This operation, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the U.S. Air Force and Navy in Hanoi, Hai Phong and several provinces in the North of Vietnam. Military bases, transportation hubs, factories, mines, and even public facilities such as hospitals, schools, train stations, and densely-populated residential areas became targets for the U.S. air strikes. As a result of the bombings, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed and thousands of homes and public facilities were damaged or destroyed completely.
Beneath the massive strikes, our armed forces, with the Air Defense - Air Force Service (ADAF) as the core, fought bravely side by side with Hanoians. Holding battlefields, brave soldiers and people remained steadfast and determined to shoot down enemy aircraft. Thus, they achieved the glorious victory “Dien Bien Phu in the Air” by crushing the largest strategic bombing campaign involving heavy bombers by the U.S. military since the World War II.
On the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the “Hanoi - Dien Bien Phu in the Air” victory (December 1972 - December 2023) and the 50th anniversary of the Operation Homecoming (1973 - 2023), witnesses of the feat-of-arms who personally fought during the 12 fierce days and nights, as well as Thomas Eugene Wilber - son of an American pilot who was imprisoned in the Hanoi-based Hoa Lo Prison - shared their thoughts and feelings with a reporter of the People’s Army Newspaper Online.
For Senior Colonel Nghiem Dinh Tich, Hero of the People’s Armed Forces, former P-35 Radar Section Chief at Company 45, Regiment 291, Division 365, ADAF, he has always been proud of the victory of the campaign.
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Senior Colonel Nghiem Dinh Tich and his photo in the past |
He underlined that this was a great victory achieved by the Hanoi capital city’s troops and local residents as well as the whole country, in which the ADAF was at the forefront. The world admired the wise strategies and tactics of the Vietnamese military and people.
The retired officer stressed that during the campaign, not only Hanoians but also the entire Vietnamese people were united to overcome all difficulties and challenges to make joint efforts in order to defeat the U.S. invaders.
“In the present peacetime, all people are enjoying happiness. Thus, they must bring into play the country’s honorable traditions and forever remember the remarkable contribution of our revolutionary predecessors in preserving and protecting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” he added.
Veteran Nguyen Van Hung, former gunner at Luong Yen Mechanical Factory Self-Defense Platoon, remembered that in the last days of December 1972, Hanoians could not sleep and even their meals were rushed between U.S. air raids. At battlefields set up on streets, his comrades and he also hurriedly had lunch or dinner and then returned to their duties.
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Veteran Nguyen Van Hung points at his photo. |
“At that time, the love given by Hanoians to their comrades and compatriots was truly precious. They offered whatever they had to soldiers, and together fought against the enemy,” held veteran Hung.
He said that the exhibition “Scales of the war” held by the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board in the early days of December 2023 was very meaningful. It helped generations look back upon the country’s heroic past. Visiting the relic of Hoa Lo Prison for the third time, he felt very honored to be one of historical witnesses who can tell the stories of the past to current young generations. Even though more than 50 years have passed, the memory of the old days is all new to him.
“Thinking of those months and years of hard-fought struggle, I understand more about the value of independence and freedom. Not only I but also the whole country rejoiced the victory,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Thomas Eugene Wilber, son of U.S. Navy’s Commander Walter Eugene Wilber, a pilot prisoner of war at Hoa Lo Prison, shared that on June 16, 1968, his father and another pilot flew a bomber to drop bombs on North Vietnam. The aircraft was shot down in the Central province of Nghe An, his father parachuted and luckily survived, then was arrested and taken to Hoa Lo Prison.
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Thomas Eugene Wilber (left), son of U.S. Navy’s Commander Walter Eugene Wilber |
As the war is over, he loves traveling to Hanoi. He said that he has visited the relic of Hoa Lo Prison 43 times. These days, in December, he returned to Hanoi and he felt that his steps in the relic are also the steps his father took over 50 years ago. He felt that Hanoi is very familiar, like his second home. His father was imprisoned in Hanoi in 1968 and released in 1973, so the relic is closely related to his family’s life.
He remembered his first visit to Hanoi in 2014. He learnt more about the land of beautiful landscapes and warm hearts and hospitality of the Vietnamese people.
He said Hanoi is the city for peace. Hanoians as well as Vietnamese always fight for peace. They, Americans, are always treated with the word “peace” by the Vietnamese people, from his father’s time to his generation. This has truly proven the fact that Hanoi is the city for peace.
Reported by Khanh Huyen
Translated by Minh Anh