The memorial area for teachers and students who died on June 14, 1972 at the Ma River dike has just been completed, with a total investment of more than 125 billion VND and built on an area of over 2 hectares.
The highlight of the project is the monument to teachers and students about 18m high, carved with natural granite, along with images recreating the soldiers and people of Nam Ngan fighting and treating war invalids.
In addition, the memorial area also has a worship area, memorial stele, historic boat dock, a space recreating the traditional Nam Ngan countryside space, an arranged art space, railings, trees, lighting systems...
When inaugurated and put into operation, the memorial area is expected to be connected with other historical relics and scenic spots in Thanh Hoa City such as: Ham Rong Bridge, Ngoc Mountain, C4 artillery site, "Victory Decision" hill, the Monument of the Youth Volunteer, the temple to the Vietnamese Heroic Mothers... All will contribute to creating a complex of red addresses for revolutionary traditional education, attracting a large number of tourists to Thanh Hoa City in particular and Thanh Hoa province in general.
According to historical documents, after the Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954, the North entered the period of building socialism, becoming a solid support for the South in the resistance war against American imperialism.
In August 1964, the US expanded its sabotage activities to the North by air and sea, with a plot to cut off the North-South strategic support line.
Identifying Thanh Hoa as the direct rear of the Binh - Tri - Thien front and Ham Rong bridge as a "vaison point" on the transport route from North to South, the US said that breaking Ham Rong bridge would cut off the main traffic flow, undermine the economy and undermine Thanh Hoa's role.
In the following years, the area around Ham Rong bridge was continuously hit by American bombs, causing serious damage to the Ma River dike.
During the rainy season in 1972, the water level of the Ma River rose. Faced with the risk of a broken dike causing flooding, the Thanh Hoa provincial government mobilized emergency forces to reinforce a vulnerable dike section of more than 1 km long, from Nam Ngan village to the foot of Ham Rong bridge.
At that time, more than 2,000 people participated in building the dike, mainly teachers, students, and pupils of schools in Dong Son district, Quang Xuong and Thanh Hoa town, such as the Medical School, the 7+3 Pedagogical School.
On June 14, 1972, while the dike construction site was working busily, a US bomb suddenly crashed, killing 64 teachers and students, injuring nearly 300 people and leaving 8 people missing.
