With his silver-white hair, sharp memory, bright eyes, and humorous way of speaking, the old colonel told us young reporters many stories about his work and useful experiences in journalism. In particular, he also told about the days when he directly participated in seizing power in the August Revolution of 1945.

Colonel Tran Tieu (second from left) when working in the Army. Photo: Archive

Colonel Tran Tieu was born in 1928 in Vinh Tuy village, Vinh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province (now Hop Minh commune, Nghe An province), in a farmer family. As a child, thanks to the education promotion policy of the Tran family in Vinh Tuy village, and with his will to study, Tran Tieu received the "Bao Dai Scholarship" for primary schools in Central Vietnam. While studying in high school at Vinh Quoc Hoc School, in July 1945, he was enlightened and was one of the three earliest participants in the Viet Minh organization in Vinh Tuy village, assigned to receive and deliver documents, Resistance Newspaper, official dispatches, and letters from Viet Minh to the bases. With high revolutionary enthusiasm, Tran Tieu also actively distributed leaflets, wrote slogans, and propagandized people to support Viet Minh, preparing for an uprising to seize power.

According to Colonel Tran Tieu's recollections, in mid-August 1945, although the order for the General Uprising had not yet reached the locality, the atmosphere among the masses was already very exciting. Upon receiving news of the successful uprising in Hanoi , on the way from school in Vinh-Ben Thuy city to his hometown in Yen Thanh district, Tran Tieu was introduced by the organization to join the Vinh Tuy village Uprising Committee.

Colonel and veteran Tran Tieu is 97 years old but still sharp-minded. Photo: ANH THAI

There was a task assigned by his superiors when Tran Tieu was only 17 years old, and now he is 97 years old, but he still remembers it very well and is proud every time he tells people. That was on the morning of August 24, 1945, Tran Tieu was given a red flag with a yellow star by the Viet Minh cadres of Yen Thanh district and given the secret task of hanging the flag at Vinh Tuy communal house...

"This mission at that time was meant as a symbol of the revolution, a call to arms, encouraging the people to overcome their fear, and rise up together to seize power. Receiving that special mission, I was both happy and worried. Happy because the revolution trusted me, but worried that I would be obstructed and killed by the patrols. However, I was determined to carry it out. That afternoon, I prepared a long bamboo pole to make a flagpole and a rope to tie the flagpole to the communal house gate post. At night, I borrowed a brown shirt from my relative, Ms. Khuong, to wear so as not to be discovered. I waited until late at night, secretly brought the flag to the communal house, tied the flagpole tightly to the communal house gate, and then pasted a slogan below the flag, on the communal house's surrounding wall. At dawn the next day, I ran out to see if the flag was still there or had been pulled out by the patrols.

I was delighted to see the flag flying proudly. Seeing the red flag with a yellow star, many people came to see it. Many people did not know what the flag was, so I explained that it was the Viet Minh flag, the revolutionary flag, the flag of our Vietnam, not the Annam flag as the French army and the court officials still called it. Then a few people who knew the national language read out loud the slogans: "Support the Viet Minh", "Down with the puppet government", "Open the Japanese rice warehouse to save our people from starvation", "Long live an independent Vietnam, long live Uncle Ho...", Colonel Tran Tieu excitedly recounted.

On the morning of August 25, 1945, in front of the red flag with a yellow star, young man Tran Tieu and his comrades in the Vinh Tuy village Uprising Committee called on people to carry the red flag with a hammer and sickle, the red flag with a yellow star, along with self-defense soldiers carrying knives, swords, spears... to cross the Dien river ferry to join the uprising to seize power in the district.

In the afternoon of the same day, the villagers gathered at Vinh Tuy village communal house, collected the village chief's books and seals, announced the abolition of the old government apparatus, and established the Vinh Tuy village Provisional Revolutionary Committee, with teacher Tran Ngoc Nhuan as Chairman of the Committee. Tran Tieu was the youngest of the five people elected by the people to the Provisional Revolutionary Committee, in charge of propaganda, mobilizing the people, doing cultural and educational work, and promoting a new life. "I am very lucky to be the one who planted the red flag with a yellow star and posted slogans at the village communal house to call on the people of my village to make a revolution," Mr. Tran Tieu said proudly.

Mr. Tran Tieu enthusiastically tells stories about his revolutionary activities from his youth. Photo: LAM SON

After gaining power, as a member of the village's Provisional Revolutionary Committee, Tran Tieu was very active in his work. Some days he would just come home to have a quick bowl of rice and then go to the communal house, pagoda, or shop to propagate and explain to the people about the regulations and policies of the Viet Minh and the regulations of the national salvation associations; mobilize and enroll people in the associations: Farmers, Youth, Women, Elderly, Children's National Salvation... Tran Tieu also participated in teaching "popular education" and opened classes at the village communal house.

He said: “The days of working and teaching in the village are still fresh in my mind. After teaching, we sometimes stood at the village entrance, at the communal house gate and the market gate to check on the people's learning. We wrote the words on the counter, on the bamboo basket, on the winnowing basket... for the people to read. Whoever could read and spell could enter the market and the village; whoever forgot the words or could not remember them had to take a detour, or wade through the swamps and fields to enter the village. Later, when I went on business trips, fought, and performed tasks in the localities, I always remembered my hometown Vinh Tuy. As soon as I retired in 1994, I proposed to the leaders of Vinh Thanh commune to write a book called "Geography of Vinh Tuy village". With the support of the Party Committee, the commune government and the people, our editorial team soon completed this book.”

47 years of service in the Army, since 1947 when he left his hometown Vinh Tuy to join the army, Colonel Tran Tieu has held many positions and has many achievements contributing to the building of the Army. Since his retirement, he has continued to work, was elected as Secretary of the residential area Party cell, Party Committee member of Phuong Mai Ward Party Committee, Dong Da District (now Kim Lien Ward, Hanoi City), then became Chairman of the Association of the Elderly, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Phuong Mai Ward... and regularly writes articles for newspapers, tells traditional stories until today. Colonel, veteran, pre-uprising cadre Tran Tieu was awarded the 75-year Party membership badge, was awarded the title of Emulation Fighter by Hanoi City for two consecutive years and was honored as "Good person, good deed" at the city level.

HONG THU - ANH THAI

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/80-nam-cach-mang-thang-tam-va-quoc-khanh-2-9/co-cach-mang-o-dinh-lang-vinh-tuy-843201