One of the youths writing such a sanguine petition was Nguyen Cong Thanh living in Nguyen Giap commune of Tu Ky district. He twice failed to meet the requirements to be enlisted to the army. However, his ardent desire to be enlisted to the army to combat foreign invaders for national salvation never diminished.
Petitions written in blood are being displayed at the traditional house of the Hai Duong provincial Armed Forces
Thanh wrote a petition in blood and then sent it to the district’s military agency and this time his effort paid off. On July 14, 1968, he was admitted to Division 330 and later entered combats on the Southeastern battlefields. With his bravery and contributions, he was conferred a Third-class Military Order of Feat of Arms.
For Hai Duong province-born Nguyen Thi Phin, a resident in An Dong commune, An Duong district in the northern city of Hai Phong, she still remembers the days when the whole country looked towards the front.
She recalled that when she was a 9th grader at Kim Thanh High School, her older brother sacrificed himself. Emulating her brother, she used her blood to write a petition to join the army. In the petition, she wrote “Taking the heart’s blood as security”. However, due to her young age, she was encouraged to continue her studies.
Phin said that she cried many days. Later on, she both studied and performed art acts for missile and artillery troops who were tasked to protect Lai Vu bridge in Hai Duong province. In peacetime, she moved to and settled in Hai Phong city.
After four times writing petitions in blood, Hoang Thi Mo, a native of Ninh Giang village, Co Thanh commune, Chi Linh district, was enlisted and started work as a cook for Regiment 8 in 1968.
There were many more youths nationwide who having been refused resorted to these passionate blood-written petitions to join the army. Many achieved feats of arms and were presented with noble orders by the Party and State, contributing to beautifying the golden pages of history of their hometowns.
Translated by Mai Huong