Veteran Chu Văn Hải, 75 years old, from Residential Quarter 4, Noong Bua ward (Điện Biên Phủ city), was once a signal soldier, fighting on the the Southern battlefields. Despite carrying 35% of the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin, he remains lively, his eyes glowing with the spirit of a soldier. As the son of a martyr who fought against the French colonialists, Hải was not required to enlist, but with the spirit of “owing the country, avenging the family,” he volunteered to fight and was assigned to Company 31, Battalion 18, Division 320A.

Hải held: “In the early days of training in Đông Quan (Thái Bình province), I joked with a friend named Chiến who joined on the same day: ‘In the battlefield, I will supply ammo for you.’ Little did I know, that would be our last conversation. He was killed in the Tây Nguyên battlefield, never to meet his newlywed wife!”

Recalling the rapid march during the war, Hải got emotional: “We received an urgent order from General Võ Nguyên Giáp - the “Big brother” of the Vietnam People’s Army: “Move quickly, even faster! Be bold, even bolder! Seize every minute and every hour; rush to the South! Engage in decisive battles for total victory!” We marched day and night, not thinking about life or death. There was a time when five of us were bombed, and I jumped into a stream to soak myself. When I came up, no one was left. Only a patch of burned earth remained.”

As a signal soldier, Hải and his comrades ensured smooth communication lines from the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army to the division, contributing to the command structure for the entire campaign. He was among the first to receive the news of victory when the flag of the Liberation Army flew on the roof of the Independence Palace. “We all cheered, some soldiers even shot into the air in excitement. That moment was unforgettable,” he added.

After the war, Hải, along with 50 other households, went to clear land and build the economy in Chiềng Sinh commune, Tuần Giáo district. He is currently a member of the Điện Biên provincial Association of Agent Orange/dioxin Victims.

Born in 1952, Lường Văn Đôi, from Yên 2 hamlet, Mường Phăng commune (Điện Biên Phủ city), enlisted in February 1973 in Company 1, Battalion 1, Regiment 174, Division 316, and directly participated in the Hồ Chí Minh Campaign. At 73, his voice still exudes the strength and spirit of the soldier he once was. When we contacted him for an interview, he enthusiastically said, “I will be ready at 3p.m., my house is at the top of the hill, turn right after the cemetery, it’s the house with the red tin roof!”

When we reached Yên 2 hamlet, a group of students cheerfully pointed us to his house: “That is Đôi’s house, he often tells us stories about the war!”

In his worn military uniform, Đôi shook our hands firmly and began: “Back then, we were only eighteen or twenty, and the energy of youth was burning inside us. Hearing the loudspeakers on the gạo tree calling about the enemy’s presence in the South, I was like fire. Without thinking, I wrote an enlistment letter.”

He also shared that at that time, he only thought: “The South is calling, we will march, not sparing blood or bones, hoping for the day of reunification.”

After training in Nghĩa Lộ, Đôi’s unit marched through Nghệ An to the South, participating in battles in Buôn Ma Thuột, Củ Chi, and Tân Sơn Nhất airport. As a squad leader cum cook, Đôi took care of every meal for the unit. “Being in logistics during wartime means ensuring three things: safety, nutrition, and confidentiality. A wrong timing for smoke could reveal our position to the enemy, and bombs would rain down like thunder. Sometimes, a hot meal was a luxury, but those wartime meals fueled our determination and fighting spirit,” Đôi explained.

He shared that in his hamlet, eight people wrote enlistment letters together, but only four came back. His voice grew somber as he recalled, “Those four remained forever in the Southern battlefields.”

Đôi was born and raised in Phúc Sơn, Văn Chấn district (Yên Bái province). When the country reunified, he was deployed to Điện Biên and has worked in various positions, deeply connected to the historical land of Mường Phăng.

Currently, there are 314 people in the province who directly contributed to the great victory of Spring 1975. Each of them is a living flame of vivid memory from that glorious era. The war may have passed, but the value of peace, sacrifice, and patriotism endures. The younger generation, born in peace, must understand, appreciate, and continue the proud traditions of the nation. “The South called, we answered” is not just a call from a historical era, but a symbol of the ideal of being ready to sacrifice for the country, for the people.