Who is the author of the saying 'where there is no enemy, we just keep going'?

The famous lyrics 'In our lives, there is no enemy, so we just keep going' in the song 'Far Away March' is thought to be by musician Do Nhuan - the author of the song. But the author of the lyrics is martyr Le Van Dy.

Le Van Dy and his wife (photo taken in 1957) has been colorized

Colonel and writer Dang Vuong Hung confirmed that it was Le Van Dy (1926-1970), author of the memoir "Where There Are Enemies, We Keep Going" which was recently republished by the People's Army Publishing House.

Who is Le Van Dy?

Le Van Dy, from Me Linh commune, Hanoi city, was one of 33 officers and soldiers who made outstanding achievements at the Dien Bien Phu front in 1954. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 2008, nearly 40 years after his death.

The story goes that once, musician Do Nhuan and Company 267, Battalion 54 (now Battalion 8, Regiment 102) marched to Dien Bien Phu. At that time, no one knew that they had the honor of participating in the Tran Dinh Campaign (code name of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign).

The troops marched without knowing where they would assemble. They discussed and guessed the battle plan of their superiors. Suddenly, one of the group said: "Well, no need to know, we don't have any enemies in our lives, so let's just go." That accidental saying became the poetic idea that Do Nhuan developed into the lyrics of the song "Hanh quan xa" .

The soldier who said that was Le Van Di.

After successfully completing the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954 with his unit, Le Van Dy went with his unit to fight and perform international duty in Laos.

In October 1964, after 5 years of fighting in the Lao battlefield, Brigade 316 was transferred back to the rear to be reorganized into a division model, to suit the combat needs in the new situation.

Taking advantage of that precious time, on the exact day of the 20th anniversary of the tradition of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944 - December 22, 1964), he began to write his memoirs. The purpose was to record "stories of daily life and combat in the life of a soldier".

The first Party Congress of the 174th Cao Bac Lang Regiment (April 1950). The fifth person standing from the right is Political Commissar Chu Huy Man - Party Secretary. The third person from the left, leaning his hand on the shoulder of the person sitting in front, is Deputy Company Commander Le Van Dy.

The unfinished memoir of Le Van Dy

With this memoir, Le Van Dy has contributed to reviving real people, real events, and heroic historical pages of our army about the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring Campaign in general and the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in particular, of which he was an insider.

Those are the battles, the vivid stories of soldiers' lives, some sad, some happy and full of revolutionary optimism; each story is imbued with humanity, comradeship, love between the army and the people and the special spirit of solidarity between Vietnam and Laos brothers.

On March 17, 1965, Le Van Dy finished writing his memoirs about the period of fighting against the French colonialists. When he started writing the first lines of "The First Battle on Friendly Land", he received orders to cross Truong Son with his unit to Laos to continue fighting. The unfinished manuscript pages were left at the Moc Chau rear base.

Nearly 5 years later, on March 13, 1970, Le Van Dy heroically fell on the battlefield in Laos, while he was in charge of the Deputy Commander of Operations of Division 316, while the Plain of Jars - Xieng Khouang Campaign was entering its most fierce phase.

The unfinished manuscript of a memoir titled The Road I Traveled Martyr Le Van Dy's remains were sent to his family by his comrades.

The manuscript was later donated to the Vietnam Military History Museum. It was then first published in book form in 2009 with the title Wherever There Are Enemies, We Go, reprinted and supplemented in 2014.   However, the first printings did not have the author's name as martyr Le Van Dy, or only had the author's name listed with others.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024), Wherever there is an enemy, we keep going was edited, supplemented with additional materials and republished by the People's Army Publishing House, with a thickness of 324 pages.

On October 15, the Soldier's Heart Organization introduced the book at the Vietnam Women's Museum.

The Soldier's Heart Organization and the Vietnam Women's Museum also introduced the collection "Pride of Vietnamese Women " including more than 20 restored portraits of female heroes and martyrs "Forever 20" such as: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (1910-1941), Vo Thi Sau (1933-1952), Mac Thi Buoi (1927-1951), Le Thi Hong Gam (1951-1970), Le Thi Rieng (1925-1968), Hoang Ngan (1921-1949), Dang Thuy Tram (1942-1970)...

BIRD OF PARADISE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ai-moi-la-tac-gia-cau-noi-dau-co-giac-la-ta-cu-di-20251015231830733.htm