Veteran Đinh Xuân Lý (right) shows Vietnam News Agency reporter photos documenting his fights against enemies in the past. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Veteran Đinh Xuân Lý, born in 1951, was awarded the title 'Aircraft Shooting Hero' not once, but twice.

Fifty years after the country’s reunification, the heroic memories of the fiery years of war remain vivid in his mind.

In 1971, at the age of 20, he enlisted in the military despite having an admission letter to the University of Bắc Thái, now Thái Nguyên University of Education.

He received infantry training in Tân Khánh Commune, Phú Bình District, Thái Nguyên Province, before heading to the Central Highlands battlefield on April 24, 1972.

On that day, his entire unit was bombed by the enemy.

He recalled that around 4pm, in Sa Thầy, at the foot of Chư Mom Ray Mountain, his unit was marching when the enemy discovered them and dropped bombs, resulting in the death of eight young soldiers.

Despite the grief and loss, and despite being exhausted and hungry, they held a ceremony that night to bury their fallen comrades without any food.

Although he was trained in the infantry, Lý became an air defence soldier and the number one gunner of a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun, supporting infantry units. He made use of every available moment to learn and fight.

He shot down enemy aircraft twice. The first time was at 2pm on August 12, 1973 in the Đồn Tầm area, Gia Lai Province when four enemy AD6 jet planes attacked, dropping bombs.

After an hour of combat, he and his comrades repelled the attack.

As the number one gunner who directly fired, he was awarded the title 'Aircraft Shooting Hero"'by his division.

He shot down another enemy plane in 1973.

In November 1972, he was injured and treated for two months. When he returned to his unit, the Paris Peace Accords had been signed and a ceasefire was in effect.

However, the enemy repeatedly violated the agreement, continuing to bomb, attack and invade Vietnamese-liberated areas.

As long as there's a person, there's a position

Before heading to the battlefield, each soldier had a portrait photo taken, which was sent back home to their family as a reminder that they would fight for the country's independence, freedom and unification.

Lý said that during his time on the battlefield, he was wounded three times by enemy bombs and bullets, but none of these injuries were fatal.

Looking back at memories from 53 years ago, he remembered one day in May 1972 when his unit was surrounding and attacking the enemy in Kon Tum. He and a comrade were sent to fetch rice.

On their way back with the rice, they were bombed by enemy planes. The group lay down to avoid shrapnel.

After the bombing ended, they returned to their unit and discovered that his backpack had a hole the size of a bowl, and when they emptied the rice, a bomb fragment about two fingers wide fell out.

The second time he cheated death was on November 11, 1972, when his unit received orders to approach the Chư Phổ base in Gia Lai Province. While marching, they were hit by enemy artillery and a shell exploded above them, killing three comrades and injuring two others.

One of the injured had his leg amputated, while he himself suffered two broken ribs from a bullet fragment, which is still lodged near his spine, just 2cm from his vertebrae.

The third time he narrowly escaped death was in 1973, when he and a comrade were assigned to scout an enemy post to set up positions, but they were ambushed.

He and his comrade fought back, killing one enemy soldier. He was grazed by a bullet on his temple, leaving a scar that still remains today.

Fighting side by side with his comrades in the fierce battles of the Central Highlands, the most intense and tragic battle that Lý cannot forget occurred at the Circle Hill in the northern part of Kon Tum Province.

From 8am to 4pm, the unit repelled eight consecutive enemy attacks.

Lý said: “By then, two 12.7mm guns had run out of ammunition, and all we had left were AK rifles, an RPD machine gun and a few grenades.

“Suddenly, at around 5pm, the enemy attacked again, and despite our resistance, they overran our position. In that battle, 11 of us killed over 60 enemy soldiers, but we lost nine comrades.”

With the slogan "As long as there's a person, there's a weapon; as long as there's a person, there's a position," the unit never faltered and the resolve to defeat the enemy only grew stronger, he said.

Lý was awarded the Third-Class Liberation Fighter Medal in 1975, the Second-Class Resistance Medal in 1985, and the Third-Class Resistance Medal in 1986.

Among the items he carried during his service were a magazine titled Learning Magazine - Theoretical and Political Journal of the Vietnam Workers' Party, and two issues of the Nhân Dân (The People's) Newspaper, one announcing President Hồ Chí Minh’s death and the other providing full details of his funeral. These items have been donated to the Thái Nguyên Provincial Museum. VNS