Part 1: Long Nguyen - a testing target of B52
Part 2: To the tiger lair
Part 3: Evil intention: Bringing the North back to the stone age
Part 4: Bach Mai Hospital and 4 times hit by bombs
Part 5: The spirit of Kham Thien
Nothing can repay the loss in wars; however, the 12-day air raids on Ha Noi and neighboring provinces has left behind a promotion to get forward and overcoming of challenges.
Nixon must repay
There live a strong spirit of local people in those days when Ha Noi and northern provinces of Vietnam were being raided by B52 stratofortresses. Pains and tragedies resided but life was getting on as normal, that’s the spirit.
The artillery was used to shot down enemy propellers in Ha Noi
Bach Mai Hospital and Kham Thien areas were destroyed but the land was recovering by the return of people. B52 could wrecked houses, bridges, roads and kill innocent people but it could not break the spirit of Vietnamese people.
“Nixon must repay” was a historical motto, confirming heroic stand of Vietnamese people. Beside the photographs recording tragic scenes were the banners calling for repayment of crimes. All the banners arround all corners of streets had promoted local people to stand up and work for recovery.
Tear drops for all
Mrs. Pham Thi Vien, a former worker of Mai Dong Machinery Factory, now at her 62, retold a tragic but heroic past.
Mrs. Pham Thi Vien (left) is telling the story of heroic days 40 years ago
Holding back her tears, she said: “Pains and loss, many of my kins had fallen when the US Army escalated with destructive bombings on the North in 1967 and later on in 1972 with the most painful days. Before switching to another battle field, I came back home to see my dad and my siblings. But,…”
“At 14:00 on December 22nd 1972, we were ordered to move and prepare for battle field of Van Dong. It was a short preparation for low-ranged aircrafts of the enemies threatening the sky of Ha Noi. At 20:00 the alarm was raised when we were still at our dinner and by 21:00 the initial 19 shots were made to the sky to eliminate just one propeller. We were victorious but it was my personal pains to lose my family members,” she added.
“I was allocated to Mai Dong Machinery Factory and thus, was trained with artillery skills. In the morning of December 22, the factory was bombed and we had to dig up the sites to recover the bodies. I saw boats full of dead bodies, that was terrible but our spirit could not be turned down. In peacetime, we may be in hunger but the pains were released,” she said with a wish that the younger generation should make more efforts to maintain the peace and freedom in a stronger and stronger nation.
Her tears were for all, for those people fallen down, for the victory, and for all her family members.
Reported by H. Van – T. Dong – Translated by Vi Bao