The ceremony was attended by Mr. Do Trong Hung - Deputy Head of the Central Organizing Committee; Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army; Mr. Nguyen Doan Anh - Secretary of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee; representatives of leaders of departments, ministries, branches, central agencies; Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee, departments, branches and veterans, militia, and forces directly participating in the fight to protect the Ham Rong bridge 60 years ago.
Speaking at the ceremony, Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh said that after the victory of Dien Bien Phu "famous in five continents, shaking the whole world" in 1954, our country's North entered the construction of socialism, becoming a solid support for the South in the fight against American domination.
Meanwhile, the United States did not resign to failure, trying to implement the strategies "Special War", "Local War", "Vietnamizing the war" to turn the South into a new colony, suppressing the struggle movements of our people. Facing consecutive defeats on the battlefield of the South, the United States built the Gulf of Tonkin event (August 1964) to excuse the escalation of the war, expanding the activities to raid the North by the air force, the navy with the conspiracy to cut off the North -South strategic line.
Determining Thanh Hoa is the direct rear of the Binh - Tri - Thien and Ham Rong Front Front as the "ideal switch" on the transport route from North to South. Destroying Ham Rong bridge will cut off the North -South traffic blood vessels, and at the same time sabotage the economy, weakening the role of the big rear of Thanh Hoa.
At exactly 8:45 a.m. on April 3, 1965, the US suddenly sent a series of aircraft to cut the bombs, starting from Do Len, Tinh Gia, Nong Cong and entering the key area of Ham Rong. On the first day, they used 102 groups of fighter jets to fight fiercely for 3 hours. On April 4, the enemy continued to use a large number of destroyers with greater speed and intensity.
Despite the fierce destruction of the enemy, with modern and advanced means of war, Thanh Hoa soldiers and people across all battlefields and combat positions still stood firmly, with smart, bold, surprising, determined to fight and defend their homeland.
On April 3 and 4, 1965, Thanh Hoa troops shot down 47 US aircraft, 31 of which were shot down in the dragon fruit area alone. The American empire must bitterly admit that: "Those were two dark days of the United States Air Force".
"Ham Rong victory is the crystallization of many elements, in which the wise leadership of the Party, the beloved Uncle Ho gathered and made the patriotic spirit of the whole nation, along with the iron will, the cunning and creativity of the army and people of Thanh Hoa have overcome many difficulties, hardships, resilience, creativity, heroic fighting, sacrificing, creating fierce feats."
According to the Secretary of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, Ham Rong won along with many other typical victories of our army and people in the battles to protect ferries, Dou Len, the noble sacrifice of teachers, medical schools and 7+3 pedagogical schools on the Ma river dike construction site in 1972 ... have added the glorious tradition of the heroic homeland, contributing to the country, the country of the country in 1975.
