Memories of the land of Nghe Tinh: "Those years of suffering and heroism"

Poet Tran Kim Anh, originally from Ha Tinh province, currently lives in Hanoi. She spent many years in Vinh town during the war. She worked as a teacher, but later pursued a literary career with passion and dedication, winning numerous awards… We had a conversation with her about her memories of her hometown.

ButDear poet Tran Kim Anh, as a native of Duc Tho (Ha Tinh province), having grown up during the war against American imperialism, I understand that you have many memories of Vinh town during those years of bombing and shelling. These memories are an indelible part of your mind and a source of inspiration for your creative works. Could you reminisce about those years?

- On August 5, 1964, my father took me to Vinh town for the first time. I was just 9 years old at the time. Vinh town was engulfed in flames, and I witnessed the devastation, desolation, and death. It was terrifying. Everyone at my father's workplace received orders to evacuate because that afternoon, American planes bombed the Ben Thuy oil depot. The entire depot was engulfed in flames, and the scene was horrific; many people were burned to death, mostly depot workers. Witnessing that scene, I was very scared. As a child, I panicked because everywhere I saw devastation, people running frantically, evacuating, and seeking safe shelter. Children and the elderly were mostly not in such dangerous places. I heard from my father's colleagues that the people were evacuating to neighboring districts. It was a week later before I returned to Ha Tinh. I kept going back and forth with my father between Vinh town and Duc Tho, having to cross the Ben Thuy ferry, which was also a stronghold that the American enemy constantly bombed intensely.

Speaking of the Ben Thuy ferry, it was also the site of fierce bombing raids by the American imperialists, aiming to cut off the vital transportation artery between the two banks of the Lam River. Despite the devastation and the horrific bombardment, the Ben Thuy ferry continued its tireless work day and night, transporting people and goods, regardless of the bombing and shelling. The Ben Thuy ferry never lost its connection; it remained operational thanks to the soldiers, transportation officials, and self-defense forces who were on duty day and night, performing their crucial duties amidst ever-present danger. That's what I witnessed firsthand. Even now, whenever I recall that moment, I am filled with gratitude for them – those soldiers and workers – who selflessly risked their lives, standing in the rain of bombs and bullets to protect the ferry, transporting goods and weapons to the South day and night, contributing to the fight against the Americans and saving the country.

ButBut during those days, besides the fear of devastation and death, what did young Kim Anh think about the war? What war memories, whether she participated in or witnessed them, would later leave their mark on her writings?

- I remember the first time I followed the young volunteers to Dong Loc Crossroads. I was in 7th grade at the time, and I wanted to join the volunteer youth team, but I was the only child in my family, and my parents were government officials, so I couldn't go. I secretly followed them to that war zone, wanting to see their daily work. It was truly dangerous and incredibly fierce. At seventeen or eighteen, all rural girls, still unfinished in school, I don't understand how they were so incredibly brave, fearless. Dismantling bombs and mines, filling bomb craters, leveling roads, and acting as human markers in the dark of night for vehicles to pass... these were their daily tasks. I was with a team of about seven or eight girls around the same age, about seventeen or eighteen. They were very cheerful, singing all day long, working tirelessly without ever complaining. Dong Loc Crossroads was an extremely fierce battleground, with countless soldiers, drivers, and volunteer youth sacrificing their lives. I witnessed convoys of vehicles passing by; the soldiers from the North, so young, waved and laughed with the volunteer youth, only for their vehicles to be hit by bombs less than a kilometer away, and they perished before they could even reach the battlefield.

Many of my friends volunteered to join the army. The boys in my class, and others from different classes, volunteered to go to the battlefield with great determination and enthusiasm. My friends said that they couldn't rest easy studying at home when the battlefield was calling. They had to go for the national cause; if they survived, they could return to study later. The youth at that time were so ready, generous, and patriotic. I remember vividly one of my friends, Phan Đình Linh, before going to the battlefield, he said, "First, a green field; second, a red chest. I'm going to fight, then I'll come back and continue my studies. You guys stay home, study hard, and be a strong support for us. We will definitely return." But he fought for two years before we received news that he had died in the Southeast battlefield. So many of my classmates died; it was heartbreaking! They left at the tender age of twenty, before they knew love, before they had finished their studies... everything was waiting for them. But, war is war, and very few returned unharmed. Many of my friends from my generation perished on the battlefield.

- And how did she incorporate those years, those emotions, into her epic poem "Singing with the Border"?

But“And war/ war from the North and West for generations/ our ancestors took up arms but never brought peace to the nation/ when did war begin? Oh, age!/ war divided the Ben Hai River/ war spread throughout the country, Ben Thuy River wracked the sky of Central Vietnam/ wracked the sky with sorrowful smoke/ sorrow for factories, roads, schools, turned into bomb craters, heartbreaking and tragic/ a little child clinging to her mother's body/ a child turned to ashes, staining the pages of a school notebook.”These are verses I wrote in the midst of profound pain, recalling the images of my loved ones—my father, my husband's brother—who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. All of this is gathered into the emotional flow of this epic poem of thousands of lines; I remember it all, without missing a single detail. I want to recreate those years of hardship, loss, and sacrifice, yet also of unwavering resilience and indomitable spirit. Our people, our compatriots in general, and those of Nghe An and Ha Tinh in particular, suffered countless wounds but were incredibly brave and steadfast, never submitting to the enemy. I want to express in my work my gratitude and to remember the immense contributions of the people on both sides of the Lam River in our nation's great war of national liberation.

- To be honest, I was deeply moved by these verses about soldiers: “You must go, the battlefield takes you to the front, you become an artillery soldier guarding the sky/ guarding the banks of Tam Soa, Dong Loc Crossroads/ the Lam River at night, your comrades go to battle, twenty years old/ guarding while the girls bathe, the fragrant forest in the evening after the artillery shift/ they are swans flapping their wings in your heart, endlessly beyond words...”. I want to know the poet's feelings when writing about them?

- Just like writing about the people, the compatriots, and the soldiers on the front lines—those are the people I respect and am grateful to. I have relatives who were soldiers on the front lines, my father, my husband's brother, my classmates... they went to fight for the independence of the Fatherland, and they sacrificed themselves heroically. Therefore, when I put pen to paper to write this epic poem, the question always echoed in my mind: Have I lived up to the sacrifices of my loved ones? To be honest, every year on April 30th, I am deeply moved. I buy offerings and light incense for my deceased relatives, I remember their contributions and promise myself that I must live in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice. In the epic poem "Singing with the Border," I have encapsulated that spirit, and I think that I wrote it so that my children and grandchildren can read it and imagine the arduous yet steadfast years of my homeland, Nghe Tinh. Writing about what I am concerned about is a source of happiness. And for me, those were months of both suffering and heroism, days I will never forget...

- We sincerely thank poet Tran Kim Anh for her sharing!