History
Street Cred : Ut Tich , Vietnam ' s ' Mother With a Gun '
Written by Van-Quang Tuong . Illustration by Anh H .
A woman with an indomitable spirit for combatting oppression , Ut Tich ’ s tenacity lives on in the minds of Vietnamese as “ the mother with a gun ”.
Born Nguyen Thi Ut on April 19 , 1931 in today ’ s Tra Vinh province , Ut Tich was the youngest of Nguyen Van Xuong and Le Thi Muoi ' s three daughters . Born into poverty , Ut Tich and her family were helpers for their landlord , Ham Gioi , and his family . Her friends and family started calling her “ Ut Tich ” only after 1950 , when she married Lam Van Tich , a local Viet Minh soldier .
People knew Ut Tich as a fearless girl from her childhood , when she was daring enough to disobey the landlord ’ s family . When she turned 13 her father passed away , and in the same year , local Viet Minh forces emancipated her from the landlord ’ s iron fist . Ut Tich then joined the Viet Minh and became a point of contact for military officials in charge of providing intelligence on the French army in the area . Her contributions led to their success in the Cau Ke Campaign in 1949 .
After the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954 , Ut Tich and her husband remained in South Vietnam . A year earlier , the couple had had a daughter during their time in the south , however the involvement of the United States in the region and the establishment of the Ngo Dinh Diem government led to their return to the battlefield .
Ut Tich ’ s tenacity and intellect continued to win recognition from the National Liberation Front . However , even during the country ’ s struggle for reunification , Ut Tich still fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother until one day in 1968 , when she was killed in a bombardment by American troops . She had given birth to her eighth child just two weeks earlier .
To this day , many are still concerned about the fate of her eight sons and daughters . Ut Tich ’ s children didn ’ t know much about their mother ' s story , according to Tuoi Tre , until after 1975 when they read Nguyen Thi ’ s short novel based on her life , Người Mẹ Cầm Súng ( Mother With A Gun ).
In today ’ s Saigon , Ut Tich Street connects the the Nhieu Loc Canal with Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District .
The MAG Vung Tau 7