Thach Han... Cemetery without tombstones
In the quiet, sacred atmosphere, among the children of Quang Binh , Quang Tri and all over the country gathering to prepare for the gratitude program "Night of lanterns on Thach Han River", I suddenly remembered Mr. Le Ba Duong, a veteran of the Citadel, the one who initiated the activity of releasing flowers and lighting candles to pay tribute to the AHLS of the Citadel on the Thach Han River.
In 2015, after a business trip from Truong Sa archipelago back to the mainland, in Nha Trang city, I met Mr. Le Ba Duong, who was then the Chief of the Representative Office of Van Hoa Newspaper in Khanh Hoa . Knowing that I was from Quang Tri, he had a very special affection for me. In the story, he told a lot about the 81-day and night battle to protect the Citadel and his journey to pay tribute to his comrades since 1976. That journey did not start from Quang Tri Citadel but started at Ben Tat, next to Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery, then went to Lai Phuoc bridge on Hieu river, to O Lau river and ended with Thach Han river. He said: Thach Han river is the last stop in his journey of flowers and scents. There were nights when I slept with my comrades in the Citadel, the Citadel was filled with white reeds, and at night I saw fireflies flying all over. So I wrote “Fishy sleep in the middle of the Citadel/The blue light blurs with flying fireflies/Comrades… how many people stay/With me awake all night.”
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When asked about the four "sacred" verses engraved on the stone slab at the Flower Dropping Wharf on the South Bank of the Thach Han River, he seemed to be lost in nostalgia: That was an afternoon in 1987, sitting by the river, seeing each boat rowing upstream, the verses just popped out: "Oh boat to Thach Han... row gently/My friend is still lying at the bottom of the river/At the age of twenty, he became waves/Lapping the shore... forever and ever".
During the 81 fierce days and nights of fighting to protect the Citadel, each passing moment, each dropped shell leveled and destroyed, was violent and indomitable, was blood and bones mixed with broken bricks. The heroic soldiers of the Citadel created a towering monument of bravery, of steadfast loyalty, of the aspiration for independence and unification, of conscience and human dignity before the fate of the country... "As long as there is Vietnam, there is the Citadel/Forging a wreath of fire to connect Khe Sanh/Medals are hard to come by for every brick/Inch of land, every second, every leaf and branch" (poem by Tran Bach Dang).
I remember each page of the diary stained with blood, smoke, bombs, mud and soil of the Citadel trenches and the alluvium of the Thach Han River by Citadel veteran Ho Duy Thien, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuyen Hoa district, to understand that under that sacred river, deep in the Citadel's soil, there are many Northern soldiers-students sleeping eternally. Citadel veteran Ho Duy Thien wrote: In the period of 1970-1972, more than 10,000 students from universities in the capital such as Polytechnic, General, Agriculture, Medicine, Construction, Planning Economics, Irrigation... were ready to "Put down their pens and take up arms/Learn from the ancients to save the country" . That class of student soldiers was present on all battlefields, from the Quang Tri Citadel to the Southeast, the Central Highlands and participated in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign. Of the more than 10,000 students who "went to B", more than half died on the southern fronts, in Laos... But the majority were still in the 81-day and night campaign to protect Quang Tri Citadel in 1972.
The war ended, the loyal soldiers who defended the Citadel were incarnated into every inch of land and brick of the Citadel. The age of 20 will forever remain with the motherland of Quang Tri. Among the thousands of soldiers who remained in the Citadel, with Quang Tri, there were those who sacrificed right on the Thach Han River. Their bodies melted into the waves and alluvial soil on the banks. The Thach Han River is likened to a cemetery without tombstones, becoming the common pain of the whole nation, the endless nostalgia of relatives, family, friends, comrades, homeland, country... "Step lightly and speak softly/Let my comrades lie peacefully under the grass/The sky of Quang Tri is blue and windy/Lullaby the immortal song to infinity/Step lightly and speak softly/The Citadel is so wide, yet my comrades lie so cramped/Every inch of land is a real life/Let me choke up today" (poem by Pham Dinh Lan).
Promise before the sacred river
At exactly 8 p.m., the gratitude program “Night of Lanterns on Thach Han River” began. From the bell tower at the gate of the Northern Citadel, each bell rang out, resounding far and wide, blending with the waves of Thach Han River... spreading into people's hearts, infinitely deep.
In this sacred moment, we observe a minute of silence to remember and pay tribute to the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives at the Citadel, on the Thach Han River, in Quang Tri land for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the bright future of the nation. Let us pray for the souls of the heroic martyrs to rest in eternal peace.
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Before the souls of the AHLS of the Citadel, Editor-in-Chief of Quang Tri Newspaper and Radio-Television Station (PT-TH), Vo Nguyen Thuy expressed: “The collective of cadres, civil servants, and employees of Quang Tri Newspaper and Radio-Television Station, Quang Binh Newspaper and Radio-Television Station, central press agencies; cadres and people of Quang Tri province... remember, respect, and express gratitude to you. We, those working in print, radio, and television, vow to constantly strive to contribute to continuing the golden history of our ancestors, building our homeland and country to become more prosperous and strong.”
Journalist Phan Anh Tuan, Head of the Secretariat-Editor, Quang Binh Newspaper and Radio and Television Station, was moved: “I and the collective of cadres, reporters, editors, and journalists of the Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee are very honored and proud to participate in the gratitude program “Flower lantern night on Thach Han River” right on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day; right at the time when the two provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri are preparing to merge; the two main press agencies of the two provinces are preparing to merge. Lighting incense sticks in gratitude, gently releasing each flower lantern candle in memory of the heroic soldiers of Quang Tri Citadel, we feel all the noble sacrifices of you and your brothers and sisters for the cause of national liberation and reunification. Soon, Quang Binh and Quang Tri will be under one roof. We promise before the souls of the heroic soldiers that we will always be steadfast and determined for the cause of Vietnam revolutionary journalism, for the renewal, development, and prosperity of the new homeland of Quang Tri”.
| The gratitude program “Night of flower lanterns on Thach Han River” organized by Quang Tri Newspaper and Radio and Television Station with the participation of Quang Binh Newspaper and Radio and Television Station is a message expressing the spirit of solidarity and attachment between journalists of Quang Tri and Quang Binh. Lighting incense sticks and releasing flower lanterns to commemorate the heroic soldiers of the Citadel, Party journalists always remind themselves to cherish the glorious past, to look forward to the future, for the era of the homeland and country's rise. |
Ngo Thanh Long
Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202506/chuyen-ke-tren-dong-song-thieng-2227106/
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