hillsides. To comfort the souls of their comrades who could not return, the soldiers of the 356th Division contributed to building a memorial on Hill 468. They brought packets of Hang Ga tobacco, green paper military uniforms... up to their comrades. They entrusted local people, whenever they passed by, to light a few cigarettes for their fallen comrades. 

Before the July 12th anniversary, they went there, embracing their guitars and singing for their comrades: “Come home, comrades, whether you lie in rocky crevices or deep valleys/ Come back here, together as we wished in the trenches, to be with the children by the Lo River singing peacefully, the soldiers and civilians sharing warm affection/ Come home, comrades, soldiers forever twenty years old/ Come back here for a pipe of tobacco, a warm cup of tea at the outpost, with innocent smiles/ Friends, comrades, and loved ones embrace each other, tears flowing freely/ The borderland, the image of our homeland.”

The old soldiers wept along to the song. Kim Thanh, the former performing artist of the division and now a grandmother, also cried, even during rehearsals. "Back then, they were so young, innocent, and pure. Who would have thought that after singing for them in the morning, they would be lying in their graves that afternoon?" - Mrs. Kim Thanh shared.

At noon the day before the anniversary of the death, on Hill 468, the lyrics of the song, carried by the ashes, clung to the branches of the trees and drifted towards the mountains. Beyond lay Hill 772, the "meat mince hill," Hill 685, and further beyond, Hill 1509. "Our comrades heard it and have returned," said musician Truong Quy Hai, a soldier of the 356th Division. And after the song, after the flying ashes, came the torrential rain of Vi Xuyen. For 30 years now, every July, the weather in Vi Xuyen has been like this...

According to TTO