“Every time I go to gather and bring my comrades back to their homeland, I feel more sorry for those who are still lying in the mountains and forests, without graves or incense. Many nights I dream of my comrades returning, my heart burns like fire, and I am more determined to find them,” Mr. Kiem confided from the bottom of his heart.

After the war, he stayed on the old battlefield and married Le Thi Ngoc, a comrade in the 575th artillery unit. Life was difficult, and the couple had to work many jobs to make a living and support their family.

But he still felt a pang of sadness for his comrades who were lying in the jungle, their remains not yet found. “I was lucky to survive the war, but there are still so many comrades lying alone and cold out there.

I have buried many of my comrades who died with my own hands, so it is my duty to them and their relatives. I must bring them back to reunite with their families and homeland,” Mr. Kiem said sadly.

Carrying that concern, the old soldier silently prepared his luggage to carry out his final "marches", bringing his comrades to their final resting place on their homeland.

But after 40 years, the roads and paths are now very different from before, so it is difficult to recognize where they died and where they were buried... He and his companions had to find traces of the old road, find the trails of the marching unit, and then find their way back to the rear base.

The only traces are the hills, the big rocks, the places on the stream where people used to bathe and wash...

Each trip lasted dozens of days, his luggage included rice, dried fish, salt, tarpaulin, hammock, knife, shovel, hoe..., and one thing that was never lacking was a few liters of wine so that every time he found remains, he could "chat" and confide in his teammates.

At the end of 1992, he and two old comrades brought their backpacks back to the Dai Loc battlefield (Quang Nam province).Male) to find the remains of his comrades. This was the most arduous and dangerous trip in the old soldier's more than 20-year journey through the forest to return to his former comrades.

Following the remaining traces of the past, he went to Doc Gio, where his comrades buried martyr Nguyen Van Dan (from Hai Phong City). He sadly confided, “To get to Doc Gio, we had to travel all day, passing through many dangerous mountain and forest sections.

In many places, we had to use ropes hung by our soldiers before the liberation day to reach the top. Most of these ropes were old and rotten, causing us to fall countless times. But luckily, no one was hurt, probably thanks to our comrades helping us up…”.

Having passed the dangerous mountain road, the three set out to find their comrade’s resting place. But the passage of time had erased many of the old traces, leaving only dense, desolate reed fields.

At that time, he was happy because "Thanks to the big stone used to mark the graves, we still know where you guys are lying." It was dark, the three soldiers slept in hammocks around their comrades' graves, sitting and reminiscing about the past.

They told their comrades lying on the ground about life after victory, the lives of those who were “left behind” after each battle. They called out the names of each fallen person with tears streaming down their faces. As soon as the sky was lighted, they lit incense and started digging and collecting.

“When our comrades fell, only parachute cloth wrapped their bodies and sent them back to the motherland. Many did not have time to be buried, only a few layers of soil were temporarily covered. Now that we have buried them, we can still find the mementos they left behind.

Those were hastily written letters to his lover that he had not yet sent, a comb made from bomb fragments that he had not yet given to his lover, and a diary of his life as a young soldier…” he recounted in tears.

After returning from the arduous “march”, he kept a notebook recording the names and locations of his fallen comrades, waiting for the day to leave for the repatriation. Whenever he heard information about a martyr’s burial place, he would go there to ask for the address and take careful notes.

His trips became more frequent and longer, sometimes lasting up to a week. His luggage consisted of only a small hoe, a few packs of instant noodles and a wartime backpack.

In 2001, thanks to the guidance of his former comrades, Mr. Kiem "marched" alone back to the battlefield in Zone B (Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province) to find the remains of martyr Dao Van Bang (from Thuy Nguyen district, Hai Phong city).

Talking about his comrade, he said, “He died in a battle with the Americans and puppets at Ong Thu slope. I buried him myself and marked the location so that I could come back to find him later. But because the enemy swept in so quickly, I only had time to fill in a few large stones to make a grave for my comrade.

Nearly thirty years later, everything had changed so quickly, I only vaguely remember burying him near a high hilltop. After more than four searches throughout a stretch of the old forest, the resting place of my comrade was still missing.

Many nights he lay awake, tormented, flipping through the map, trying to remember where he had been buried, but to no avail. He blamed himself for becoming so confused that he could not remember where his comrades were. Since then, he has been tirelessly searching for his comrades.

“Every time I go to gather and bring my comrades back to their homeland, I feel more sorry for those who are still lying in the mountains and forests, without graves or incense. Many nights I dream of my comrades returning, my heart burns like fire, and I am more determined to find them,” Mr. Kiem confided from the bottom of his heart.

The old soldier's worries

After 20 years of trekking through forests and streams to return to the old battlefield, he found dozens of martyrs' remains and, together with his relatives, brought them back to their homeland after decades of exposure to the elements in a strange land.

Behind each of his "marches" is always the figure of his wife, his comrade who fought side by side on the battlefield.

“While he went into the forest to search for and collect his comrades’ graves, I stayed home to bring the remains of my comrades back to my hometown. Recently, I joined the convoy that brought two comrades’ graves to Ha Tay, after nearly forty years of wandering in the jungle.

"Their family members were both happy and crying when they met their brother and uncle again" - Ms. Ngoc (Mr. Kiem's ​​wife) talked to us.

Flipping through the notebook recording the schedules, names and resting places of his comrades, he was filled with tears again: “I still owe them so much! If I can’t bring them back to their homeland, I won’t be able to rest in peace.”

Seeing that their father was old and weak, and afraid of falling ill in the middle of the forest, his children tried their best to advise him. At times like that, he would only say:

“If the enemy’s bombs and bullets can’t kill me, then the rain and wind in the jungle and the mountain winds are nothing to me. While I still have my memory, go and bring my comrades home. When I’m bedridden, who will take them home? Don’t stop me now.”

In 2008, high blood pressure and stomach bleeding tormented his body again when he had just returned from a trip through the jungle. His family took him to Da Nang General Hospital for treatment and received information that the family of martyr Do Khac Pha (from Ha Tay) was looking for him.

While the doctors were not paying attention, he quickly packed his clothes and hired a motorbike taxi to go home to pick up his comrade's relatives. Many people tried to stop him, forcing him to stay home to get treatment, but he brushed them off, "Only I know where he is. If I don't go, I won't be able to find him."

He then led everyone to the northern area of ​​Hoa Vang (Da Nang City) - where the battle with the US-puppet 2nd Division took place in the past to search. Although he was sick, he personally picked up the remains of his comrades from deep underground and covered them with the national flag.

In his "military" diary, he recorded the full name, age, hometown, and combat unit of each person, such as:

“From April 4 to April 16, 2008, the remains of martyr Do Khac Pha (from Dan Phuong, Ha Tay) were found in the northern area of ​​Hoa Vang.

From June 20 to June 28, the remains of martyr Tran Van Ty (from Dan Phuong, Ha Tay) were found in Gian Bi village, Hoa Bac commune, Hoa Vang.

From June 29 to July 6, the remains of martyr Bui Van Thai (Dan Phuong, Ha Tay) were found in Ta Lang village, Hoa Bac commune.

From August 14 to August 19, the remains of martyr Ta Van Thiet (Dan Phuong, Ha Tay) were found at Ong Thu slope (Dai Loc); from August 20 to August 25, the remains of martyr Nguyen Van Thiet were found at Ong Thu slope area... “.

He confided: “There are still many people lying somewhere in the old forests that we have not found. I am just afraid that in 3-4 years, when our generation passes away, no one will remember to bring them back.”

During his military campaigns, he also had the opportunity to return to the old villages that had taken care of him when he was wounded and sheltered from enemy raids. Those poor people climbed mountains and waded through streams with him, providing him with food and rice to find his comrades.

For him, his greatest wish is to have enough health to go on the journey. “I will never stop before this sacred and noble mission. If I don’t do this, when I return to the other side to meet you, I will feel very ashamed,” he choked up.

He revealed that on the way to find the remains of his comrades, he also encountered many other remains of his comrades, but because he did not know their names, ages, hometowns or combat units, he could not exhume them.

He also marked the places where the remains were and reported them to the local authorities. If any organizations or individuals, relatives of martyrs, came to look for them, he would guide them and go with them to the place to bring them back.

According to Phunutoday - NT