"Oh La La stream"

QTO - Western Quang Tri is the land of mountain peaks covered in mist all year round, the source of thousands of streams, big and small, tirelessly returning to the sea day and night... The streams flow forever as if time does not wait, but the memories of it still remain, still live forever in the memories of the soldiers who once "cut through Truong Son to save the country...". After the war, the soldiers always longed to return to the old place one day. And then, one day they also returned, from the depths of their memories resounded the song: "Oh La La stream, the water is clear and gentle...".

Musician Huy Thuc and his wife revisit La La stream and Khong Ten hill - Photo: PTL

Going back in time to the years of the war against America, full of sacrifice and hardship. The battle took place from about 7am to 5pm on February 28, 1967 at Khong Ten Hill, in Chanh village, Tan Kim commune, Cam Lo district, Quang Tri province (old), now Hieu Giang commune, Quang Tri province. This was a historic battle, making the name of Hero Bui Ngoc Du.

At that time, the 10-man squad led by Sergeant Bui Ngoc Du was tasked with protecting the artillery ammunition depot to serve our army in attacking Base 241 - the largest 105mm artillery position of the US army in Quang Tri.

The US landed about 200 marines on Khong Ten Hill to destroy our weapons depot. In an unequal battle, but with a brave and determined spirit, Bui Ngoc Du's squad repelled 15 attacks by US soldiers, killing more than 100 of them...

Right after that "1 win 20" miracle, musician Huy Thuc composed the song "Oi Dong Suoi La La" to praise the feat of Bui Ngoc Du's squad, and at the same time strongly encourage the fighting spirit of our soldiers on all fronts of Quang Tri and Thua Thien- Hue .

After the country was at peace , during a visit back to the old battlefield and La La stream, musician Huy Thuc shared: “Actually, at that time, I already had a theme for the song “Ta Lu Guitar”. But I temporarily put it aside to respond to a new composition about the movement of the entire army to learn from the fighting example of Sergeant Bui Ngoc Du launched by the Front.

I remember during the meeting, some war reporters asked Bui Ngoc Du a lot about the developments of the battle, and I just wanted to know: In the wild, harsh, and fierce conditions of the mountains and forests, how did you guys live? Sergeant Bui Ngoc Du, with a sunburnt face and an innocent smile, immediately replied: We still drink water from La La stream... So I felt like I had found something more precious than gold. In my mind, the song "Oh La La stream" kept ringing out naturally like the water...".

Musician Huy Thuc also shared: Because some units of Division 304 showed their determination to create the miracle of "1 win 50", he added the second verse to the song: "Hundreds of streams in our hometown, like La La stream, the water is clear and gentle, when the wind blows and storms... Each stream in our hometown, each mountain and forest is a feat of arms against the Americans...".

After the war, musician Huy Thuc did not know where Bui Ngoc Du lived, he only knew that the soldier who made the miracle on Khong Ten hill years ago was from Thanh Hoa, and had a wife who was a youth volunteer from Hung Yen.

It was not until 1994, when he happened to read an article titled “The Hero by La La Stream”, that musician Huy Thuc followed and was lucky enough to meet the family of veteran Bui Ngoc Du in the Central Highlands.

At that time, people in Mang Jang district (former Gia Lai province) and the Central Highlands in general just knew that the veteran with a gentle nature, hard working, simple lifestyle and often helping people was the character in the song "Oh La La stream".

Once again following the footsteps of Mr. Tran Kiem, Nguyen Thanh Triet and Nguyen Van Thuc - soldiers who spent their youth on the Northern Road 9-Quang Tri front, I learned that La La stream, like the lyrics of the song "Oh La La stream" by musician Huy Thuc, previously had another name.

Veteran Tran Kiem shared: “I was told by the Van Kieu people in Chua village that, long ago, this stream had many rocks that could help people create fire, the local language called it “la”, so it was called “khe da la”, and La La stream is what soldiers from the North called it when they came to Quang Tri…”.

Veteran Nguyen Thanh Triet, from Ha Tinh, told the story of 7 comrades who sacrificed their lives in the battle at Quai Mo hamlet, Quat Xa village, in the old Cam Tuyen commune (now Hieu Giang commune) on February 24, 1969, and were buried by their comrades by the La La stream... Mr. Triet has "gone to heaven", but his story remains, still deeply imprinted in the minds of many people today.

Going along La La stream, to the north is hill 135, during the war there was a small trail crossing the hilltop, passing through the "Seven Houses hamlet" of the Van Kieu people to the banks of Ben Hai river.

To the west, there are mountain ranges that bend like saddles or stand tall, creating a fairy-tale scene at sunset.

The land and people of Cam Lo have shed countless sweat, effort, blood, courage and perseverance from generation to generation to restore the land to its original softness and fertility, so that life can revive and sprout from the land...

We had a leisurely afternoon, following the old memories of the soldiers, searching for the old battlefield along La La stream; finding a place called Da Dung in the middle of Da Mai lake, an irrigation project providing water for the fields downstream of Cam Lo.

Going around the majestically shaped rocks, some people wonder: How long has time sedimented here? There is no answer, only knowing that the old Nameless Hill now "has the name of the Bui Ngoc Du Squad" and the winding stream at the foot of the hill has also changed its name since that day.

-"Oh La La stream" still flows forever from the past to the future.

Phan Tan Lam

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/van-hoa/202508/oi-con-suoi-la-la-f3a5070/