From "Forever 20" to "Letters from the Vietnam War"

(Baonghean.vn) - Exactly 10 years ago, the birth of hundreds of priceless documentary books of a glorious time from the great resistance wars of the nation, including the book "Forever 20" collected, compiled and introduced by writer Dang Vuong Hung, created one of the 10 typical cultural events of Vietnam in 2005 voted by the Ministry of Culture and Information, from which the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union launched the movements "Carrying on the fire of tradition" and "Journey to continue writing about the age of 20".

Ten years later, still silently with the long-term plan of a "beggar", Colonel - Writer Dang Vuong Hung with the heart of a soldier who once directly held a gun to protect the Fatherland published the collection "Letters from the Vietnam War" as a tribute to the loss and sacrifice of the nation, so that exactly 40 years ago, our whole nation resounded with the triumphant song "As if Uncle Ho was there on the day of great victory..."

Colonel, Writer Nguyen Hong Thai, Director - Editor-in-Chief of CAND Publishing House delivered the opening speech at the book introduction to reporters.

The author of the book, writer Dang Vuong Hung confided: “The journalism profession has helped me go to many places, meet many people, to learn about many events and witnesses... Writing has helped me “realize” one thing: Sometimes, the pages of letters, diaries, notes... that seem very private, bring us extremely valuable information and documents; they can reveal many things about the spiritual, material and cultural life of society in the past; contribute to explaining the secrets of history, making our present and future lives better..."

“In fact, writing letters is not writing, but first and foremost, it is life. No one, when writing those lines, thinks that after several decades they will be published in a book... Therefore, everything is surprisingly real and vivid...”

“With the development of the Internet, networked computers and smartphones, letters written with ink on paper are becoming increasingly rare. Instead, there are e-mails and, more simply, text messages. Today, digital technology allows people to send letters to each other thousands of kilometers away with just a few simple operations on a computer or smartphone. And in the letter, there are not only words, but also vivid images and sounds of loved ones... Therefore, handwritten letters, especially “Letters from the Vietnam War”, are even more valuable.

Amidst the silence of the words, and from the fragile pages that are old and yellowed by time, we suddenly realize the heroic spirit of Vietnam in the past and the responsibility to those who sacrificed, contributed and to the era we are living in!

Writer Dang Vuong Hung (standing in the middle) - the person who directly organized the collection and compilation of the book.

The collection “Letters from the Vietnam War” introduces more than 300 letters from more than a hundred authors. The letter writers range from the President, the City Mayor to workers and farmers; from generals to privates. There are also letters from soldiers on the “other side” of the war to contribute to healing the war and national reconciliation.

The difference is that this book is not sold on the market, but the author will give the book away for free to all war veterans, relatives of martyrs who have contributed materials to the book, or have enthusiastically participated in the campaign to collect wartime letters and diaries mentioned above.

"Letters from the Vietnam War" is an emotion that rises from the silent moment between two battles, a heartfelt gratitude from a writer who once wore a soldier's uniform but never once thought of repaying the heavy heart of the nation's resistance, born on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.

Tran Trung Hieu

(Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted)