Twenty years, tirelessly searching for martyrs' graves
One morning at Duc Phu farm, Da Nang city, the fog was still covering the mountain slopes, Ms. Dang Thi Cuc - commonly known as "Ms. Hai" - wore an old backpack and quickly left the house. Her journey today is to travel through the forest with the family of martyr Phung Van Lung (from Hai Phong) to find a resting place for him - who died at the Quang Da battlefield in 1970.
For the past half century, the family of Mr. Phung Dinh Dien (the younger brother of a martyr) has not known where their brother was. He went to Duc Phu and met Ms. Hai Cuc. With the sharp memory of war-time victims, she searched for and compared it with the "lived data" preserved in her memory. When determining the location, she did not hesitate to cross the stream with her family, climbing the rock slope to find the grave. The day she found it, Mr. Dien was moved and choked up: "Ms. Cuc not only guides us, she also lives with us all the days of searching, sharing every meal and sleep. We are grateful for your kindness - someone who considers his teammate a relative of our family.
Born in 2015, in the midst of the fierce war, 15-year-old girl Dang Thi Cuc volunteered to join the army, returned to the CK150 Provincial infirmary in Nui Thanh (old Quang Nam) to serve as a supply and care for war invalids. Duc Phu was then also Ky Yen commune - the base of Regrades 402, 406, 409. She knows who was injured and who sacrificed through each battle.
After the Paris Agreement of 1973, she transferred to logistics work, then went to Gia Lai - Kon Tum to work. In 1989, her husband passed away, she applied for early retirement to raise her child and participate in the work of the local Veterans Association. In 2006, when she was elected President of the Association, she began to be more deeply involved in the work of searching for and collecting martyrs' remains.
According to statistics from the Veterans Association of Nui Thanh district (old), from 2005 to 2025, Ms. Cuc has participated in finding 21 martyrs' graves, of which 9 were collected at the Tam Son commune Martyrs' Cemetery, and 12 were brought back to their hometowns. She continues to support the search for 7 other graves, despite being over the age of 74.
Full meaning to comrades
Mrs. Cuc said that the first trips were extremely difficult. dirt roads, steep slopes, many sections can only be reached on foot. The whole group had to bring rice, fish sauce, salt, ham, and potholes to stay in the forest for many days. There are trips up to Ong Hong, Ong Ben, Ong Nguyen or Ba Vi Pass, Thau Dau..., which are shaking and dangerous. Some trips are found, some return empty-handed. But she never gave up.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang - President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Duc Phu commune, shared: "Ms. Cuc is a valuable witness. It is her spirit of perseverance and responsibility that has inspired the young generation about the obligation to repay gratitude".
"With strength and memory, I will continue to go. So that my comrades, after many years lying in the middle of the mountains and forests, can return to their motherland" - Ms. Cuc said, her eyes lit up with faith.
