I was born in 1931. I am a member of the Tay ethnic group, from Quang Vinh Commune (now Be Van Đan Commune), Cao Bang Province. I grew up in a poor family with a strong revolutionary tradition. My mother passed away early, and my father worked as a miner.
As I grew up, I joined local guerrilla activities. In January 1948, I volunteered to join the army at a time when the Indochina War was becoming increasingly fierce. I took part in many military campaigns.
During the resistance war against the French, when the Viet Minh was facing an intense phase of the struggle, the Indochinese Communist Party decided to launch the Winter–Spring Campaign of 1953–1954. My unit marched into the campaign, and I served as a battalion messenger. One company of the battalion was assigned to surround and hold the French forces at Muong Pon.
At that time, seeing that the Viet Minh forces were few, the French concentrated two companies with artillery support to launch continuous counterattacks. However, both times they were repelled by the Viet Minh. The battle was tense and extremely fierce. The French troops desperately charged forward, while the Viet Minh forces resolutely blocked and held their positions.
An order was given for the company to hold Muong Pon at all costs, so that other units could deploy their forces and carry out the objectives of the campaign. Although I had just returned from a mission, when I heard the commander's announcement, I volunteered immediately. I crossed through dense enemy fire to deliver orders to the company in a timely and accurate manner. As the fighting became increasingly intense, I was ordered to stay with the company and fight.
The French launched a third counterattack, opening their advance. The Viet Minh company suffered heavy casualties, with only seventeen soldiers remaining. I myself was wounded, yet I continued to fight. One light machine gun of the unit could no longer fire because its gunner had been killed. Another light machine gun, operated by Chu Van Pu, also could not be used because there was no place to mount it.
In that extremely urgent moment, I did not hesitate. I ran forward, lifted the two legs of the machine gun onto my shoulders, and shouted for my comrade to fire. When Pu hesitated, I said:
"The enemy is right in front of us. If you care about me, then shoot and destroy them!"
While using my own body as a gun mount, I was struck by two more wounds and sacrificed my life, my hands still gripping the machine gun tightly on my shoulders.