Journalist Le Ba Duong: A traveler on the train station platform

(Baonghean) - Countless articles have been written about him - this brave, upright, intelligent, and loving son of Nghe An. People have used many flattering terms to describe this journalist and photographer: The man who releases flowers on the Thach Han River, The man who repays his past debts, The man who lives for his comrades, The man who carries a blood oath, The "one-poem" poet, The renowned veteran... But each of these titles only captures "a small part" of Le Ba Duong's character.

I also struggled to be able to read him, to write about the Le Ba Duong I knew, but it was very difficult. And I chose to paint him with the simplest brushstrokes, as I saw him at the train station – one sunny afternoon, before the train carrying him from Vinh to Nha Trang. At that time, before me was an older brother, a friend, a colleague, slowly and calmly telling me stories about his life. Beside him was a bundle of plants, soft green leaves reaching out from under an old newspaper. He said to me: "These are the leaves from our hometown, I want to bring them to plant in Khanh Hoa. My family there only uses plants from Nghe An."

Journalist Le Ba Duong (right) presents a photograph of President Ho Chi Minh with a blood-written inscription to the Vietnam Historical Museum.

With just that simple statement, I found this renowned veteran so relatable. After so many years away from home, enduring countless hardships, facing death hundreds of times during the war, and accomplishing so many heroic deeds, he was, at the train station this afternoon, just a humble son of Nghe An province, still deeply attached to his homeland.

“I miss my homeland, because throughout my life I've carried the feeling of being far away. I yearn to return, only to have to leave again, to say goodbye. Looking back, how many farewells have there been in my life?” He said thoughtfully, his eyes reflecting on more than 50 years ago. Back then, young Le Ba Duong was brought to Hanoi by his father – People's Artist Le Ba Tung (one of the first artists in Nghe An to receive this title) – when he was very young (People's Artist Le Ba Tung worked at the Department of Performing Arts at that time). He missed his mother and his hometown, but in Le Ba Duong's imagination, his mother's image was unclear; he only knew she looked exactly like his aunt (who also lived in Hanoi at that time), and he couldn't even remember his mother's name. Yet, that 7-year-old boy decided to sneak onto a train alone, to find his way back to his hometown in Thai Hoa, Nghe An.

The train only went as far as Thanh Hoa station. Le Ba Duong got off and took a truck to Thai Hoa. The driver asked him where he was going, and he said he was going to Phu Quy market. He asked his mother's name, but couldn't remember, and asked where they lived, but didn't know either. He only knew his mother sold goods at the market. The kind driver not only treated the boy to a meal along the way, but also took him to Phu Quy market so he could find his mother. There she was, a woman who looked very much like his aunt. It must be his mother. Le Ba Duong rushed towards her: "Mother!" At that moment, the woman turned around in surprise: "Who are you? Why are you calling me mother?" "It's me, Mother, Tu Duong. I ran away from Father and took a truck from Hanoi." That's right, it's Tu Duong! How could he be so audacious? The mother hugged her son, unable to believe that her son, who had been away for so many years, so small, could have done something so outrageous. Outside of Hanoi, the news of his son's disappearance was published in the newspaper by Mr. Le Ba Tung. Later, he learned that his son had run away and returned home...

Journalist Le Ba Duong on a ship en route to Truong Sa Island.

Le Ba Duong's fierce and daring nature may have shaped his character from a young age. Few know that a "hidden corner" in his soul was the haunting fear of poverty. But perhaps that also helped him forge his will, fostered empathy and compassion for others and for life, and taught him to love and appreciate. Le Ba Duong recounts that at 13, he was already skilled at clearing land, building shelters, and sleeping alone in the forest. His days were always packed: early mornings to school, midday to chop firewood in the mountains, afternoons digging for worms and insects, and late nights setting eel traps or nets so his sister could sell her catch early at market. Then, during the season, he would take on duck herding and peanut shelling jobs. Sometimes he would walk up to the forest (20 kilometers from home) to cut bamboo, and at night he would tie himself to a makeshift bed between tree trunks to sleep. Once he had enough bamboo, he would make a raft and return home. In his heart, he thought: "I will do my best to help my mother, my sister, and my younger siblings ease their burdens..." With his father far away, Le Ba Duong was practically the pillar of the family. Later, after joining the army, Le Ba Duong maintained his habit of saving and frugality. He would collect old clothes, cut them up, sew them together, and send them home to his siblings.

At the age of 15, while still in the middle of 7th grade, Le Ba Duong volunteered to join the army. He volunteered, but he had to lie about his age. That was in 1968 – the war was raging fiercely. He said, "I had to go to the front lines, partly because of the fervent atmosphere of those days, and partly because of the heroism and curiosity of youth." Shortly after enlisting, at the age of 15, Le Ba Duong became a hero in the battle against the Americans at the Dong Ha front (Quang Tri). In another decisive battle, Le Ba Duong wrote in blood, dripping from his wound, on a photograph of President Ho Chi Minh that he carried with him before going into battle: “President Ho Chi Minh, starting today, June 20th, I and my comrades will open fire and begin to eliminate the enemy defending the outpost to the very end. Quan killed 7 enemy soldiers, Hoe and Duong killed more than a dozen. We will remember your teachings: as long as there are invaders on our land, we will continue to fight to wipe them out. President Ho Chi Minh, our responsibility and determination is to defend the outpost.” Later, he donated the photograph of President Ho Chi Minh and that blood-written letter to the Vietnam Military History Museum.

Journalist Le Ba Duong and his colleagues release flowers on the Thach Han River.

Stories of bravery in battle, stories of him being a hero, stories published in newspapers like Tien Phong, Quan Doi Nhan Dan, and Nhan Dan in the 1970s… have been written and told by many. But Le Ba Duong told me, when I wanted to ask more about his heroic deeds: “Certainly, if given the choice, none of us would choose war. Just like the Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, no one wants their children to die on the battlefield to be awarded the title of hero. But here, the issue is that war chooses us, not that we choose war. We have to accept that choice.” In 1972, while walking past a school in Hai Lang, Quang Tri, Le Ba Duong suddenly remembered a childhood dream: holding chalk and standing on the podium. As if unconscious, he walked absentmindedly to the podium, picked up the chalk, and wrote: Number of students: 127, Present: 87, Absent: 40, Reason: Died on the way to school. He said: It hurts so much!

Emerging from the war, Le Ba Duong understood so much about death, the meaning of life, love, and loyalty. He said that he was given life by his comrades, and he had to live with all his gratitude. His own hands had embraced the bloody remains of his comrades, his own hands had buried their flesh and bones in the earth. Therefore, after the war ended, just a few days later he packed his bags and set off for Quang Tri – the battlefield of his time and that of his many comrades. He visited the cemeteries, lying alongside his comrades, as if to give them a little warmth, and also to warm his own heart. The first flower raft he released into the Thach Han River was just wildflowers, which later became a custom among the people of Quang Tri and the families of fallen soldiers on holidays, Tet (Lunar New Year), or July 27th. A gesture that became a festival of gratitude. He also organized pilgrimages, "sleeping in the forest with comrades," and "bringing the country and homeland to our comrades," with the belief that many soldiers remained in the war zone, their remains never found, and they could not be brought back home. If we cannot bring our comrades home, then we must bring our homeland to them, through every jar of river water from our hometown, every handful of soil from our homeland...

It was from here that the verses inscribed on the stone tablets erected by the Thach Han River were born: "Oh, boat going up the Thach Han River… row gently/ My friend still lies at the bottom of the river/ His twenty years of age turned into waves/ Gently lapping the shore, forever and ever."

Calling himself "camp journalists, tent poets," Lê Bá Dương's verses live on in the hearts of his readers and comrades. His poems never stray from the most genuine emotions about his fellow soldiers, with memories that he could never forget throughout his life. It's the story of a father and son meeting on a march, finally recognizing each other after much questioning, "You're my son," only to part ways never to return. It's also the story of him, hiding his own injury from a friend, giving him a piece of bandage after a bomb ripped through his chest… and then receiving a dying wish: "Since I'm going to die anyway, Dương, keep it to bandage me…"

And it's not just poetry; Le Ba Duong is also a photographer, with a photo exhibition held after his trip to Truong Sa. His photographs are always connected to soldiers, to their noble and sacred sacrifices…

Originally from Nghe An (father from Vinh, mother from Dien Chau), Le Ba Duong lives in Nha Trang, but he is an honorary citizen of Quang Tri because of what he has lived and done for this land.

With a wave and a gentle smile, he bid farewell to Le Ba Duong, carrying his luggage towards the train carriages. His life remained a pilgrimage. He was forever a traveler on train platforms. He left as if indebted. And he returned as if indebted. Because the heart of that brave and reckless boy, from those days, was always overflowing with love…

Thuy Vinh