At 94 years old, Mrs. Tran Thi Ut still vividly remembers the night her husband, martyr Nam Moc, and his Saigon special forces comrades left the Quoc Anh tailor shop to participate in the 1968 Tet Offensive.
In the late afternoon sun on Nguyen Xi Street (Gia Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) in early August 2026, we visited Mrs. Tran Thi Ut, the wife of martyr Tran Phu Cuong (alias Nam Moc), a Saigon special forces soldier who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 1978.
At 94, Mrs. Ut's health has declined significantly. As her son, Dung, shared, due to her advanced age and numerous ailments, she relies on medication daily. Yet, upon seeing visitors, she greeted them warmly, her voice slow but clear, her memory sharp.
Mrs. Ut at 94 years old
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
Supported by a four-legged chair, Mrs. Ut slowly lifted her trembling feet and walked to the living room. Upon learning we were reporters from Bao Thanh Nien, her eyes lit up. She mentioned reading the print newspaper daily, particularly following news about the collection of martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park. From this topic, memories of her husband, who died during the 1968 Tet Offensive, quietly returned...
Mrs. Ut reads Bao Thanh Nien and is particularly interested in the search for martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
The Arms Cache Under Quoc Anh Tailor Shop of the Saigon Special Forces
Mrs. Ut recounted that she married Mr. Nam Moc at the age of 23 through a mutual acquaintance. "It felt like fate," she said, and they married and had five children.
At that time, the couple lived at 65 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, about 100 meters from Saigon Radio. She ran the Quoc Anh tailor shop, while her husband worked as a carpenter at a furniture store. Because he was skilled at carpentry, his comrades nicknamed him Nam Moc. Mrs. Ut also adopted this alias, as people often called her "Sister Nam Moc."
"When we lived together, I participated in women's groups and learned a bit. I suspected my husband was involved in the revolution, but I wasn't sure. It wasn't until the 1968 Tet Offensive that I learned my husband was a member of Saigon Special Forces Team 4, tasked with attacking the Radio Station," Mrs. Ut recalled.
Mr. and Mrs. Tran Thi Ut when they were first married
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
Underneath the Quoc Anh tailor shop, Mr. Nam Moc dug a tunnel to store weapons. Whenever weapons were brought in, he would tell his wife to take the children to her parents' home. After she left, his comrades would transport the weapons. Everything was cleverly disguised.
"The tunnel hid several tons of weapons, and for years I didn't know anything. I just went about my tailoring business," Mrs. Ut recalled with emotion.
When asked if she was surprised when she saw her husband digging up the tunnel and bringing out weapons, Mrs. Ut smiled and said: "I felt it was natural, nothing surprising, nothing to be ashamed of. When I knew he was involved in attacks here and there, I felt it was normal and didn't try to dissuade him."
Mrs. Tran Thi Ut recounts memories of her Saigon special forces husband who died in the 1968 Tet Offensive
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
According to the memoir "Saigon Special Forces" by Colonel Nguyen Duc Hung (alias Tu Chu, former Commander of the Saigon Special Forces), the objective of attacking the Radio Station was assigned to Team 4, consisting of 13 members.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tang (alias Tu Tang) was in overall charge of Cluster 345; Mr. Nam Loc was the team leader, Mr. Than and Nam Moc were deputy leaders; Mr. Ba Teo was the political officer.
The combatants included: Hung, Ty, Hai Com, Hong, Chin, Hung, Hiep, Thao (nurse and liaison), and Mrs. Ut (Nam Moc's wife).
The base for accommodation and the weapons cache was the Quoc Anh tailor shop. The tunnel contained 8 AK rifles, 50 grenades, 1 Colt .45 pistol, and 50 kg of explosives. The transport was a light truck capable of carrying 9 people. During the operation, Mr. Nam Moc was designated as deputy leader and also drove the vehicle to the target.
Mrs. Tran Thi Ut received many medals
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
Half an Apple Shared and a Journey of No Return
Mrs. Ut still clearly remembers the moment her husband bid farewell to her and the children. He told her to stay home and raise the children. Then he opened the tunnel, took out weapons, maps, and, with his comrades, attacked the Radio Station on the night of the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive.
I remember he held an apple, ate half, and gave the other half to me. Then he went out the back door, got in the truck with the others to leave. I only wished for the operation's success and didn't try to stop him or dissuade him, because it was his duty, something that had to be done.
Mrs. Tran Thi Ut
The special forces team successfully completed the mission of capturing the Radio Station. All perished except for Mr. Ba Teo and Mr. Tu Tang, who survived and returned.
According to the book "Tet Mau Than 1968 - A Heroic Epic" compiled by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union Tradition Club, after recapturing Saigon Radio, the bodies of the special forces soldiers were gathered onto a truck and driven away. As the truck passed the Quoc Anh tailor shop, Mrs. Ut saw Nam Loc's green uniform, which she had given him that morning, and next to it, her husband's plaid shirt.
Mrs. Ut's legs went numb, and she wanted to cry but dared not: "The bodies were being transported on the street, and onlookers were watching, but as someone involved, I couldn't look. Then his body was taken somewhere... I just knew, but I didn't dare to claim him. If I had claimed him, I would have been arrested immediately, as there were surviving comrades and five young children at home."
The five young children of Mrs. Tran Thi Ut and martyr Tran Phu Cuong
PHOTO: UYEN NHI REPRODUCED
Mrs. Ut choked back tears, the pain tearing at her heart: "During the day, I pretended to be normal, as if nothing had happened, so as not to arouse suspicion. Only at night did I dare to cry."
To protect her children and the safe house, Mrs. Ut asked a liaison named Thao to take the five children to her parents' home. A few days later, feigning pregnancy, she escaped the area under surveillance. She mingled with women giving birth and then went to the Cu Chi battlefield.
The family of Mrs. Tran Thi Ut wishes to conduct DNA testing to confirm the identity of martyr Tran Phu Cuong's remains
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
The Sound of a Mother Selling Jackfruit from the Battlefield
Mrs. Tran Thi Trang Lien (Mrs. Ut's daughter) recalled the days her mother was in the resistance base, occasionally disguising herself as a jackfruit seller to visit her children.
"When I was little, I loved hearing the call 'Who wants jackfruit? Who wants jackfruit?' because I knew I would see my mother soon. My grandmother and mother had a signal. Upstairs were jackfruits and bananas, but below, my mother included toys and dresses," Mrs. Lien said emotionally.
Mrs. Tran Thi Lien said that martyr Tran Phu Cuong's remains were found at Le Thi Rieng Park in 1998
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
In 1998, Mrs. Ut and her children were finally able to bring martyr Tran Phu Cuong home. According to Mrs. Lien, her father's remains were found at Le Thi Rieng Park and were buried at the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs' Cemetery. However, DNA testing was limited at the time, so the family did not proceed with it.
Recently, coinciding with Ho Chi Minh City's launch of a 500-day campaign to accelerate the search, collection, and identification of martyrs' remains, Mrs. Lien's family submitted a request to the Ho Chi Minh City Command, the Gia Dinh Ward Police, and the Gia Dinh Ward Military Command to conduct DNA testing using family samples against the remains buried in the cemetery.
At 94 years old, Mrs. Tran Thi Ut still clearly remembers the night her husband and his Saigon special forces comrades left the Quoc Anh tailor shop for their mission
PHOTO: UYEN NHI
The late afternoon sun cast a shadow over the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, bringing a sense of melancholy to our hearts. More than half a century has passed, yet Mrs. Ut's memories of her Saigon special forces husband remain as vivid as if they happened yesterday: the house with the weapons cache under the cabinet, the half-apple before the mission, the plaid shirt on the truck carrying the bodies of her husband and fallen comrades... and the long nights of swallowing tears back into her heart.
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