Mother's Memory (Lesson 6): Sacrifice is dedication

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - As we write these lines, there are only more than 40 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 - memories of life are partly still, partly lost. But deep in the mothers' minds are always the figures 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•18/07/2025

Years ago, the brave mother hid her sadness in her heart and sent her husband and son off to the front. Then, that same strong mother was heartbroken when she received the death notice of her husband and son.

She is over 102 years old (she was born in 1923), the age when she forgets what she said, cannot put words together and tears have already sunk in, but she still remembers her husband, her children, and the revolution. Her eldest son is a wounded soldier, Tran Gia Thom - although he lives nearby, he often has to go for long-term treatment. She lives with her youngest son and his wife, Tran Duong Han - Nguyen Thi Minh.

Over the years, the authorities at all levels, departments and branches have always cared for, encouraged, and regularly visited and comforted her mother in her old age. With her youngest daughter-in-law, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, her mother loves her like her own child. Her mother loves her daughter-in-law because she is responsible for all the housework. Her mother loves her because in recent years, her youngest son suffered a stroke and had difficulty moving around, but Ms. Minh still wholeheartedly takes care of both her husband and mother-in-law, without any hesitation. Ms. Minh not only takes care of her mother's food, sleep, and personal hygiene, but is also a source of spiritual encouragement, helping her mother to ease her worries and live happily, healthily and optimistically.

Sleeping hours change, and so do meal times, and when Mom is awake, she needs someone to talk to. However, I am very happy that at this age, I still have Mom to occasionally listen to her tell stories, stories without beginning or end...

Ms. Minh, with a simple, gentle smile, shared, "In recent years, my mother sleeps a lot during the day and stays awake at night. Her sleeping and resting hours have changed, and her meal times have also changed. When she is awake, she needs someone to talk to. However, I am very happy because at this age, I still have my mother so that I can occasionally listen to her tell stories, stories that have no beginning or end... When someone comes to visit, my mother is very happy. Then she tells stories about the old days when she fought against the Americans to save the country. She also teaches and advises her children to follow the example of their predecessors, to protect and build the homeland and develop the country. She talks about her husband and children, how she lived with ideals and sacrificed herself for the homeland and the country." This is probably not the complete happiness of The's mother, but the care of her children and grandchildren, the attention of the government in her old age is also a great joy for her...

Mother's Memory (Lesson 6): Sacrifice is dedication

Heroic mother Do Thi The is living with her youngest son and his wife in Cung Dien village, Nong Cong commune.

The mother's situation and the filial piety of Mr. Minh and Ms. Han, residents of Cung Dien village, Nong Cong commune - where the family lives - are well known to everyone. As for the mother, she is Heroic Vietnamese Mother Do Thi The.

We chose to listen and copy down fragments of our mother's memories, because words are sometimes limited when telling about a century of life, since the time of green hair, we had to worship our husband and children.

Through the fragmented narrative of the mother and the youngest daughter-in-law Nguyen Thi Minh, almost all memories of her husband and children are presented in the most complete way. In 1948, when she was a 17-year-old girl, her mother fell in love with a young man from a neighboring village named Tran Gia Huong. In 1949, her husband died while participating in the frontline militia carrying ammunition and food to feed the soldiers serving the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Her husband died at the peak of his youth, and at that time, her mother was pregnant with her first child. For her children, she "condensed her pain" into "lifeblood" to become a support for her children and continued to participate in contributing to the two resistance wars.

Mother's Memory (Lesson 6): Sacrifice is dedication

The few mementos that the son of martyr Tran Duong Hoan left for Heroic Vietnamese Mother Do Thi The.

In 1956, her mother got married for the second time and had two more children, Tran Duong Hoan and Tran Duong Han. In 1970, her eldest son, Tran Gia Thom, volunteered to go to war when he was just twenty years old, leaving part of his blood and bones on the Quang Tri battlefield.

Continuing the family's glorious tradition, in early 1974, when he was just 17 years old, his mother's second son, Tran Duong Hoan, also volunteered to join the army. His mother said that when he applied to join the army, Hoan already had a girlfriend, brought her home to meet his family and asked his mother for permission to get married before joining the army, but the wedding was very rushed. A few days after the wedding, before the couple had time to get used to each other, Hoan received orders to leave for the battlefield in the South.

Mother's Memory (Lesson 6): Sacrifice is dedication

The day she saw her son off, The's mother cried a lot. The two of them hugged each other and cried. Hoan promised to see his mother when he finished his international mission in a foreign country. But unexpectedly, that day was the last day The's mother and family saw Hoan's face. After nearly 5 years of military service without being able to return home once, in January 1979, Hoan sacrificed himself while carrying out his noble international mission in Cambodia.

Although still carrying heavy emotional wounds, mother is always proud of her husband and children's sacrifices for the peace of the country.

The pain was not only mine, so I felt sorry for my daughter-in-law, who only got to live with her husband for a few days. After Hoan passed away, I had to advise her for a long time before she agreed to move on.

Forty-six years have passed, and my mother and her family members have never once been able to light incense at the grave of martyr Tran Duong Hoan. Although she still carries heavy emotional wounds, my mother is always proud of the sacrifice of her husband and children for the peace of the country. That is the responsibility and duty of every Vietnamese citizen, the source of strength for the nation.

Her silent sacrifice has spread many good things to society. With her contributions and sacrifices for the cause of national liberation, building and defending the Fatherland, Mother Do Thi The was awarded the noble title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother by the President in 2014. Mother's Memory (Lesson 6): Sacrifice is dedication