The old soldier dug the green canal

Since its official operation, the Dau Tieng irrigation system with two main canals, East and West, has not only ensured irrigation water for Tay Ninh province (old) and neighboring provinces and cities, but also provided domestic water for millions of people in the region, especially Ho Chi Minh City. However, more than 40 years ago, from the start of construction to the blocking of the Saigon River was a process with many difficulties. To have a project considered one of the largest irrigation reservoirs in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, there was a great contribution from the son of Duc Hoa, the old Long An province, now the new Tay Ninh province. That is Colonel Dang Van Thuong - former Secretary of the old Tay Ninh Provincial Party Committee.

General Secretary Le Duan inspected the Dau Tieng irrigation project before its official inauguration.

In early 1960, he and 28 other comrades crossed Truong Son to the South. On the way, each person had to carry a 30kg backpack, which contained gold and a Central radio communication device to aid the Southern Regional Party Committee. On the way, the remaining bullet fragments in his lungs raged, causing him to vomit blood, and he thought he would have to stay. But soldier Sau Thuong did not easily collapse and could not collapse because before leaving for the South, he had eaten with Uncle Ho, and had determined with Uncle Ho that he would return to the South to fight.

Before parting, Uncle Ho hugged each person tightly and said: "You guys go first, remember to convey my regards to our compatriots and comrades in the South. One day, I will definitely visit the South."

Also from the first people who crossed mountains and forests for 10 months to reach War Zone D (Ma Da, Dong Nai ), in December 1960, the first main force battalion of the Southern battlefield was established.

Comrade Hai Xo - Standing Member of the Southern Regional Party Committee in charge of military affairs at that time, emphasized: "This is a spark, and later it will burn into a forest of fire, contributing with the entire people and army to defeat the American invaders, liberate the South, and unify the country."

Youth of Tay Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City at the Dau Tieng irrigation construction site

In 1986, Mr. Sau Thuong left Tay Ninh province - his second hometown - to become a member of the Standing Committee of the Steering Committee for the study of the program for exploitation and socio-economic development of Dong Thap Muoi - Long Xuyen quadrangle. At that time, Dong Thap Muoi still had about 335,000 hectares of fallow land, accounting for 53% of the natural area. The long-standing farming practice of the people in the area was to produce floating rice and low-yield single-season rice (1-1.2 tons/ha). Other crops were barely developed. The land was heavily saline, the flood season was deep but the dry season was short of fresh water.

The old soldier Sau Thuong traveled all over the plains of Dong Thap, Long An, Tien Giang with scientists to grasp and promptly report the situation of land reclamation and population mobilization in the Dong Thap Muoi area to the Steering Committee and the Government. Even to mobilize farmers to use new rice varieties, completely abandon the production of floating rice and low-yield single-season rice, and switch to high-yield double- and triple-crop rice, Mr. Sau and scientists had to apply the "oil spill" tactic, gradually mobilizing, one household did it effectively, the other learned to follow...

When Dong Thap Muoi had rice for export, he continued to participate in directing the research and implementation of the flood discharge program to the West Sea. It was not until 2000, when he was 74 years old, that he received the retirement decision.

But the old soldier Sau Thuong still could not rest. Occasionally, Tay Ninh or the Western provinces sent cars to the city to invite him to "consult" on this and that. In mid-January 2007, the Veterans Liaison Committee of Cho Lon - Trung Huyen elected him as the Head of the Committee.

His retired colonel salary, at that time only a few million VND, he spent all of it 1.2 million VND to subsidize 2 families who had contributed to the revolution. He smiled: “The house I am living in is a house of gratitude. In 1990, the State gave me a small piece of land in Binh Tri Dong commune, Hoc Mon district, now Binh Tan district, the leaders of Tay Ninh and the Western provinces contributed money to help build it.”

Tay Ninh Provincial Party Secretary Dang Van Thuong (2nd from left) talks with Minister of Irrigation Nguyen Thanh Binh at the construction site of the main dam of Dau Tieng Lake, 1983.

Retired, the old soldier Dang Van Thuong can now be satisfied that his grandson will follow in his footsteps in the military career. Every night by the table lamp, he records his memories, writes to Tay Ninh Newspaper about his concerns about people's lives, about the opportunities that Tay Ninh has or has not yet grasped.

Mr. Dang Van Thuong (right cover) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pham Hung, 1987

When saying goodbye, he said: “I was born in Long An, but Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Tien Giang - the places where I lived and was attached to can all be called my hometown. And who doesn't remember their hometown, right?”

Mr. Dang Van Thuong (the man with a cane) mobilized the Binh Tan District Party Committee, Ho Chi Minh City to build a house of gratitude for a policy family in Ben Cau district, now Ben Cau commune, Tay Ninh province, August 15, 2009.

After that meeting, I still occasionally met him when he mobilized organizations and individuals in Ho Chi Minh City to build houses of gratitude, Great Solidarity in Trang Bang, Ben Cau,... and meetings organized by the former Tay Ninh Provincial Party Committee. He passed away in 2013, due to old wounds, but over the past 20 years, whenever people recall the time when "We go to build projects, projects build us", people still remember the old soldier Dang Van Thuong who dredged the green canal./.

Thai University

Source: https://baolongan.vn/nguoi-linh-gia-khoi-dong-kenh-xanh-a201927.html