Hien Luong Bridge
In July 1954, following the signing of the Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel, with the Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River marking a temporary boundary. The North was liberated and entered a period of socialist construction, while in the South, the people continued their struggle for national reunification under the leadership of the Central Party and President Ho Chi Minh. In accordance with the Geneva Accords, thousands of cadres and soldiers from the South relocated to the North.
However, under American support, Ngo Dinh Diem’s government refused to hold national elections and, in 1956, declared the “closure of the boundary,” betraying the Geneva Accords and turning the 17th parallel into a “national border.”
In 1965, the United States escalated the conflict, launching an air and naval war in the North, prompting a new phase of defense in the Northern region. The North’s Hien Luong Flagpole became a primary target for bombing raids, and on August 2, 1967, the bridge and flagpole were heavily bombarded. That night, special forces from Team 126A and militia from the North’s boundary area used explosives to bring down the Southern flagpole, ending the presence of the Republic of Vietnam’s flag at the border.