Love story on the Truong Son fire line
Since their hearts began to vibrate with love, their love has lasted 57 years and they have lived together for more than half a century. Blossoming in the midst of bombs and bullets, overcoming the difficulties of the post-war period, now living a peaceful life with many children and grandchildren, the love of the two youth volunteers Tran Van Than and Vu Thi Kim Lien has never faded.
Memories on 20 Quyet Thang Street
The house of Mr. Tran Van Than and his wife in block 1, Trung Do ward (Vinh city) located at the foot of Quyet mountain has witnessed years of hardship and toil but is still full of happiness.
Happiness was born from sincere love, through the fierce challenges of war and the hardships of the subsidy years. Life is not without its ups and downs, but we always look in the same direction to build and preserve our home together.”
Mr. Tran Van Than
Mr. Tran Van Than (born in 1944) and his wife - Mrs. Vu Thi Kim Lien (born in 1949) grew up in the midst of war, when the resistance war against the US began to become fierce. In 1965, the need for support forbattlefieldAs the South grew larger, young man Tran Van Than left his hometown Hung Khanh, Hung Nguyen district (Nghe An) to join the youth volunteer force.
At the same time, Vu Thi Kim Lien, a girl from Gia Vien (Ninh Binh province), also registered to march to Truong Son to open roads, carry food, and carry ammunition. In the mountainous area bordering Vietnam - Laos in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces, the young men and women of the Youth Volunteer Force lived under the rain of bombs and bullets from the enemy, enduring countless hardships and dangers. There were times when they witnessed dozens of their comrades buried in bombs, hit by bomb fragments, and sacrificed their lives at the age of twenty, never having known love.
As fate would have it, Youth Volunteer Teams 23 and 25 were assigned to ensure traffic on Route 20 Quyet Thang - a branch of the strategic transport route.Truong Son.
Ms. Lien recalled: “One day at the end of 1968, after a series of American bombs hit the 25th Youth Volunteer Team switchboard, I had just run down to the road to connect the power line when suddenly the next wave of coordinate bombs fell… When I woke up, I found myself lying at the Military Hospital, a young man with a Zone 4 accent told me about yesterday’s incident. And I found out that he was a Youth Volunteer Team member from Nghe An, named Tran Van Than, working for the Youth Union in Team 23. I was very touched and grateful that he had helped me in my time of danger. We have known each other since then…”.
According to Ms. Lien, that day, the Youth Union officer of Team 23 was on patrol duty when he encountered a coordinate bomb attack. Seeing a female teammate from Team 25 under pressure, he immediately rushed in to rescue her and carried her to the Military Hospital. From then on, the two became closer and closer, their hearts began to beat abnormally, and after a long time of not seeing each other, they missed each other terribly.
Sometimes, the female Youth Volunteers wondered if that meeting was fate, because why were there only two people that day…? Then she asked herself: “Did a girl from Van River, Thuy Mountain meet a boy from Hong Linh River, Lam River?”. But in wartime conditions, battlefield discipline was extremely strict, so every time they met, the two could only express their feelings through their eyes and smiles.
Hold hands to overcome challenges
It seemed that fate wanted to arrange for the two to come together, when in 1969 the superiors decided to merge Team 23 and Team 25 into one unit. The couple had many opportunities to meet and get closer, there was a blend of comradeship, teamwork and love.
At that time, Ms. Lien was still working as a switchboard operator, and Mr. Than was still a Youth Union officer. Each had a different task, but they always looked out for each other. Especially when bombs were falling, the ground was shaking, the smoke was thick and the air was acrid, the two of them shared a worry and hope for each other.
“When our love reached maturity and we decided to be together, we decided to inform our unit. But it wasn’t until 1972, after two terms with many challenges, that the unit agreed to organize the wedding. Needless to say, we were extremely happy and joyful,” Mr. Than recounted.
The wedding of two Youth Volunteers took place at the military base at km 54, Road 20, Quyet Thang. The wedding venue was a simple hut, decorated with familiar wild flowers, the offerings consisted of only a few cakes and candies, the wedding ceremony was witnessed by all comrades in the unit.
A simple wedding in the middle of Truong Son mountain forest, took place between two coordinate bombings but still solemn and warm. The young couple was issued a marriage certificate by the unit so that when they were discharged from the army, the local authorities would use it as a basis for issuing a marriage certificate. Now, the marriage certificate issued by the unit is being kept at a museum in Hanoi to prove the love between men and women during the years of war.war.
After a while of marriage, Mr. Tran Van Than transferred to the transport sector, continuing to work closely on projects across the country. Mrs. Lien was also discharged from the army and returned to her husband's hometown, working at Ben Thuy Restaurant (Vinh City), becoming a citizen of Nghe An, attached to the Lam River and the beloved Vi Giam tune, with the scorching Lao winds.
Three children were born one after another, all healthy, the greatest source of happiness for the Youth Volunteers returning from the Truong Son mountains and forests.
It is impossible to tell all the hardships and difficulties of the years under the subsidy system with a meager income, sometimes having to go without food to save for the children, sometimes it seemed impossible to overcome.
But from that difficulty, the love between husband and wife became more intimate and passionate, sharing hardships, worries and maintaining a happy home. Thanks to that, the children grew up day by day, were taken care of in their studies, and now all have grown up, have stable jobs and happy families of their own. Currently, the grandparents have 9 grandchildren, all of whom are obedient and good at studying, a source of joy in their old age.
Love blossomed in the flames of war and blossomed in a peaceful life. We are always proud to have overcome many fierce challenges, difficulties and deprivations of life to keep pace with the pace of our homeland and country, build a happy family, and raise our children to adulthood.
Ms. Vu Thi Kim Lien