On July 1, 1967, during the war of sabotage in the North, the Department of Communications established Information Station A69, belonging to Company 9, Regiment 134 (now Brigade 134, Communications Corps, Ministry of National Defense) to expand the bare wire line deep into the southern provinces of Military Region 4. The station chose Len Ha cave, located in the Truong Son primeval forest, Tuyen Lam border commune, bordering Laos, as its station.
Station officers and soldiers took souvenir photos in 1972. Station A69 had a maximum of 33 people, staffed into squads with three switchboards, power sources, lines and logistics departments.
Duty shift of Station A69 officers. The unit is responsible for relaying information, orders and instructions from the Ministry of Defense from Hanoi to the southern battlefields; At the same time, it relays information to Laos and carries out international missions.
The station also ensures information for a number of combat units in the area such as Group 559, Institute 4 Military Region 4, Cha Lo border gate and the Navy base in Ba Don.
Soldiers at Station A69 preserve and maintain the engine. Stationed in difficult technical facilities, the station is equipped with modern triple loaders such as VBO12 and VBO3.
The VBO12 machine alone has 12 communication lines, the station is equipped with 4 machines, a total of 48 high-frequency communication lines with 96 people able to work at the same time without interference. The switchboard is equipped with 100 numbers.
Knowing the importance of Station A69, the enemy mobilized a large force including commandos, spies, and wiretaps to find the location.
At 1:25 p.m. on July 2, 1972, when the whole station was preparing for afternoon work, an American plane threw smoke cannons into the cafeteria to point the target. After that, F-4 and F-105 planes flew from the sea direction and dropped three series of bombs, hitting the hall and the female soldiers' motel. They then spread cluster bombs, slow-explosive bombs and napalm bombs.
When they heard the plane roaring in the sky, 10 female soldiers in the shack ran to the A-shaped basement under the house to take shelter, but the house caught fire, the soldiers were trapped and died.
When he discovered that the enemy was dropping smoke bombs, Station Chief Dam Van Trinh, 28 years old, from Hung Yen, dragged two technical staff, Tran Van Xay, 26 years old, from Phu Tho and Luong Van Chan, 26 years old, from Cao Bang, to the cave to support the machine, ready to fix the problem with the platoon of three switchboards. Just arriving at the foot of the mountain, three people were hit by a series of napalm bombs and died.
The bomb caused station A69 with about 150 m of radio input wire to burn.
The Len Ha cave area was embellished and partially restored to the old machine station. This is a communication device that served in combat, ensuring information lifeblood.
In the following years, officers and soldiers of Station A69 always completed their tasks, maintained communication, and served fronts and campaigns such as Route 9 - Southern Laos, Plain of Jars in 1971, Quang Tri in 1972.
On April 28, 2009, Station A69 was honored as Hero of the People's Armed Forces. In early May 2009, Len Ha cave was ranked as a national historical relic.
To commemorate the fallen, a memorial house was built at Len Ha cave. The project is being expanded in many areas, welcoming thousands of people to offer incense and commemorate the 13 martyrs.
On major national holidays, War Invalids and Martyrs' Day on July 27, or the day commemorating the 13 officers and soldiers of Station A69 who sacrificed their lives, Len Ha cave national historical site welcomes many tourists, veterans, union members, young people and people to offer incense.
