Part 1: Long Nguyen - a testing target of B52Part 2: To the tiger lairPart 3: Evil intention: Bringing the North back to stone agePart 4: Bach Mai Hospital and 4 times hit by bombsForty years have passed leaving behind the pains and losses of a past Kham Thien. Nowadays, the quarter is busy and overcrowded with high rising buildings, hotels, restaurants, and business offices. Many witnesses of the history are getting older; however, the spirit within is still strong as ever before.
Memories of a tea drink seller
In one late afternoon of December, the rain was vaguely falling in a chill weather, we were trotting down to Kham Thien Street of Kham Thien Ward in Dong Da of Ha Noi, seeking the memories of 12 horrible days in Ha Noi back in winter of 1972.
Kham Thien is seen today
Kham Thien was marked with enemy hatred. A monument of a mother holding her dead kid with her foot stepping on a bomb stood there in the flow of people who occasionally stopped and bow their heads before walking on.
We stopped by a tea drink shop at San Quan alley to listen to stories of 40 years ago. We were received by Mrs. Vuong Thi Minh, 83, who said: “There, you are sitting at the place of two dead people. Everything was tumbled, people died everywhere. A home of 4 generations was also killed off by bombs. That was how the scene looked when I got back. I ran back to Dong Tao of Hung Yen Province to stay away from a war then. That’s saved my life.”
That was the story of her 43, thus, the conversation of the two generation was so warm and close.
Sacks of keys
The story of sacks keeping keys was also retold for that time, the local police force was in charge of locking up evacuating people’s houses to save their properties after the raids were over. Lieutenant Colonnel Phung Quang Tinh, former Police Chief of Kham Thien retold the duties of his force. In the case of emergency, the policemen prepared sacks to keep the keys for their true owners to their true houses – the ones not hit by bombs.
A passerby lit an incense to offer to the killed people at Kham Thien Monument
According to him, in the night of December 26, 1972, bombs killed hundreds of people including 4 policemen of the Station No. 42 in their shifts.
Standing up after a nightmare
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Secretary of Kham Thien Ward Party Committee could not hide his emotion while telling us about the tragic day 40 years ago. He confirmed that Kham Thien was not a military zone. Only civil houses, schools, and stores resided.
In the chilly night of December 26, 1972 of 8-10 degree Celsius, B52 stratofortresses sprayed down a 1km long bomb trail of 60meter width. The street was discarded with trees and bomb holes.
The block numbers 45, 46, and 47 of Kham Thien were heavily hit. For Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, B52 bombs smelled like smoke mixed up with chloroform and decaying bodies.
People in Kham Thien returned to the destructed place; however, they stood up to overcome all the challenges. In the spring coming after the tragic days, they held warm and prosperous celebration.
Reported by T. Dong – H. Van – Translated by Vi Bao