The diary of wandering halfway around the world

Previously, half a world away from Vietnam, from the United States, Mr. Larry Luther, an American veteran, sent a diary and some relics of martyrs to Vietnam with the hope that the authorities would help send the relics back to the martyrs' families. The first page of the diary has a photo of Uncle Ho, the second page has the words "farewell book to Hai Phong" signed by Nguyen Viet, mailbox 14947KJ...

Diary of martyr Nguyen Van Viet.

Martyr Nguyen Van Viet enlisted on April 21, 1966, when he was 18 years old. According to his family, martyr Nguyen Van Viet died on November 17, 1972, with the rank of Sergeant; in addition, since leaving for the South to fight, his family has not received any information, not even the place of his death or burial. In his diary, we encounter the figure of his lover (his girlfriend in the same neighborhood named Nguyen Thi Tham) in the port city of Hai Phong through the lines of poetry he wrote as a confession and promise: "Tomorrow reunification / When the trains return to the distant port city / At that time we will stand side by side on the street / Our love, Viet - Tham, will last forever...".

Reading the diary entries on the yellowed and bullet-scarred pages, we can feel the life, faith, and heroic spirit of the martyrs and their comrades on the thin line between life and death on the battlefield: “February 28, 1968, after more than a month of siege for eight or four years, I killed five enemies, and for the past few days I have been hunting the enemy, but the enemy has not come out!... March 20, 1968, today I shot one enemy, and for the past few days I have been working regularly, but the enemy has not appeared” – excerpt from the diary of martyr Nguyen Van Viet.

The diary is one of the invaluable artifacts toeducate tradition; helping today's and future generations to be more proud and admire the great sacrifices of the previous generations in the war to liberate the nation, regain peace, independence, freedom and happiness for the Fatherland of Vietnam.

Article and photos: NGOC TRANG

* Readers are invited to visit the 50th Anniversary of the Great Victory of Spring 1975 section to see related news and articles.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/cuon-nhat-ky-luu-lac-nua-vong-trai-dat-250772.html