Story about the Captain of the special forces unit codenamed H145

(Construction) – During the fierce war against the US – Puppet, at that time in Quang Tri, when mentioning the Quang Tri Town Ranger unit, codenamed H145 and commanded by Captain Le Van Dang, The enemy army must be terrified, because of the resounding victories and the extermination cases that shocked the whole province and excited the hearts of the people.

Mr. Le Van Dang was born in Dai An Khe rice area, Hai Thuong commune, Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province in a family rich in revolutionary tradition. At the age of 17 (1964), he joined the revolution, joining the Party on December 21, 1968.

Growing up in the context of his homeland, a country suffering from war, suffering from the pain and loss of people and relatives due to the cruelty of the enemy, Mr. Le Van Dang had a burning desire for peace in his heart. peace for the homeland, for the Fatherland. Because of that will, while holding the position of Captain of the Ranger unit of Quang Tri town (Quang Tri province), he cleverly and courageously commanded the unit to successfully complete all assigned tasks. In particular, he successfully organized many raids to destroy the enemy right inside the enemy’s heart, causing the revolutionary movement to rise.

After escaping for a while, in early June 1966, Mr. Le Van Dang was sent by the base to attend a special forces reconnaissance class. In December 1966, he graduated and was assigned to the Quang Tri town special forces unit. . With his fighting spirit and working ability, in 1967 he was promoted to Platoon Leader, only a few months later he was promoted to Deputy Captain, then Captain of unit H145.

With ingenuity, flexibility and courage, and with the support and protection of the people and revolutionary establishments, unit H145 has built many reliable and effective secret bases. In particular, the H145 unit went deep into the enemy’s operations, sometimes even staying in the base’s house in Quang Tri town to closely follow the enemy’s areas of operation and travel… thanks to that, they were able to reconnaissance and capture information. ascertain the enemy’s defense situation, to provide information to superiors to organize major battles. At the same time, through this, grasp the time and travel schedule of the evil people to organize their eradication.

Captain of the Quang Tri Town Ranger unit, Le Van Dang, recounted that to complete the mission, the soldiers in the unit had to disguise themselves as puppet soldiers to go into the enemy’s heart to destroy them, and at the same time organize training sessions. Attacking the enemy’s lair causes confusion and fear. In particular, from 1967 to 1972, the area of ​​operation of the Special Forces was from Trieu Thuong commune, Hai Le commune, Hai Phu commune and Hai Thuong commune. This was the buffer zone of Quang Tri town, so both we and the enemy were very seriously. Therefore, the enemy constantly increased its forces to set up defenses and sweep, quickly pacify, and raid day and night. In addition, the police and puppet police tried their best to arrest and purge to “fish for fish” in order to destroy the revolutionary base and destroy our undercover cadres.

To maintain the political struggle movement, serve as a springboard for the main force, and launch major battles into Quang Tri town when the opportunity arose, Captain Le Van Dang commanded the Quang Tri town Ranger unit to coordinate Collaborating with local soldiers, guerrillas and commune officials to stay in the area, relying on the people, living in the enemy’s heart to operate, secretly, suddenly organizing lightning raids “attacked the enemy’s posts, “penetrated” deep into the enemy’s heart to destroy notorious people who had many “blood debts” to the people such as: The secret, surprise attack on the enemy in broad daylight at Voi bridge, Hai Le commune, Hai Lang district killed 3 villains; the “deep penetration” behind the enemy’s “back” into the military base at Truong Ke brick kiln, south of Quang Tri town, killing 20 enemies; the attack on Cau Trang station, Trieu Thuong commune, killing the puppet police captain, commune chief and station chief and many other battles.

And perhaps, the people in the area at that time will never forget the Quang Tri Town Ranger unit that organized and destroyed the notorious villain. Specifically, receiving orders from superiors, at 4:00 p.m. on December 27, 1967, Captain Le Van Dang and a number of other comrades in the unit disguised themselves as special forces soldiers of the Saigon puppet government, continuing the attack. near the villain’s house in the heart of Quang Tri town, the place they considered the safest. They waited until it was dark to break into the house and immediately kill the villain on the spot. The incident shocked the whole province, made the enemy flinch and tremble, the people were excited, and the revolutionary movement was pushed to the next level.

Victory after victory, after 9 years (1966 – 1975) of operations and fighting in the southern battlefield of Quang Tri province, Captain Le Van Dang and his teammates in the unit achieved many outstanding victories. Dominating, building a movement, eliminating evil, eliminating fraud and participating in 3 major campaigns to attack Quang Tri town: Leading the way for main units to attack the center of Quang Tri province to free more than 200 prisoners. Political prisoners were detained at the Quang Tri prison in 1967, the 1968 Tet Offensive and the liberation of Quang Tri in 1972. In particular, Captain Le Van Dang stood by and fought to protect the Quang Tri Citadel since the enemy began. invaded in June 1972, and did not leave the battlefield until he was injured in August 1972.

Over the past 8 years (1967 – 1975), Captain Le Van Dang commanded the town’s special forces team, many times he was ambushed and surrounded by the enemy, many times he faced death within an inch of his life, he went hungry and thirsty, twice. injured, infected with Agent Orange…

Recognizing his achievements during the process of participating in combat, from 1967 to 1972, Captain of the Quang Tri Town Ranger unit Le Van Dang was awarded many noble awards: Third-class Victory Medal, War Medal. First, Second, and Third Class Liberation Artists; Victory Medal, Class II, Resistance Medal, Class Three; Badge of heroes who destroyed Americans, level II; Soldier emulation of the entire Tri Thien military region and many other certificates of merit… The highest reward and honor of Ranger Captain Le Van Dang is being trusted by the provincial and military leaders to directly protect Fidel Castro. – General Secretary, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban armed forces visited the liberated zone of Quang Tri in 1973.

The gunfire of the war ended, the country was unified and returned to normal life. Mr. Le Van Dang continued to work at many different organizations. In April 1982, from an officer of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Trieu Hai district, Binh Tri Thien province, due to recurring injuries and difficult family circumstances, he took a leave of absence according to the regime.

Family life faced many difficulties, but veteran Le Van Dang did not complain and did everything himself to take care of his family. He brought his family to live in Suoi Tre, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province. In a “foreign land”, he both did business and participated in work in unions. In 2012, due to health problems, he and his family returned to live in his hometown.

Veteran Le Van Dang (left) is living frugally in his old age in his hometown.

Returning to the place where he was born, at the age of 80 he lived a frugal life with a meager salary to cover all 3 people. His daughter, over 40 years old, was infected with Agent Orange and had to depend on her parents. old… Life is so uneven, but with the nature of a special forces soldier, he always has a heroic spirit, even though up to now he has not been awarded the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces – The award should have been given to him a long time ago, but he is truly a hero in the hearts of the people as a Captain of the Quang Tri commune’s special forces unit with the code name H145.