Love on the way to battle

Youth Volunteer Girls on Truong Son Road. Photo courtesy

This is the story of two former Youth Volunteers, 4/4 disabled soldiers Tran Van Than and Vu Thi Lien (Trung Do ward, Vinh city). In 1965, the young man from Hung Khanh, Hung Nguyen followed the sacred call of the Fatherland and joined the Youth Volunteers. At that time, he was the Deputy Captain of Company 3, tasked with opening Road 20 Quyet Thang (Quang Binh). Rain of bombs, storm of bullets with times when he thought his body would melt into the ground, into the road.

But no matter, with the spirit of “determined to die for the Fatherland”, he did not hesitate to take on any mission, always volunteering to go to the most dangerous places. “Those years were very difficult. At night, we raced against bombs and bullets to fill bomb craters, break rocks to clear roads for vehicles to pass. After finishing the job, we went home to sleep, then took a shower, then ate, then went back to the battlefield. I never thought about love...”, he said.

Veteran couple Tran Van Than - Vu Thi Lien reunite with their grandchildren. Photo: Thanh Phuc

But it was fate that during those days of war, right where the American invaders were fiercely and brutally attacking, he met his other half - the TNXP girl, Information Operator of Team 25, Vu Thi Lien, from Ninh Binh, and they became husband and wife.

“At the age of 17, I joined Team 33, Ninh Binh Youth Volunteers, and went to the battlefield. After a period of participating in opening roads, Vu Thi Lien was assigned to operate the switchboard of Team 25.

One day in late 1968, during a US air raid, I was on my way to patch up a broken communication line when I was hit by a bomb and passed out. When I woke up, I realized that I had been in the military infirmary for a night. I turned around and saw a tall, thin man looking at me worriedly. He told me the story in a heavy Zone 4 accent. It turned out that on the way to the command post to level the ground and patch up the road, I encountered a bomb dropped by the US military. Luckily, he was not injured. After a while, he saw a girl fainting, so he was rushed to the Military Infirmary for emergency treatment...

After recovering, TNXP Vu Thi Lien returned to work. Team 23 of Tran Van Than joined Team 25 of Vu Thi Lien, the two had the opportunity to be closer to each other. And feelings gradually blossomed... “At that time, although they were in the same unit, doing the same duty on the same route, they did not spend much time together. We only met when we went to get water, when we did laundry or when the whole team had cultural activities. The feelings were buried deep in our hearts, if any, they were only exchanged through glances. But that was the motivation for us to compete in labor, to fight with the steadfast belief that the war would end, our army and people would win, peace would be restored and we would return home together”, Ms. Lien recalled.

In 1971, a warm and simple wedding took place at the Km 54 military base, Road 20 Quyet Thang, with wild flowers stuck into banana trees, a pot of guava tea and some candy to entertain guests.

After completing their mission, they returned to Vinh to live. One by one, their children were born. They faced hardships, difficulties and deprivation, but with their love for each other and their camaraderie, they encouraged each other to overcome everything and raise their children to become good people. “In the most difficult times, my husband and I remember the days on the battlefield, when life and death were so close together that we could overcome them, let alone in peacetime. Having gone through hardships together during the war, when we returned to normal life, we stood shoulder to shoulder to overcome all deprivation, to build and nurture our home.

Now, at an advanced age, the children have settled down, the couple has the opportunity to participate in social activities, connecting with comrades.