The
National Heroes
Vietnam 1945
The Chinese Army
came to disarm the Japanese but messed all up. It finally sold VN
out to the French. Different Vietnamese political parties
in the country joined forces to fight for the Independence of the
Mother Land. Hanoi had five “gates” from which
the combatants could get in and out of the city during the
fights. We used to live near the one that opened toward the
South side of Hanoi. Quynh Loi was the name of the area and
also the name of the battle.
Quynh Loi was
famous because it was the final battle after which we lost Hanoi
for 9 years until the surrender of the French army at Dien Bien
Phu. Our family lived next door to Hanoi University in a
two story house with windows opened to the University dorms in
the middle of the area called Bach Mai. Bach Mai was like one of
the Quynh Loi’s downtowns.
Jan 1946,
The French had
occupied the four other “gates”. They had planned to
move through the University Campus before the winter ended.
Vietnamese troups from the Resistance Movement were blocked and
killed all over. My brother Mac was leading the battle at Quynh
Loi with the help with his two brothers But and Nghien who were
civilians at the time while Mac had joined the Resistance Forces
secretly a few years ago.
What made this
battle so great was the courage and the spirit of the men who
served it. A number of them stayed to fight till the end in
order to keep the “exit” to the South open long enough
so the wounded troups and civilians could flee to the
countryside. Jan 15th-16th was a dark and stormy
night. My three brothers were the last ones who got killed
in an ugly ambush. They did not want to leave with the
others. They chose to die so that the others could live.
The French took
Quynh Loi but were not able to get further toward the South. The
VietMinh Resistance Armies were formed right after then later the
Communists took over and fought until the Reunification in 1975.
Some of the
survivers have since added Mac’s name to theirs to remember
him. Mac-Lan Le has become one of the well-known
veteran contemporary writers. He wrote a book on the battle
of Quynh Loi and the three Hoang bothers who were killed during
the fight on the same night before Tet. The book has been
presented to General Vo-Nguyen-Giap, the hero of Dien Bien Phu,
by my daughter Dan Thu Nguyen when she saw him in 2000. I
never had the honor to meet the General in person but my sister
Le and I received a card from him one time at Tet, which I since
considered part of the family heirloom.
We lost the
battle of Quynh Loi. My mother died in 1991 in Los Angeles. In
1998, I made my first trip back to Hanoi to attend the Official
Memorial Ceremony for my brothers whom the Government had
proclaimed National Heroes of Viet Nam.
The war was over.
Peace prevails. Viet Nam is still a country on the world map. The
Vietnamese are still living on their own land.
At the Memorial
Ceremony on December 6th 1998, the people bowed to the
heroes with love and gratitude. A special ceremony was held
for “Mrs Hoang Thi Van”, my mom, and we were presented
with written acknowledgment in honor of my mom as the mother of
the war heroes. My daughter and I were touched. We too, were so
proud of her.
The ceremony
lasted the whole day and ended with a big fiesta.
Jenny
Hoang
2000