I asked for directions and found Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan's house. As soon as I met her, I felt very familiar, even though I had never been to Duc Vinh hamlet, commune.Hung Loc (Vinh City), and he had never met a journalist. After chatting, it turned out that he was the daughter of Heroic Vietnamese Mother Nguyen Thi Hai, the eldest sister of seriously wounded soldier Nguyen Minh Duc, currently the Chairman of the Provincial Blind Association.
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Mrs. Loan and her husband when they were young. |
At only 16 years old, little Loan left her mother and volunteered to join the Youth Volunteer Force 8 and 9, stationed in Ninh Binh. From Ninh Binh, the unit continued marching to the South. Kilometer 34, Road 12, near Cha Lo border gate in Quang Binh province, was where Loan and her comrades fought, participated in cultural and artistic performances to encourage the soldiers and her comrades in the information and engineering units... The deeper they marched, the more she missed her mother. At the same time, she heard that her younger siblings had also volunteered to join the army. Knowing that her mother was always worried and watched her every step, but there was no way to contact her. Feeling sorry for her mother who worked hard day and night in the fields and gardens, and also longing for her children, she told herself to fight even harder for the country to be at peace and to return to her mother soon. In the spring of 1968, which was also the first Tet on the Quang Binh frontline, she wrote a poem letter "Spring from Truong Son to Mother". The poem has the lines: "This year I cannot go home for Tet. I send you a few affectionate and heartfelt words. In the new year, I wish the whole family to be active. Together with the people, achieve many achievements. Produce a lot of food to feed the army... I am far from home, sacrificing myself for the Fatherland. I will be happy when spring is victorious"... The poem was sent. 8 years later, in 1973, because of being seriously injured, she had to be transferred to the rear for treatment. When she met her mother, she did not see her mother mention the poem, she did not ask, she only felt immense happiness when her mother, despite being much older and not in the same health as before, was still there, in the house of 8 sisters, some still alive and some dead...Mother Hai's eldest daughter is now retired and lives with her only daughter's family in Duc Vinh hamlet, Hung Loc commune, Vinh city. Her happiness is that her mother is still healthy and clear-minded. "Spring from Truong Son to Mother" has never been read to her mother until now. That's her personality, she loves a lot, but she is not used to expressing it...
Article and photos: Nguyet Anh
