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The HQ-604 ship commanded by Captain Vu Phi Tru. |
Thirty-five years have passed, but for Major General Hoang Bui Hai, former Deputy Commander of the Military Command of Thanh Hoa Province, the event of March 14, 1988, seems like yesterday because he was once the Secretary of the Party Committee and the first island chief of Co Lin Island, and also a witness - a survivor of the Gac Ma event.
Major General Hoang Bui Hai is now retired. As we chatted in his small house in Sam Son City (Thanh Hoa), the story of Gac Ma came flooding back.
Meeting him, we could see the sequelae of enemy bullets still tormenting him to this day. He said that whenever the weather changes, his body is in pain. He recounted that at the time, he was a Senior Lieutenant and the acting Commander of the Artillery Company of Song Tu Tay Island. After taking a leave of absence, he returned to his unit (Naval Brigade 146) at around 4 p.m. on March 11, 1988.
At this time, the situation at the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands tended to be complicated. Upon orders from higher-ups, besides the frame of Gac Ma Island, led by Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong, they must immediately deploy the frame of Co Lin Island, led by Senior Lieutenant Hoang Bui Hai. The brigade quickly brought a military engineer frame to the island to build a stilt house for soldiers to stay in and guard the island. Each frame consisted of 12 people along with other forces.
When receiving the mission, Senior Lieutenant Hoang Bui Hai suggested that the army medical corps should be sent along. At this time, Doctor Phan Huy Son had just returned from his hometown in Dien Chau (Nghe An Province). Previously, Son worked and became close with Hai on Song Tu Tay Island. When he learned that Hai was the head of Co Lin Island, Son agreed to join the team. "We thought that we went to the same island and would live together as brothers. However, who would have thought that it was Son's last visit to his family," Mr. Hai said with a heavy heart.
On the evening of March 11, 1988, the HQ-604 ship commanded by Captain Vu Phi Tru set sail and carried the engineering force of Regiment 83 and the island guard force of Brigade 146 to build the Gac Ma and Co Lin islands. The forces on board were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Thong, Deputy Brigade of Brigade 146. On the afternoon of March 13, the ship arrived in Gac Ma waters. At this time, three Chinese destroyers appeared and made provocative actions. Faced with this situation, Commander Tran Duc Thong ordered all units to be ready to fight.
On March 14, 1988, at approximately 7 a.m., the Chinese army began to escalate their aggressive actions. They utilized motorboats to continuously circle the ship, approaching the island and pointing guns at the Vietnamese soldiers. After that, the Chinese army stormed onto the island in an attempt to seize the flag placed there. Commander Tran Duc Thong ordered soldiers who were capable of swimming to jump into the water and swim to the island to protect the national flag. All soldiers gathered in a circle for protection. However, at approximately 8 a.m., the Chinese army suddenly opened fire.
Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong was shot at close range in the forehead and sacrificed his life. Immediately afterward, the Chinese army used 37mm guns and 12.7mm machine guns indiscriminately firing at Vietnamese soldiers on the ship. Commander Tran Duc Thong was hit and fell onto the ship's deck, while other soldiers also fell on top of each other.
The ship was hit and sunk, and Senior Lieutenant Hoang Bui Hai was seriously injured. Luckily, he managed to grasp a plank of wood (the kind of wood board brought to the island to build stilt houses).
He drifted toward some of the surviving soldiers, who were then clustered towards the South of Gac Ma Island. The water was chest-deep where they stood, and a 7-ton aluminum boat was nearby. On the boat, there was the body of Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong and Nguyen Van Lanh, who was struggling for survival. Other soldiers picked him up and brought him aboard. At that time, they noticed the HQ-505 ship in the distance but did not know if it was anchored or moving.
Senior Lieutenant Hoang Bui Hai asked his comrades to find two planks of wood and stand them up to form a straight line with the ship. If the vessel did not change its position after a while, it would mean that it was stationary. Sure enough, the HQ-505 ship was anchored. The soldiers were divided into two groups, taking turns clinging to the boat to swim and push it. The move lasted from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. when their comrades on the HQ-505 ship spotted them and sent a boat to rescue them.
Afterward, the soldiers were transported to Sinh Ton Island by HQ-931 ship. Their comrades held a memorial and burial ceremony for Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong there. The injured soldiers were brought back to the mainland and taken to Military Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment.
As he flips through the pages of handwriting in a small notebook, Mr. Hai is overwhelmed with emotion. "We will never forget the events of Gac Ma, our Gac Ma island. We will never forget the sacrifice of the 64 Vietnamese soldiers on Gac Ma Island. Only by doing so can survivors like us find some solace for our comrades who still lie at sea."
