Heartwarming poems for soldiers.

(Baonghean) - The political commissar of my regiment, though an old man, is quite cheerful. I heard that he was a district committee member from a district in the North Central region - a place known for its melodious and soul-stirring traditional opera - and was transferred to the military.

He was witty and humorous, fond of the arts and had a talent for poetry. Listening to his poems was like getting a burst of energy from a packet of 702 energy drink; everyone was laughing heartily.

During campaign seasons, any unit that received the command of Political Commissar Trang was fortunate enough to be treated to a performance, much like watching a cultural show. Along the march, his stories about "my hometown" and his impromptu poems warmed the hearts of the officers and soldiers.

That day, the unit was on duty on Route 20 Quyet Thang. The key areas of Xeng Fan, Cong Troi, and Xom Beng were extremely fierce. Every driver on the Truong Son route had to hold their breath, preparing their vehicles and machinery thoroughly to overcome the challenging terrain. "Uncle" Trang immediately composed two encouraging verses for the soldiers, which resonated with them and brought joy:

Old driver, flip-flops, curved glasses.

Passing through Béng village, one can see both inside and outside the house.

Driving the Soviet-made Zin 130 trucks of that era, the experienced drivers were the main drivers, while the co-drivers were young, inexperienced soldiers new to the battlefield whose job was to sit in the passenger seat and listen for the alarm signals from the engineering corps and Youth Volunteers. They would stick their heads out the window to easily "catch" signals or the sound of enemy aircraft.

He was also witty, teasing his soldiers with poetry. To portray the character of the Trường Sơn truck drivers, because "Even a lump of earth placed in the driver's cabin has personality," he subtly criticized the old drivers who had fought through countless hardships but were hot-tempered:

Hero meets hero again.

Meeting each other inevitably leads to anger and a fight.

In those days, most roads in the Truong Son Mountains were one-way. Therefore, lane allocation and traffic control at engineering checkpoints had to be coordinated smoothly to avoid convoys of transport vehicles colliding without a way to reverse, which was extremely troublesome. The political commissar's two lines of lục bát poetry perfectly captured the drivers' feelings, so everyone was happy and excited, eagerly writing them down in their notebooks.

Our 13th Regiment was a mechanized, strategic mobile regiment of the 559th Group. It was known to the Trường Sơn troops by the codename "Steel Regiment." Every rainy season, the unit would be ordered to march north for rest and prepare vehicles and supplies for rejoining the front lines in the dry season. Having come from the fierce battlefield to the socialist North, everyone wanted to visit home; many comrades who hadn't been able to return developed a sense of longing. Sensing this, "Uncle" Trang spontaneously composed a few lines of poetry during a political training class:

The 13th Regiment is the Steel Regiment.

The Aluminum Regiment doesn't allow leave.

He was sent back to the Steel Regiment for a few days.

The entire unit memorized those subtle critical verses by the political commissar, and continued to recount anecdotes about Political Commissar Trang on the strategic transport front...

Even now, on the regimental reunion day, we still vividly remember the image of "Father" Trang, the old political commissar, with:

Walking with canes alongside the transport vehicle.

Season follows season throughout the Truong Son mountain range.

Nguyen Viet Loi