A day to live is a day to wait

"Almost 50 years. That year we were 20 years old, and now I am 71. Every day alive is a day of waiting...".

Mr. Bui Hong Ha shed tears when mentioning his 20-year-old comrades who are still lying somewhere at Tan Son Nhat airport. Photo: Tu Trung

Reading newspapers and closely following online news updates from the scene of the search for mass graves at Tan Son Nhat airport and Bien Hoa airport, Mr. Bui Hong Ha - former soldier of Battalion 16 - pointed to the photos of a sandal, a piece of a floppy hat, a pen and cried: "These are my friends, my comrades...".

Then he said: “On the day of the attack on Tan Son Nhat airport, only our 16th battalion wore full liberation army uniforms, with floppy hats, rubber sandals, backpacks and some soldier's equipment. The local units wore civilian clothes...

And many of them have not returned, they are still there, the brothers of the 16th, 267th, 269th battalions, the girls of the special forces, reconnaissance commandos who were on the mission of guiding, and the porters who helped us carry ammunition...

They have all been waiting there for so long, the families of the brothers in the South and the North have also been waiting tiredly.

Twenty years ago, a South Vietnamese firefighter showed us how to find a mass grave and collect the remains of 181 brothers.

Every year on New Year's Day, July 27, I and some of my old unit brothers go to the memorial in Tan Binh, then to the cemetery in Thu Duc to burn incense, offer each other a meal, and silently pray "Rest in peace!"...

Both happy and sad. Happy because there is a place to burn incense for our comrades to warm their souls. Sad because we know there are still many brothers who have not been found, still lying somewhere around here, waiting for us, waiting for us.

I myself also realized that I had not fulfilled my duty to my comrades, even the names on the graves were still not correct. But the fallen were always tolerant of us. We met each other on the mission, but before we could know each other’s names, the bombs and bullets had already arrived!

So when I heard about this second search, I was so happy, I called my brothers, everyone was laughing and crying at the same time. I hope this time we will find all of our teammates. I hope this time no one will be left behind.

I hope you, our future generation comrades, will try to bring them to a cozy cemetery, so that comrades and families have a place to visit, a place to hold on to and feel at ease.

Almost 50 years. We were 20 years old then, and now I am 71. Every day I live is a day of waiting...”.

According to Tuoi Tre