These are the historical site of the tomb of Dang Van Hoa, and the historical site of the Front-line surgical station. Both of these relics are located in Phong Thai Ward, Hue City.
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| The historical site of the tomb of Dang Van Hoa |
According to the historical records of the Nguyen Dynasty, Dang Van Hoa (1791 - 1856) was the second son of Dang Quang Tuan (the fourth-generation member of the Dang family). His mother was Ms. Phan Thi Han from Thanh Luong Village.
He was one of the first laureates of the royal examinations during the Nguyen Dynasty in the Thua Thien land, a “Nguyen lao tu trieu”, serving as a mandarin for nearly 40 years under four Emperors, namely Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, and Tu Duc. He was known for being a diligent, humble, and honest mandarin. Among the six ministries in the imperial court, he successively served as Ministers of five of them (Defense, Public Works, Justice, Finance, and Rites). He was famous for being a very honest and upright mandarin, who left behind significant contributions to the nation and the people in the fields of politics, agriculture, and culture.
He made significant contributions to the construction of the Vo Cong stele, the casting of the bell for Dieu De Pagoda, and the donation of six large bells, two stone steles, numerous Buddha statues, horizontal lacquered boards, and parallel sentences to various pagodas, including Hoang Giac (Hien Si), Bac Vong Dong, Bac Vong Tay, Thanh Luong, and Hoa Vien, etc. The bells, stone steles, and Buddha statues, which he donated, are still in these pagodas today. Additionally, he was also a poet, leaving behind a collection of Le Trai thi consisting of 75 original poems, and he was the chief editor of major books like “Nam tho anh hoa luc”, “Thieu Tri van quy”, and “Dai nam su le hoi dien”...
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| The historical site of the Front-line surgical station |
The Front-line surgical station is located in the transitional zone between the Northern part of former Quang Dien District and the Southern part of former Phong Dien District. The station's original operating room was an underground tunnel dug to a depth of 1.8 to 2 meters, with a width of 1.5 meters and a length of 8 to 10 meters. The room had two entrances, one in the front and one in the back. Inside, two concrete slabs served as operating tables, and another concrete slab outside was used for first aid before moving the wounded soldiers into the operating room. Additionally, many shelters were dug around tree roots and bushes, where wounded soldiers could rest while waiting to be transported to rear hospitals. The station was established to support the Spring 1975 Campaign on the Northern flank of the Tri Thien - Hue battlefield.
In 2019, the site of the Front-line surgical station was recognized as a provincial-level relic site. Since then, it has been renovated and restored; and several structures have been built, including an entrance gate, a reception and artifact exhibition hall, the surgical tunnel, a stele house, a mass grave area, paths, trees, and other technical infrastructure works.
By N. MINH