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Lang Nu village - a place name that has become familiar and evokes painful memories: In the early morning of September 10, heavy rains for many days after storm No. 3 caused a terrible flash flood, almost wiping out Lang Nu village, with 37 houses housing 158 people completely buried. In this flash flood, Lang Nu had 56 deaths and 16 injuries.
The results of the field survey showed that the landslide originated from an altitude of 744m near the top of Voi Mountain, creating a mudflow that crashed into the residential area. About 1.6 million m3 of mud and rock crashed into the village in just 5 minutes. The mudflow was about 3.6km long with an affected area of 38ha, the accumulated depth of the mudflow was 8-15m, the deepest was about 18m.
One of the first forces to be present to participate in the rescue, relief, and assistance to the people were the soldiers. Later, the 98th Regiment of the 316th Division, Military Region 2, had a whole internal magazine called “Memories of Nu Village” to talk about the difficult and arduous days of searching for missing victims. In that internal magazine, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Ba, Commander of the 98th Regiment, described the night of September 10, 2024 as a sleepless night.
Before that, during the day, he commanded the unit to help people fight floods in Ha Hoa (Phu Tho) in the pouring rain and cold wind. After a hasty dinner and before he could lie down, at 11 pm, the phone rang continuously. Lieutenant Colonel Ba picked up the phone, the voice of the Division Commander gave instructions: The unit quickly prepared and mobilized to carry out the search and rescue mission for victims in Lang Nu. The urgent order was passed on during the night from the regimental commander to each soldier.
All night, the unit prepared tools, vehicles, military uniforms, and necessary items. The atmosphere was boiling as if entering a new battle. At 5 o'clock, the sky was still pitch dark, the rain was still falling. Hurried footsteps, backpacks on their shoulders, everyone put on raincoats and set off. 300 officers and soldiers marched on special missions in the pouring rain. The convoys of vehicles followed each other, hugging the mountainside, with continuous landslides.
After two weeks of searching, the farewell between the villagers and the soldiers took place in tears. During those two weeks, the army and the people were one, sharing the same pain. It was the afternoon of September 24, along the road from the center of the Cultural House of Lang Nu village, the villagers stood on both sides of the road. The men held the soldiers’ hands tightly, the women and mothers hugged the soldiers’ shoulders and cried.
A soldier wrote: “The banh chung, the rice balls, the bottles of water are the feelings that the people here send to us. Before returning to the unit, I shed tears when the people showed their feelings for me. Those are unforgettable memories in my military life.”
And right after that, the soldiers received a new mission: Rebuilding Nu Village. The 12th Corps received a special mission to complete 40 houses for the Nu Village people along with a number of other projects in a lightning-fast time of only 100 days. The soldiers promised the people that they would do their best to complete the houses before December 31. The resettlement costs for the village were socialized, with Corps soldiers contributing workdays.
With a spirit of working almost non-stop, the soldiers of the 12th Corps completed their mission half a month early. On December 15, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, and the People's Committee of Lao Cai province organized the handover of 40 resettlement houses and gifts to the people of Lang Nu. The resettlement area is located on a high hill of 10 hectares, including 40 stilt houses, a 300m2 community house; a 200m2 school with two primary classes and two kindergarten classes, with full telecommunications, electricity and water systems. The road leading to the village is concreted.
A new, safer, more comfortable life has begun for the people of Lang Nu.
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The new constructions and new lives in Lang Nu have demonstrated the military-civilian relationship that has been built and nurtured over the past 80 years. That is just one of thousands of examples. The country “protects against storms in the morning/blocks against the sun and fire in the afternoon” with natural disasters lurking, causing heavy damage in many places. When people are in the most difficult, most arduous, struggling with natural disasters, the most severe storms and floods, the silhouettes of soldiers are always seen.
In such situations and contexts, the appearance of the military forces has brought hope to people in the most difficult situations. They are not only rescue and relief forces, but also silent heroes, willing to face danger to protect the lives of their compatriots. They have rushed into the most dangerous places, where many people would probably hesitate when witnessing the terrible devastation of natural disasters.
During the stormy days, the army mobilized all its forces and means to evacuate people from dangerous areas, search for missing people and support the reconstruction of houses. Many soldiers stayed up all night, braved the rain and wind, faced the risk of landslides and floods, to bring relief goods to the people. They were not only brave soldiers on the battlefield, but also heroes in the storm, always putting the safety of the people first.
Those actions left a good impression of their devotion, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people. There were areas where they had to race against the flood, not having time to eat a quick bowl of rice, not having time to take a nap to regain strength, having to quickly mobilize to the scene. Because they understood that the presence of the army was a belief, a great spiritual support to sow and light up the people's belief.
At the 12th Central Military Commission Conference held on December 16, General Secretary To Lam assessed that the army continues to promote its core role in building an all-people national defense, an all-people national defense posture, especially a solid "people's hearts posture", creating a combined strength to protect the Fatherland. Strengthening the construction of defense postures at all levels, building and improving the quality of activities of reserve forces, militia and self-defense forces; actively participating in economic and social development, associated with strengthening national defense and security...
The General Secretary also requested that the army actively participate in building a strong local political base; proactively participate in all plans to prevent and overcome the consequences of natural disasters, search and rescue, socio-economic development associated with strengthening national defense and security, building new rural areas, and sustainable poverty reduction in the localities.
Over the past 80 years, the army has gradually matured, and the relationship between the army and the people has become increasingly stronger. The army will also be the vanguard and main force to step into a new era, an era of national growth, worthy of President Ho Chi Minh's teachings: "Our army is loyal to the Party, filial to the people, ready to fight and sacrifice for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for socialism."
