Mother's Memories (Part 5):

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - As we write these lines, there are only 44 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers (VNAH) still alive out of a total of more than 4,500 Mothers in Thanh Hoa. However, very few Mothers are still lucid - their memories of life are partly still, partly lost. But deep in the mothers' minds are always the images of their husbands and children who have transformed themselves into the shape of the mountains and rivers, the country. We record stories, sometimes just quiet memories, patched together and cherished from the stories, from the eyes and from the silence, as an admiration for the Mothers and as a stick of incense for those who are forever young.

Báo Thanh Hóa•17/07/2025

Halfway up the sunny hill, in a small stilt house, there was an old lady with a thin figure and a distant gaze. Her gaze contained all the emotions, the depth and determination of a life that had gone through many hardships.

Mother's Memories (Lesson 5): When people ask

Mother VNAH Bui Thi Long and daughter-in-law.

The next Mother in the story we want to tell is Vietnamese Heroic Mother Bui Thi Long. When we met her, fortunately, she was still quite lucid and agile. Memories, nostalgia mixed with pride were still kept through her stories, sometimes humorous, sometimes nostalgic and poignant.

Heroic Mother of Vietnam Bui Thi Long was born in 1932, a Muong ethnic. Growing up in the midst of war, when the enemy came, the young girl Bui Thi Long was not afraid of difficulties and hardships, enthusiastically joining the guerrilla force, fighting and serving in the fight to protect the locality.

After the country was reunified, my mother continued to work locally as Chairwoman of the Commune Women's Union and Secretary of the Commune Party Committee. After her retirement, she continued to participate in local associations and organizations. She always upheld the exemplary and pioneering role of a Party member; resolutely led and directed the Party Committee, government and people to carry out their tasks; actively mobilized people to participate in forest protection, economic development, preservation of the nation's culture, and development of villages and communes. My mother is a model for a life of "being good at national affairs and taking care of family affairs".

There was also a person who composed a song about a mother - a woman who participated in capturing American soldiers on Nua mountain, carrying rice to feed the soldiers: "There was Mrs. Long from Bai Bo, Phuong Nghi, who had no rice to eat but carried rice to feed the soldiers"

"My mother was active and enthusiastic, loved by her colleagues and villagers. In the history of the commune Party Committee, there is an image and contribution of my mother during her term as Secretary of the commune Party Committee. There is also a song about my mother - a woman who participated in capturing American soldiers on Nua mountain, carrying rice to feed the soldiers: "There was Mrs. Long from Bai Bo, Phuong Nghi, who had no rice to eat but carried rice to feed the soldiers". When we were young, we saw many certificates of merit, medals of my mother. She herself fought and made heroic contributions. Up to now, she has the honor of being 70 years old in the Party" - her third son, Mr. Quach Van Son said.

Mother was destined to be with a soldier of Uncle Ho's army who fought bravely in two resistance wars against France and the US - Mr. Quach Van Kin. They met in Nam Dinh (the province before the merger) while performing their duties, then together overcame the war, built socialism in the North until the country was at peace and renewed. They had 6 sons. She was both enthusiastic in her contributions and became a solid rear for him to fight with peace of mind to protect the Fatherland and successfully completed his duties when working at the Nhu Xuan District Party Committee (later divided into two districts of Nhu Thanh and Nhu Xuan). For Long's mother, that was a simple happiness like many other women.

Shaking hands and greeting us, taking us into her memories, Vietnamese Heroic Mother Bui Thi Long said: "That year when I went to Hanoi , when people asked "Are you from the lowlands or the highlands?", I replied, I am from the highlands." That was the trip my mother left Mau Lam commune (at that time it was still part of Nhu Thanh district) - to participate in the program "Meeting with delegates of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers nationwide in 2020".

Following the story, the mother said: “I have no daughters, only 6 sons. 2 of them have already died. One protects the border, the other is on an island.” At this point, she stopped and looked into the corner of the house where the photos and mementos of her beloved children were kept.

I have no daughters, only 6 sons. 2 have died. One is protecting the border, the other is on an island.

In 1982, his mother’s second son, Quach Van Minh (born in 1963), enlisted in the army and joined the Cambodian battlefield at the age of 18, without a lover and never having left his village so far away. The young man set out with the desire to uphold his family’s patriotic tradition. However, during the fierce southwestern border war, in October 1985, he was never able to return to his mother’s arms.

The day she received the bad news, Long's mother was working in the commune, but she held back her grief to return home to receive her son's death certificate.

Continuing Long's mother's story, her third son - Quach Van Son said: "Minh is tall, gentle, and loves his parents and siblings very much. When the family was poor, he dropped out of school so I could go to school. When he joined the army, he sent a letter home to ask about everyone, and he did not forget to tell his parents to encourage me to go to school."

Mother's Memories (Lesson 5): When people ask

“He sent many letters home but his family could not keep them. What a pity! Once, he said he was sent to study, the training period was 6 months, when he graduated he was promoted to lieutenant, became a platoon leader. When he wrote the letter, he had studied for 3 months, he promised to try to achieve the goals, ideals and wishes of his parents. In another letter, he promised his parents that when he left the army, he would return to marry his mother and give her a daughter-in-law, but then he stayed with his comrades and ideals at Hon Quan Martyrs Cemetery (Binh Phuoc, now Dong Nai province). When we found him, my family visited him 3 times” – Mr. Son recalled.

Time gradually eased the pain, and Long's mother quietly worked hard to take care of her children. But one spring morning in 1996, in the midst of peace, Long's mother received news that her fourth child had died while participating in the construction and protection of Me Island.

This time, mother did not cry, nor did she make a sound. Her eyes were like stone. Her chest was tight, her heartbeat felt like someone was squeezing it. The old mother stood still in the yard, the vast mountains and forests suddenly swayed. Mother bowed her head numbly but reminded herself to be strong to be a support for her daughter-in-law who was about to receive the news of her husband's death.

The old mother stood silently in the yard, the vast mountains and forests suddenly swayed. The mother bowed her head numbly but reminded herself to be strong to be a support for her daughter-in-law who was about to give birth and had to receive the news of her husband's death.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh - Quach Van Quang's wife choked up as she said: "I can't forget that time. He and I got married in 1992, and then we had our first son. When he went to Me Island to do his duty, I was pregnant with our second child. More than a week before receiving his death notice, I received a letter from him instructing me not to go chopping wood or getting bananas in the forest, and to wait for him to come back so he could get firewood... But then... At that time, I just wanted to follow him. But thinking of my children and my mother, I had to try to overcome it. Currently, he has been brought back to be buried at the martyrs' cemetery of the commune."

Mother's Memories (Lesson 5): When people ask

Hearing this, Long's mother's eyes suddenly fell. With her thin, trembling hands, she gently touched the old envelope stained with the years. Then she gently hugged the faded army shirt as if searching for the image of blood. Her wrinkled fingers traced each thread, each fold of the past. Each time she touched the keepsake, her heart revived the time when she waited for the letter, waited for the day her child would return to her arms. Long's mother smiled and softly said: "You left for the country. I'm in pain, but very proud."