Tears of peace

(Baonghean) -He was a soldier who died in peacetime. More than 3 months have passed since her son died while fighting a forest fire, and the mother has not yet recovered from her pain and shock. She sits staring blankly at the door, hoping for a miracle, so that her son can put on a backpack, put on a star-studded hat, wipe his sweat and smile at his mother before entering the house...

We visited the hometown of the martyr - Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan Ngai, in hamlet 6, Van Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). The village was peaceful, the road between the rice fields led to a small, simple house nestled in a cool green garden. Ngai's parents welcomed us with the simplicity of the villagers. On their old faces, although they tried to smile, they could not hide the pain they were holding back, sometimes breaking into tears. There, we sat silently listening to the mother and father's story about their gentle, quiet son who was a steadfast soldier, ready to dedicate his life to the country.

Nguyen Tuan Ngai is the third child in a family of six siblings. Mrs. Phan Thi Hoa (68 years old) recalls the day she gave birth to her son - a winter day in 1972. At that time, she was still preparing to go to the fields to plant rice. Life at that time was still poor and difficult. The child was born weak and sick all the time: "The more I think about him, the more I feel sorry for him. When he was young, he almost died twice. Once, when he was one and a half years old, there was no rice left in the house. When I came home from work, I heard people saying that my son had fainted and could not cry. I quickly ran to several houses in the neighborhood, borrowed a handful of rice to chew and then gave it to my son. Another time, when he was in third grade, he came home from school so hungry that he felt dizzy and fell from the ditch into the field. Among my children, he was the weakest," she said, crying as she recounted.

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Duc with the portrait of his son Nguyen Tuan Ngai.
Photo: Xuan Hoang

But despite poverty, that child still grew up, gentle as a piece of earth, hard-working, not afraid of anything. At that time, she was the deputy director of the cooperative, then went to school to become a village teacher. Her husband, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Duc (born in 1948), a demobilized soldier, returned to work as the Party Secretary of Van Thanh commune, then was elected as a delegate to the Provincial People's Council for several consecutive terms. They lived honestly and uprightly. She even told him: "Don't marry anyone for anything, the whole village and the whole country is poor." Perhaps, being born and educated in such a family, Ngai soon learned to love the hard-working villagers, and lived emotionally, enthusiastically helping others. When he grew up a little, Ngai asked his father to let him study carpentry. Skillful, he could make tables, chairs, cabinets, and even learned to make rafters, columns, and battens to build a house.

In 1991, Nguyen Tuan Ngai finished high school and received a notice to join the military. Remembering his father's story about the years 1968 - 1972 fighting in the Binh - Tri - Thien front, the young man did not take the university entrance exam, but joined the army. Mrs. Hoa heard about it and felt sorry for her son. She hurried to the field to harvest some rice. At that time, there was no rice left in her house, only a little bit of cassava, corn... She harvested it, so that her son could have a meal without additives before he left!

After 4 months, Ngãi was able to return home when his unit assigned him to go to Si market (Dien Chau) to buy supplies to repair the barracks. He brought his mother 5 kilos of rice. It was a rainy and flooded day at that time. When he returned home, seeing his mature and strong appearance, his parents felt warm in their hearts. Their son had really grown up. He informed his parents that he had been sent by his unit to study for an officer in Nam Dan. Studying well and receiving good training, Ngãi was sent to attend a Party sympathy class, and 6 months later, he was given leave to return home with his superiors to investigate the background of new party members. He asked his father where he wanted to go after graduation. Mr. Duc told his son: “I am also a soldier. And soldiers go wherever the Fatherland needs them. Just tell the organization, wherever the organization sends them, you go, don't be afraid of anything!”

So then, Nguyen Tuan Ngai followed the organization's assignment to Thua Thien Hue. Here he volunteered to go to Nam Dong district, which at that time had just been separated from Phu Loc district, a wild mountainous area. He volunteered to go to the most remote areas, where ethnic minorities lived, who were in dire need of help from soldiers in the communes of Thuong Long, Thuong Quang, Thuong Lo...

Just one year after leaving school, from a scholarly student, Ngãi became a soldier serving in the highlands. Coming here, he remembered his father telling him a story about how in Quy Hop, people built stilt houses and soldiers asked to live underneath, the purpose was to let the people drive their livestock out to make room for the soldiers, and from there teach the people about clean living. So he followed his father, teaching the people how to build separate barns and take livestock outside. When he was a child, he followed his mother to the fields to plant, weed, and take care of the rice. Now, he applies his knowledge of wet rice farming to the villagers. He even helps people make desks, chairs, doors, etc.

His enthusiastic and selfless help made the villagers love him and treat him like their own children. Mr. Duc said: “Once, my wife and I visited our child there and saw that every year he received a certificate of merit. When we went out on the street and met the villagers, they kept patting him on the shoulder and saying: “Your father has a son who is truly Uncle Ho’s soldier, he helps us a lot. Whenever there was a storm, he would go all over the village and fix any damaged or blown-off roof. I don’t know how to repay him!”

Ngãi stayed in Hue, got married and had children. Then, the soldier fell when no one expected it. In the La Hy pass area, Huong Phu commune, Nam Dong district, a fire broke out in 3 hectares of acacia forest. The fire was raging fiercely and creating terrible heat, he and his teammates rushed into the center of the fire to put it out. When the fire was gradually under control, a strong wind suddenly changed direction, carrying a huge layer of smoke and embers to the area where Ngãi and some of his teammates were putting out the fire. He only had time to use his hands to push his teammates back to avoid danger, while he was buried in a pile of hot ashes!

At home, the bad news came… Mr. Duc recalled that moment of shock and sorrow: “That day was March 22. I was at my eldest son’s house, when my nephew ran over to tell me that Uncle Ngai had an accident in Hue, Grandpa! I hurried home, reassuring my wife who was panicking at that time. She had to calm down, I could only go, this time I went to make sure that if the child was still alive, I would stay there to take care of him, if the child was gone, I would also have to stay there to take care of his work. My wife had a heart condition, no one would let her in there, afraid she would collapse.”

After that, only he and his eldest son-in-law took the train to Hue. “On the way, I received a phone call telling me not to go anywhere when I got off at the station, someone would come to pick me up. My unit took me to the car, everyone came to shake my hand, then just looked at me without daring to say anything, I said: Tell me the truth, I was also a soldier, I witnessed many sacrifices and fallen comrades…”.

And so he was led into the hospital to receive his son. The old father with white hair raised his trembling hands to lift the white towel to look at his son's face one last time, as if to verify that it was indeed his son. Soldier Nguyen Tuan Ngai's face was silent. He stood up, knowing that at this moment he had to be the support for his son and his grandchildren, along with his son's unit...

Mr. Duc said that his wife had just returned from the hospital yesterday. A few days ago, two men in military uniforms came to visit. Seeing the military uniform, she was so moved that she fainted. Of all the children, Ngãi was the most gentle, but also the weakest. That child had gone hundreds of kilometers away from home, so she couldn't see him one last time. She missed him terribly. But both she and Mr. Duc suppressed their pain, and understood that their son had sacrificed himself for his duty, had lived his life to the fullest, and had been a proud son of his parents and his homeland.

The years of war are over. Peace has spread throughout the S-shaped strip of land. But there are still soldiers who have fallen to protect their homeland and their compatriots, to preserve the beautiful country. There are still mothers and fathers who silently mourn their children… That sacrifice reminds us to bow down and cherish the value of life in peace and tranquility!

Lake Lai