The Dien Bien Phu soldier told about the parachute that saved lives on the battlefield

Proudly receiving medals right on the battlefield

At the age of 92, 65 years into the Party’s life, Mr. Hoang Cong Cung (in Dong Xa commune, Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province) still vividly remembers the day he joined the army and remembers the battles of the past. Mr. Cung shared: “In July 1952, I enlisted in the army. My teammates and I participated in the Northwest and Winter-Spring fronts of 1953 – 1954. Among them, the Dien Bien Phu campaign was the most memorable of my days. my fight”.

Mr. Cung joined the campaign when he was just 20 years old, at that time he was a soldier in Battalion 29, Regiment 88, Division 308. Before opening the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Mr. Cung and his teammates were tasked with attacking Dien Bien Phu. occupied Doc Lap hill base. The French colonialists declared Doc Lap Hill to be one of the impregnable fortresses and the only resistance center with two complete defense lines, forcing the Vietnamese army to break through twice when attacking.

Dien Bien soldier Hoang Cong Cung said that during the battle of Doc Lap Hill, none of our soldiers were afraid of sacrifice, everyone bravely rushed into the mission. There were battles where 3 Platoons went, and when they returned, there was only 1 Platoon left, but none of our soldiers showed fear, but joked with each other and continued to fight.

“My platoon captured a 50m French trench. Enemy bodies were lying everywhere. The French counterattacked fiercely to retake that trench. The brothers in the platoon fought heroically and fell one after another. At that time, Now, before sacrificing, the Platoon comrade assigned the task to my two surviving comrades, me and another soldier, to hold the T-shaped trench about 20 meters long until dawn.

Without hesitation, I calmly called on my teammates to pick up grenades from the corpses of French soldiers gathered in piles around me. Whenever they hear footsteps or whispers, they throw grenades and then shout “charge”. Hearing this, the enemy was afraid and retreated for a moment, then frantically advanced to recapture this trench. My teammates and I held on to the trench for 2 hours, repelled many counterattacks, and destroyed dozens of French soldiers before dawn. At 6:30 a.m., when our army’s decisive battle and victory flag was flying on Doc Lap Hill, I discovered that my arms were numb from throwing grenades and my voice was hoarse from shouting “- Mr. Cung proudly said.

Winning Doc Lap Hill, we destroyed 2/3 of the important bases in the Northern division, maintained the trench so that the French army could not retreat towards Muong Thanh, and contributed to preventing enemy reinforcements. could recapture Independence Hill.

“I remember vividly that after the victory on Doc Lap Hill, with excellent achievements, I was awarded the Third Class Soldier Medal right on the battlefield and was promoted to Vice Captain of the Machine Gun Platoon” – Mr. Cung was emotional. remember.

The parachute saves lives on the battlefield

The next mission after participating in the battle to win on Independence Hill, Mr. Cung and about 20 people raided Muong Thanh airport to spread leaflets.

That night, in addition to guns, grenades, and fence supports, each person also had to carry a bundle of leaflets. Mr. Cung took the time to read the leaflet and saw that it was written in three languages: Vietnamese, French and Thai, with the main content calling for enemy soldiers to surrender.

“During the night of spreading leaflets, there was a problem so I asked the Company’s deputy comrade to let my brothers withdraw. I would go last to provide support, but I was caught in the enemy’s siege. At the boundary of life and death, I saw a hole. cannon between the fence, I immediately slid down, crawling into a parachute. At that time, I was happy that my teammates had gotten out safely, but I was worried because I was in the line of fire from both sides. flew around, stuck in the ground right around me” – Mr. Cung recalled.

The Dien Bien soldier continued, after many days of fighting, at night he dug trenches. He was tired, hungry and sleepy. He buried himself on the ground, carefully pulled the umbrella over his head, and did not know when he fell asleep. . Until morning, the scorching summer heat made him wake up, open a corner of his umbrella to breathe in the outside air.

Lying alone in the middle of the enemy’s siege, if you were to make a slight mistake, you could be captured alive or shot dead because the enemy soldiers out to get supplies were very close. Waiting until it was dark, Mr. Cung decided to cut a piece of parachute fabric – the “benefactor” who saved his life – to take as a souvenir and then found his way out of the hole to return to the unit. It took him nearly 30 minutes to escape the last fence, his whole body covered in blood from the enemy’s barbed wire hook.

Returning after the daring battle to help his comrades retreat safely, Mr. Cung was promoted to the position of Commander of the Machine Gun Platoon, continuing to participate in the Dien Bien Phu campaign.

Mr. Cung choked up and said: “It’s just a pity that after a fierce battle on Muong Thanh field, I was seriously injured and had to be transferred to the rear base. I lay in a coma for a few days, and as soon as I regained consciousness, I heard the announcement: “We We won at Dien Bien Phu”, I was both happy and regretful…”.

Mr. Le The Trien – Chairman of Dong Xa Commune Veterans Association said: “Today, even though he is over 90 years old, during major national holidays, Dong Hung District People’s Committee and Dong Xa Commune People’s Committee still invite Mr. Cung to tell stories. The story of the Dien Bien Phu victory “famous in five continents, shaking the earth” 70 years ago for all students of the district and commune to hear.