Seven days of happiness and half a century of honoring her martyred husband.

A time of "life and death"

As the autumn breeze arrived in the countryside, in a small house at the beginning of Hamlet 2, Hung Dao Commune (Hung Nguyen District), Mrs. Ton Thi Phuoc Vien (born in 1945) sat quietly, her eyes fixed on the village fields being prepared for plowing. There, egrets stood along the edges of the fields, their necks retracted and their legs hunched because of the cold wind.

Further on was the main road, the road connected to her childhood and almost her entire life; it was as dear to her as her own flesh and blood. Because that was where the village girl and the village boy used to meet and walk hand in hand; it was also where she...youth volunteers(Youth Volunteers) years ago bid farewell to their newlywed husband as he returned to the battlefield. All of that has faded into the distant past, yet it remains ever-present in the mind of this lonely woman, especially on cold afternoons.

Ms. Vien recounted that in 1969, as the war against the US entered its most intense phase, she, then the Youth Union Secretary, enlisted in the Youth Volunteer Force. This young woman from Hung Dao village was assigned to unit C-202 (N241) and ordered to march into the mountainous areas of western Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. The unit's mission was to fill bomb craters for vehicles to pass through, transport ammunition to the battlefield, and carry wounded soldiers to the rear for treatment.

The work was extremely arduous and dangerous, as they constantly had to operate under enemy bombardment; life and death were sometimes separated by just a step, or even a blink of an eye. Deputy Company Commander Ton Thi Phuoc Vien witnessed countless times her comrades falling victim to bomb fragments, artillery shells, or being buried under rocks and debris, their bodies dismembered.

Even now, more than 50 years later, she can never forget the bombing raid that took place in early September 1969. That day, after the bombing had just stopped, her unit received orders to clear the road from their shelter so that a convoy of weapons could reach the battlefield. Suddenly, another group of planes arrived and dropped bombs indiscriminately. The ground shook, smoke and dust filled the air, and the atmosphere seemed pitch black. As the smoke began to clear, struggling to emerge from the buried earth, Ms. Vien saw many of her comrades seriously wounded, and six had already died.

Immediately, the female company deputy commander mobilized the remaining comrades to quickly provide first aid and transport the wounded soldiers to the medical station for timely treatment. Most of the wounded were bleeding profusely, and with no other option, the female Youth Volunteer Ton Thi Phuoc Vien took off her shirt, tore it into pieces, and used it to bandage their wounds.teammate.Determined to save her comrades during that bombing raid, a few days later Ms. Vien was granted special admission to the Party, an event that became a source of pride and honor for the entire unit.

Short-lived happiness

In mid-1971, after more than two years of staying in the Truong Son mountain range, Ton Thi Phuoc Vien received a letter from home informing her that her lover, Phan Van Phuoc, was about to be granted leave and wanted to hold their wedding ceremony on that occasion. Her fiancé was one year older than her, from the same village, and had both participated in the youth movement.

The two were drawn to each other, and love blossomed unexpectedly. Their families and friends encouraged their union, hoping for a happy marriage. The war raged fiercely, and young men from the surrounding villages enlisted. In 1967, Phan Văn Phước, a young man from the village, also enlisted and joined his unit in the Southern battlefield. Two years later, the village girl joined the Youth Volunteer Force to go to the battlefield, firstly as a duty to her country, and secondly, hoping to meet her lover. But the battlefield was too vast, and that hope proved difficult to fulfill.

The wedding was held at the end of that summer, with only green tea and a few sweets, simple but incredibly warm and joyful. The young volunteer stood shyly beside the soldier in his new uniform. The marks of fierce battles and jungle malaria still lingered on their skin and hair. Above all, their sincere love and happiness shone through their faces and eyes.

They were together for exactly seven days before the soldier continued his journey to fight in the South. Seeing her husband off to the battlefield, the next day, the young volunteer Ton Thi Phuoc Vien also packed her bags and set off for Quang Tri, continuing her days facing the smoke, fire, and bombs. A week – such a short time, the couple hadn't had time to fully savor the intoxicating happiness, their love hadn't had a chance to blossom and bear fruit before they had to hastily part ways, promising to return victorious...

At the end of 1972, more than a year after her wedding, Ms. Vien was discharged from the army, returned to her hometown, and was elected Secretary of the Youth Union in her commune. One bitterly cold winter day, the female Youth Union official received news that her husband – Phan Van Phuoc, had been killed in action.sacrificeOn the battlefield in Long An, my heart felt shattered... Hopes, expectations, and yearnings for happiness vanished in an instant, leaving only boundless pain and despair.

As time passed, her heart almost turned to stone, no longer feeling romantic emotions, nor yearning for or thinking about happiness, even though she was 27 years old at the time. For the rest of her life, this woman found joy in social work, starting as a Youth Union official, then becoming the Chairwoman of the Women's Union in the commune, then the Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, and finally retiring.

For a long time, Mrs. Vien lived alone in her small house, a lonely existence. Recently, her nephew and his wife came to live with her, easing her loneliness somewhat. In that house, she reserved the most prominent place for her husband's portrait – the fallen soldier Phan Van Phuoc. "Whenever sadness overwhelms me, I light incense before the altar, praying that he will give me strength to overcome the challenges of life…," Mrs. Vien confided.

Mr. Le Huy Khoa, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Dao commune, said: "Ms. Ton Thi Phuoc Vien is a former volunteer youth who returned to her hometown after being discharged from the army to participate in local leadership work. She is always exemplary, enthusiastically participates in movements, and is loved and respected by everyone."