Truong Bon Storytellers

“Bridge” between past and present

These days, people from all over the world come back to Truong Bon, to recall the events of October 31, 1968, when the fierce bombings of the American invaders buried 13 young volunteers forever in the heart of Truong Bon motherland. Among that bustling crowd, a Thai ethnic girl, Vi Thi Hoa, also traveled a distance of more than 150 km from Ta Soi village, Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district to the sacred land.

In the spreading incense smoke, the narrator's warm, soulful voice deeply touched the emotions of the little girl Hoa. Listening to the story, she understood more about historical facts, and the dates and numbers that seemed dry in books became vivid and extremely real. She understood that, during those days when American bombs were trampling over their homeland, thousands of young men and women of the Youth Volunteer Force here had forged their iron will and determination.

“Live by clinging to the bridge and the road, die bravely and steadfastly” is the slogan, and also a way of life. The heroic sacrifice of the “Steel Squad”, falling at the most beautiful age of their lives, when Ms. Hoai was just 17, Ms. Tam was at most 22 years old... More painfully, there were 5 women who “tomorrow” would be able to go to vocational schools, their admission notices were still wrapped in handkerchiefs; there were also people who were just a little bit closer to their weddings.

More than anywhere, more than anything, right here, in Truong Bon, in the storytelling voices of the narrators, little Vi Thi Hoa deeply understood that the young volunteers lived and fought for the common ideal of the whole nation, devoted their youth to the Fatherland and contributed their efforts to write a legend of Truong Bon in the 20th century.

At Truong Bon, Vi Thi Hoa and her friends also participated in a meaningful question and answer program. The tour guide will ask questions for young people to express their understanding, love, and gratitude for the sacrifice of 13 heroes and martyrs at the Truong Bon fire coordinates. In the eyes of tourists like Vi Thi Hoa, the tour guide appears beautiful, with warm and emotional voices. They are the "bridge" between the past and the present, between Truong Bon and all directions.

The female narrator that Vi Thi Hoa and her friends love is Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung (born in 1990), a native of Thanh Chuong.

She said that her 10 years working as a narrator in Truong Bon came from a special opportunity, because from a clerical staff, she hesitated a lot when deciding to apply for a position unrelated to her major. But then, with a great love for the historical site that has been associated with the consciousness of Nghe people, and also a desire to try her hand at the job she loves, Ms. Nhung diligently practiced her voice and accumulated knowledge. And then, happiness exploded when she convincingly surpassed dozens of other candidates to be selected.

However, behind that honor is an extremely great responsibility. Because every year, the relic site welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, most of whom are veterans, former youth volunteers, heroic Vietnamese mothers... They are living witnesses, people who have gone through a time of war, coming here to review a time of red flowers that has passed. Standing before them to talk about historical stories is indeed a great pressure.

During peak times, due to the large number of customers, Ms. Nhung and her colleagues have to work continuously in hot outdoor weather conditions. Many times, as soon as the bowl of rice is served, a group of guests arrives and must be put down in order to promptly welcome them. Even when their throats are hoarse and it is difficult to speak, the sisters still try to support each other to complete the assigned tasks.

After many efforts, in 10 years of working in the profession, Ms. Nhung always receives the love and appreciation from everyone when coming here. Every emotion of the visitors, every gesture of gratitude towards the heroes and martyrs after listening to the stories is the motivation for them to continue with their noble mission.

The fire of the profession burns forever

Among the tour guides in Truong Bon, there are people who are very young, but have a strong passion for the profession, such as tour guide Pham Thanh Hao. The day I went to Truong Bon, joining a group of tourists from Quang Ninh province, I witnessed a veteran silently wiping away emotional tears while listening to Ms. Hao's story. Her deep, powerful voice, with genuine emotional vibrations, conveyed the story of this fiery coordinate, touching the hearts of tourists.

Taking advantage of the break time, Hao has time to talk about her job. According to her, visitors are diverse in class and age, so it requires tour guides to always innovate, to find their own way of presenting, to filter knowledge data suitable for each audience. There are easily hundreds of presentations, still the same story, but the emotions when telling each time are different. That difference comes from true emotions, love and gratitude. Tour guides must make sure that through each story, each visitor can understand the heroic historical atmosphere of the previous generation, only then can they inspire the tragic beauty, pride, and arouse the motivation and responsibility of today's generation.

Narrator Pham Thanh Hao also shared that there is something special: the 3 female narrators at Truong Bon all have husbands working in the police and military, so they often go on business trips far away. Therefore, all the worries about children, family, and work fall on their small shoulders. Many times, her 5-year-old child often asks her mother: "When will you be home with me on Saturday and Sunday?". At times like that, Ms. Hao only knows how to teach her children to be independent, share the work and sympathize with their mother more. She also often takes her children to visit Truong Bon, witnessing the crowds of people coming here to pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs, thereby lighting up in the children's hearts pride in the work that their mother is doing.

Along with Hao, the young tour guide Nguyen Ha Thu (born in 1995) is also a girl who has left many good impressions on tourists when they come to Truong Bon. Thu was admitted to the Party in 2017, when she was still a student at Vinh University. That was an important milestone to light up Thu's love for the current job she chose.

Every day, Nguyen Ha Thu has to travel more than 30 km from Hung Trung (Hung Nguyen) to Truong Bon, but all fatigue is dispelled when she puts on the familiar blue outfit that has been with her for many years. With her captivating, emotional voice, thoughtfulness and meticulousness in every smallest task, Thu has brought beautiful impressions and stories to the people's journey of gratitude when returning to Truong Bon.

It can be said that each tour guide has his own life story, specific hardships and difficulties, but they share the same efforts, passion and love for the job. They all feel very lucky to contribute to spreading the value of Truong Bon National Historical Site to friends, domestic and international tourists.

"In the first 9 months of 2023, the relic welcomed 260,000 visitors; in 2022, it was 200,000 visitors. With such a large number of visitors, there are only 3 tour guides. Meanwhile, the requirements for the tour guide team are higher and more stringent than many other professions. Each tour guide must first of all be a professional with solid, in-depth knowledge of culture and history. At the same time, they must have communication skills, flexible behavior, an expressive and attractive voice; good health, patience, and a love for the job."

Mr. Phan Trong Loc - Director of Truong Bon National Historical Site Management Board