(VOVworld) – Young soldier Pham Duc Cu and his comrades in their 20s took part in the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954. Their artillery unit 367 played an important role in the resounding Dien Bien Phu victory. 60 years have passed but memories of those difficult yet glorious days remain vivid in Cu’s mind.  

We visited Cu when he was preparing for a history talk with young people in Dien Bien province. Despite his age, Cu has been the speaker in many exchanges with local schools and organizations, inspiring young people with his enthusiasm for youth and his love for the homeland. For such exchanges, Cu wears his old uniform with many of the war medals the State gave him for his merits in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Cu says he still remembers the day he joined the army and the time he shared with his comrades during the campaign.

Cu was among those selected for an artillery training course in China in 1952. He returned to Vietnam a year later and joined the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Gunners like him had to be experienced, courageous, perfectly fit, and loyal to the revolution. In 2 months, from December 1953 to January 1954, his unit managed to transport 12 artillery guns, 2.4 tonnes each, to the battlefield. Cu recalls: “Gunners like us never forget how we pulled the artillery guns to the battlefield with only manpower. 80-100 soldiers pulled a 2.4 tonne gun. We worked mainly at night. Initiatives arose from difficulties. For example, because we could not use lights at night, two people in the front wore white clothes so that others could see them as the guiding sign to follow. Sometimes we could advance no more than 1km.”

Cu’s unit got within 400 meters away of Independence Hill without being detected by French soldiers. This miracle was the result of the sacrifice and staunch spirit of the Vietnamese soldiers, Cu says: “We were on the battlefield throughout the 56-day campaign. Some of us were buried by bomb explosions and then saved by our comrades. Our clothes were stained by blood and mud and wet all the time. When the cook was carrying our meal to the battlefield, he and his two baskets of rice were buried by bomb explosions. We had to remove the mud before we ate that meal.”

The main task of the gunners was to cover infantry units and weaken enemy forces. Cu says that in order to defeat the enemy air force, the gunners had to work closely together as a team: “There are 7 gunners for each artillery gun. Each gunner has his own task such as measuring the distance, loading, transporting the shells, and aiming the gun. These tasks must be coordinated to ensure effectiveness.”

Cu and his comrades shot down 52 enemy planes and damaged many others, contributing significantly to the Dien Bien Phu victory. However, this victory cost the lives of many soldiers including many of Cu’s comrades.