A royal decree under the Minh Mang dynasty in 1838 recorded that Le Van Uoc, who led the Quang Nam naval defence squad No.10 and who was the most experienced and diligent person, was elected as an acting commander of Quang Nam naval defence squad No. 1.

The above decree is being carefully kept in the worshiping house of the Les in Tam Thanh Commune, Tam Ky City, Quang Nam Province.

According to this decree, Le Van Uoc, a child of the Les in the former Ha Ward, Hoa Thanh Commune, Ha Dong District (now Ha Thanh Village, Tam Thanh Commune) was conferred the title of a commander of the naval defence left squad managing Hoang Sa.

Along with the decree, another royal decree by the Chief of Ha Dong District ratified a certificate assigning commander Le Van Uoc to recruit naval troops and make a number of small flags bearing words of “Ha Dong Tien Giang Doan Dan Dung” from red cloths.

Another old document also preserved in the same house shows that the decree by the Chief of Ha Dong district was on troop recruitment. Normally, this force acted as militia. They practised martial arts in the daytime and maintained patrols at night and would be deployed for emergency tasks.

The newly-found old documents are good evidences proving that fishermen in Quang Nam Province, along with those in Quang Ngai Province, joined Hoang Sa Fleet since a long time ago in order to defend the national sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.

Source: LD

Translated by Mai Huong