In the old house, Mr. Dang Duy Huynh in Phuc Son commune (Anh Son) flipped through the pages of the war diary to find his youthful years, where there was nothing but the scene of falling bombs, exploding bullets, the spirit and fighting will of the soldiers, the camaraderie and the sense of home front.
The neatly folded pieces of paper, the neat and straight ballpoint pen handwriting, all encapsulate the thoughts and feelings of the military medic from the Western region of Nghe An. Mr. Huynh shared: “During 12 years of military service, going through fierce battles, facing death many times, I was still determined to keep the diaries, that is the most valuable asset when I return home”.
The diary entries took veteran Dang Duy Huynh (born in 1946) back in time to his third-year student at Hanoi Medical University. At the end of 1970, when the war against the US was extremely fierce, the southern battlefield needed human support, especially medical staff to care for and treat wounded soldiers, Mr. Huynh and 99 of his classmates were mobilized.
The medical student was able to return home to visit and marry a village school teacher, then hurriedly went to the capital to train, waiting for the day to enter the battlefield. In early 1971, Dang Duy Huynh temporarily put down his pen, left the lecture hall and became a military medic.
The luggage they brought to the Southeast battlefield, in addition to uniforms, weapons, medicine and other necessities, also included a notebook of cellophane paper and a few ballpoint pens. Young soldiers leaving university were often very romantic, they had the habit of writing down stories that happened every day and expressing their thoughts and feelings as people in the situation.
Then, when the war was over, there were many diaries of literary value, adding to the historical source, helping the next generation understand more clearly about the soldiers during the war against the US. Among them, we must mention “Dang Thuy Tram’s Diary” and “Forever 20” by Nguyen Van Thac, both authors sacrificed in the war but their names will live forever with their diaries.
Luckier than his fallen comrades, Mr. Dang Duy Huynh was only wounded, returned home to reunite with his family and brought his diaries with him. His diary is divided into 6 volumes, each numbered, recording the war, work, life and thoughts of a medical soldier during the 5 years (1971-1975).
There are many pages recording fierce battlefield scenes, typically:“At 4:30 a.m., B52s hit the parking lot, but the car was only crushed by a tree. While taking a nap, we suddenly jumped out of our hammocks and walked to the entrance of the tunnel when the first series of bombs had already exploded. At 5 p.m., the whole group crossed the Saigon River… It was true that death was right in front of us, several helicopters circled around, the whole group only had one AK, and determined that if it discovered us, we would either be captured alive or shot dead…”
And this is the pain of hearing the news of a comrade's death:“The news that Thich was killed while on duty in Trang Bang (entering the enemy tank position). Just yesterday, I entered the General Staff gate and saw Thich coming out with an AK. We didn’t have time to talk, we just said hello. That’s it! Thich will remain on this land when victory is approaching. Goodbye, Thich!”
And in that diary there is also the endless sadness from the rear when receiving news of a loved one's death:“Received a letter from my wife. I am very sad to hear that you two have passed away. I am so sad that I don’t know who to tell at this time. Dear Uncle! I still made an appointment to come back to see you two, but you are gone, so what can I do? The morning of January 4, 1971, when I said goodbye to you two to go on duty, was the day you and I said goodbye to each other…”
For soldiers who are with guns all year round, the greatest desire is to quickly reach the armistice day so that they can rest and have a carefree, thoughtless sleep. And that day has come, soldier Dang Duy Huynh recorded his feelings on the first day after the Paris Agreement:“January 28, 1973: The day of the armistice has come, after many years of struggle full of hardship, sacrifice, hardship and fierceness. The ceasefire began at 7am today according to the Agreement, but some surrounding areas still have loud artillery sounds. Over the past few days, B52s have been attacking but less frequently. Last night, the enemy still attacked but only a few times. Today, all the hopes and expectations of the nation have come true. The ceasefire atmosphere seems really pleasant. The family is probably preparing to celebrate a New Year without gunfire that has not been possible for many years…”.
Welcoming the Year of the Cat (1975) in the middle of the battlefield, the soldier could not help but feel emotional and moved. On New Year's Eve, the soldier confided his feelings:“30th of Tet (February 10, 1975). 9pm… Time flies, the 5th Tet on the battlefield. Spring is here, why isn’t my soul excited? Is it because I’m celebrating Spring far from my unit? Maybe so!… Right now, my parents must be gathering around the fire, probably missing me a lot. New Year’s Eve is coming. If I miss you this Tet, my parents will have more worries and sadness, and the house will be empty…”
And this is Mr. Huynh's mood during the sacred New Year's Eve:“Spring of the Year of the Cat, New Year's Eve, midnight… New Year's Eve has come to every corner of the country/ Spring has come, oh, life is surging/ Spring of the Year of the Cat takes us to battle/ In this battle, victory will be ours”.
Unlike Ms. Dang Thuy Tram, Mr. Nguyen Van Thac and many other heroes and martyrs, military medic Dang Duy Huynh was present on the day of the Great Spring Victory in 1975, witnessing the moment of victory and the overwhelming happiness.
That moment was recorded by him:“April 30, at 5:30 p.m. What excitement and joy. At 5 p.m., the radio announced that Saigon had been completely liberated. I still thought it would take several weeks to capture Saigon quickly. The atmosphere today was completely different, everyone, both staff and wounded soldiers, were excited, the atmosphere of victory was bustling. The day of the signing of the Paris Agreement was a happy day but there was still an enemy, but the enemy had now surrendered unconditionally. Unfortunately, there was no camera to record everyone's mood at this moment and the atmosphere today. How happy and excited…”.
The diaries were carefully kept by Mr. Dang Duy Huynh in an iron medicine box brought back from the battlefield. And he also kept many souvenirs of his soldier life such as a backpack, a water bottle, a dagger, and a flashlight.
Preserving those memorabilia, the former military medic wanted to forever engrave the vibrant, heroic years of his youth. Every time his children and grandchildren gathered and his comrades visited, he would flip through his diaries and memorabilia, each page of the diary and each memorabilia was a story…
