Song 'C major'

Although he enlisted a year after me, Da was probably about the same age or a few years older than me because he looked experienced and mature; he and a new soldier, a bridge engineer, were assigned to the reconnaissance company of our Trieu Hai Regiment right at the time when the enemy's counterattack campaign called "Recapture of Territory" was at its most fierce on the Quang Tri front.

During this period, the enemy mobilized the maximum force of marines and paratroopers supported by air and artillery in an attempt to capture the Citadel. Enemy bombs and artillery rained down on our positions day and night.

Our infantry at the checkpoints were depleted and could not be replenished in time. My reconnaissance team and Da's had to both grasp the enemy situation and fight with the infantry to protect the defensive positions.

The battle to protect Quang Tri Citadel in 1972. Photo archive

I don’t remember how many nights I spent with Da crawling into enemy positions to clear mines for infantry raids; I also don’t remember how many times we endured enemy bombs and artillery fire. It was rare for us to have quiet moments to talk about our personal matters. Then that moment finally came – early that morning, for some reason, the defensive area of ​​the 2nd Infantry Battalion was strangely quiet. The battlefield experience and the soldier’s intuition seemed to have foretold: “Calm waves, calm seas, and clear skies are signs of an approaching storm”! I urged Da to take advantage of the quiet moments to lie down together to regain strength.

The narrow A-shaped bunker was lined with planks as a stall but was flooded because of a heavy rain last night so one of us had to take turns lying down and the other scooping water. Da took the steel helmet and scooped water for me to rest first but I couldn’t close my eyes. “Da, if there was no war, you would be singing right now… you would be a very popular singer with your naturally gifted voice”! I blurted out my feelings to my comrade.

“Yes sir!” - Da replied, stopping to take out a pack of cigarettes. Before he could offer me one, he exclaimed happily like a child: “Oh! A song, bro!”. I jumped up just as Da pulled out from the inside of the Truong Son cigarette pack a small roll of paper the size of a cigarette, but it was a song. Back then on the battlefield, our soldiers often received songs in the cigarette packs sent from the rear.

Liberation Army soldiers fighting at Quang Tri Citadel in the summer of 1972. Photo archive

Da was so happy that he sang loudly for me to hear: “The Road We Walk - music by Huy Du, lyrics by Xuan Sach; this is a song in C major”. Then he raised his voice: “Vietnam on the road we walk, listen to the wind blowing over the green fields of our homeland…”. Da stopped singing and said to me: This song is very good, I will teach you how to sing it: “Xon do re do re mi re mi re do…”. I had just sung the first two sentences of the song with Da when a sudden and intense bombardment by enemy artillery suddenly poured down on the position. “It must be the firepower clearing the way!” - Da said and quickly stuffed the music into his chest pocket, one hand quickly grabbed the AK with the folded stock and looked out the door of the bunker to observe. The ground shook and swayed, the bunker seemed to swing like a hammock because of the continuous artillery fire.

- Prepare to fight - I shouted and signaled to Da to move to the shrimp-beard trench to observe the situation in front of the infantry's defensive front when the enemy artillery was about to change lanes.

- Report that enemy infantry and tanks are attacking from the front! - I had just managed to transmit the reconnaissance information to the infantry commander when the enemy tank artillery opened fire.

- B40, 41 prepare to attack tanks.

Veterans of Trieu Hai Regiment remember their comrades during a visit back to the Quang Tri battlefield. Photo: TCY

The voice of an infantry commander ordering the fire team rang out. Da retreated and quickly led two soldiers carrying B40s to take over the battlefield. “Boom, boom…”! Two consecutive B40 shots from us burned down one of the leading tanks, the enemy infantry lay down in the field in disarray and fired forward. The other two enemy tanks stopped and fired continuously, then continued to advance. “Boom, boom” – the two B40 shots from the fire team this time did not hit the target; the enemy tanks and infantry rushed forward and concentrated on firing in our direction.

A tanker was hit by a bullet and fell down next to the bunker, another gunner was also wounded. There was no other B40 gunner to replace him, the situation was very dangerous. If we did not destroy the enemy tank, the battalion's key position would certainly be broken. Da and I seemed to have guessed the same dangerous situation and acted together as if we had just received an order: "Must destroy the enemy tank"! Da and I simultaneously jumped out of the bunker of the observation post and rushed to the two B40 and 41 gunners who had just been wounded.

- Da pay attention… destroy the one on the right, the one on the left to… - Before I could give the order, I heard Da's gun fire. I also managed to aim and pull the trigger: "Boom, boom". The two tanks in the front direction were burned by us, but at that moment, two enemy M.113 armored vehicles appeared and poked at the two flanks of our defensive position. Standing under the fortification, I couldn't shoot the B40 towards the advancing enemy armored vehicle. In a flash, I saw Da jump out of the fortification and raise his gun in a kneeling position to shoot. "Boom", the banana bullet from Da's B40 covered the enemy armored vehicle in a ring of fire.

“It’s on fire, great job, Da!” I shouted and turned to Da and saw my comrade writhing on the bunker’s wall, his shirt soaked in blood. At that moment, two B40 gunners were mobilized by the battalion to continue the mission of destroying the enemy tanks. I rushed over and hugged Da, helping him crawl down to the engineer to bandage his wound. The sound of infantry gunfire gradually lessened and then stopped completely. I guessed that the enemy’s counterattack had been repelled by our troops, but immediately the enemy’s artillery bombardments poured down on the key position.

Meal to remember comrades during the author's visit to the Quang Tri battlefield with comrades of the Trieu Hai Regiment (2017). Photo: TCY

Da's wound was very serious, the bleeding could not be stopped, a bullet went through his chest. Da was still conscious, he groaned softly and lay motionless because he was exhausted from losing too much blood. I was shocked when I thought about the situation where Da could not survive. "Da, you will be transferred to the rear..." He shook his head slightly and his eyes suddenly opened wide, looking at me as if he wanted to say something. I bent down next to him; Da breathed heavily and seemed to use all his strength to extend one arm towards me. His hand was cold and limp but still had enough strength to pull my hand to his chest. Da's fingers seemed to want to reach into his pocket to get something, he mumbled indistinctly but I understood. I quickly unbuttoned his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper; it was the song "The Road We Walk" - the C major song that he had just sung last night and taught me the first notes of! “Da, let's practice singing this song really well!” I said into Da's ear. He smiled and nodded slightly, signaling me to keep this song.

Da died before the battalion’s ambulance team could transfer him to the rear. The brave scout, the singer, died like a hero… Half a century has passed, the war seems to have receded into the past, but in me, the tragic memories of the battlefield and the tragic memories of my beloved comrade have never faded! Vietnam on the road we are going…”! The song in C major - his heroic voice still resonates and follows me throughout my life!