This spring I'm away from home...

(Baonghean) - Besides the joyful spring atmosphere like other families, Tet holiday for the families of marine soldiers is somewhat quieter because of the absence of their children, husbands, and fathers. However, in their deep longing and desire to reunite, there is also pride and emotion because their relatives are on duty to guard the homeland's sea and islands...

The small house of island soldier Nguyen Dinh Cuong, born in 1995 in Thai Hoa hamlet (Nghi Thai - Nghi Loc) is deep in a small alley with a large garden growing lots of green vegetables.

When we arrived at his house, his father was still working to earn extra income for the family during Tet, while his mother, Vo Thi Bich, was busy taking care of the peach blossom tree in the garden, which was in full bloom, preparing for Tet. She said: “This peach tree was planted by Cuong, but he won’t be back for Tet this year. Looking at the flowers makes me miss my son…”.

Cuong is the second child in the family, and has been in the army for just over a year. This is the first spring the young man celebrates Tet away from home. Therefore, when calling home to inform his family, he still appears firm and encouraging: "Don't worry, Mom and Dad, have a happy Tet, I have comrades out here..." and only expressed on Facebook that "I miss home, I miss my mom...".

Knowing that her son was on duty, the closer it got to Tet, Mrs. Bich missed her gentle son more and more: “At home, he was very diligent, a worrier, and a hard worker, so he did everything, from cooking, washing dishes, cleaning the house, raising pigs, raising chickens. The family had 5 sao of rice fields, and since grade 9, he had been plowing to help his mother…”. Although she loved her son dearly, Mrs. Bich still told herself to encourage him because becoming an island soldier was Cuong’s childhood dream…

Ms. Tran Thi Bich - mother of soldier Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Thai Hoa hamlet - Nghi Thai - Nghi Loc

The families of island soldiers are always like that, always silently sacrificing, suppressing sadness and grievance inside so that their loved ones can feel secure in their duty.

For Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang - working at Dien Loi Secondary School, Dien Chau, the absence of her husband during Tet has become a habit. Because this is the 4th consecutive Tet, Lieutenant Ta Trung Kien - her husband did not come home to celebrate Tet with his family. Mr. Kien belongs to Brigade 146, Naval Command Region 4, currently living on Phan Vinh Island. They got married in 2009 but the days they spent together were not many. Each year, he only got to go home once. The two times she gave birth, she gave birth alone, and when her child was sick, her husband was not by her side. Up to now, the eldest son, Ta Ngoc Khanh, is 5 years old, the youngest daughter, Khanh Huyen, is 3 years old. What is especially meaningful is that baby Khanh was born on the founding day of the Vietnam People's Army, December 22, and baby Huyen was born on Vietnam Teachers' Day, November 20.

Ms. Giang said that when her husband came home on leave, she was only 7 months pregnant with Huyen. When he came back, the baby was 2 years old. She told her child to run out to his father, but the child was unfamiliar with her so he kept hiding behind his mother and refused to come out. When Khanh was sulking, "Why do you keep going to the island and not staying home to take me shopping for new clothes for Tet?", she gently explained to him, "Dad and his teammates are going to protect the islands of the Fatherland, okay?"

Mother and daughter Nguyen Thi Giang (Hamlet 1 - Dien Loi - Dien Chau) are proud of their husband and father who is at the forefront.

There was also a feeling of sadness and regret, but she told herself, "As a soldier's wife, you must know how to sacrifice and become a strong support base so that your husband can work with peace of mind." Every cold winter night, she loved her husband even more when she and the children were buried in warm blankets, while he and his comrades were alone on guard in the vast ocean and sky, with only the sound of the waves and the quiet night.

She said: "If he had to be on duty at 11pm or early morning, it would be fine, but if he was on duty at 2am, he wouldn't be able to sleep all night. I feel so sorry for him. I can only hug my child and tell myself that no matter how difficult or hard it is, I can endure it, as long as he is determined to protect the sovereignty of our homeland's sea and islands."

Knowing that her children miss their father, even though her husband is not at home, she still tries to make sure that their Tet is well-spent. She and her children fill their longing with tearful phone calls and letters filled with love. She also often plays songs about the sea and islands for her children to listen to so that they feel proud of their father... Luckily, her husband and her family are neighbors, so even though her husband is far away, at home, her and her children still celebrate a warm and cozy Tet in the arms of both paternal and maternal families and neighbors.

Phan Van Dinh's family talks with reporters

As for the family of Ms. Dang Thi Chung and Mr. Phan Van Dinh in Thai Thinh hamlet, Nghi Thai commune, Nghi Loc, "this spring is much better than the past springs..." because this year, Mr. Dinh was able to go home on leave a week before Tet.

When we arrived, he was preparing his luggage to board the ship at night. He said, "I love my wife and children very much, but because of duty, I have to go. Everyone chooses easy work. Who will be left with the hard work?" For him, being able to go home a few days before Tet was a great happiness because he had been a coast guard for 8 years, but only in 2009 did he get to celebrate Tet with his family. Therefore, in addition to visiting relatives and neighbors, he took advantage of his limited time to help his wife take care of the children, change light bulbs, fix antennas, and clean the house so that his wife and children could celebrate Tet. With two children, the older one is only 3 years old and the younger one is 9 months old, his wife, Chung, had a hard time. When she gave birth to her second child, he was in the sea near the Hai Duong 981 rig, so he could not contact her. However, as the daughter of a former coast guard soldier, Chung was still very resilient. She did not think much about her own disadvantages, but only hoped for calm skies and calm seas so that her husband could be safe. For every year her husband was absent during Tet, she was the breadwinner in her husband’s place. From wrapping banh chung, setting up the altar, repainting the house… to offering New Year’s Eve offerings and visiting relatives for Tet, she was the one to take on all the responsibilities. The faithfulness and steadfastness of the wives in the rear motivates marine soldiers like Mr. Dinh to be more determined to protect their homeland’s sea and islands.

This spring, like every year, the marines did not return home, but their families' Tet was still warm and full of family reunions as the whole village shared the same sentiment towards the sea and islands.

The nostalgia for Truong Sa during the days of Tet and spring is filled with stories, letters filled with love sent to Truong Sa and songs full of emotion and pride about the island soldiers: "The place you come from is the far sea, the place you go to is the far island/From our homeland in the middle of the ocean, carrying the love of home..."

Khanh Ly - Thanh Nga