The fateful letter…

During the war, a soldier’s luggage was very simple, in addition to a backpack, a gun, and other necessary items, there was also a pen and a notebook. In the fateful moments, many people only had time to leave a few lines to send to their loved ones back home as a farewell or farewell. Then time passed, for the soldiers who could not return, the letter was the last keepsake for their loved ones…

At the end of July 2024, in the atmosphere of grief of the whole nation at the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a staunch communist of the Party, an excellent student of President Ho Chi Minh , a leader who was extremely beloved and close to the people... I suddenly received a letter from the relative of Martyr Nguyen Quang Luong, from Dai Cuong commune, Kim Bang district. The letter was stained with time, but the lines and ink were still intact. The hastily written lines on two pages of paper, in some places scribbled, stretched like the roads that the writer of this letter was about to pass through.

… I met the sender of this letter, the second daughter of martyr Nguyen Quang Luong, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Oanh, born in 1968, living in Tung Quan village, Dai Cuong commune. In the spacious, well-off house, the children were chirping and playing, Mrs. Oanh introduced them as her grandchildren. Living with her was her old mother - the wife of martyr Nguyen Quang Luong, who is over 80 years old this year.

Holding her father’s letter in her hand, she was moved to tears: “It is the only thing my father left us. I remember every word, every line and seem to feel my father’s warmth in it. For more than 10 years, this letter has been the motivation that has helped me overcome my difficult life, always trying to work to build a family life, take care of my elderly mother and children so as not to be ashamed of my father…”.

Mrs. Oanh took out her father's certificates of merit, awards, medals of all kinds, calling them great rewards that the Party and the State honor the contributions and dedication of martyrs. As for the letter, she only got it when her family found the grave of martyr Nguyen Quang Luong at the end of 2009 at Tinh Bien Martyrs' Cemetery, An Giang Province. At that time, her uncle thought that it was time to give this keepsake to his sister-in-law and nieces to keep. He told his niece: "I have swallowed every word! Now that I have received your father, I will return it to you!!!" The words in the letter resonated in the hearts of those who were still alive. The love for the parents, wife, children, brothers, and relatives of the martyrs merged with the love for the country like other soldiers.

However, the letter also expressed an ominous premonition for the road ahead: “Dear parents, I am far away, from now on I am far away forever. As a child, I do not know how to repay and repay the kindness of my parents for raising me. I have thought a lot, my thoughts will be mixed with the thoughts of the communists.”

Mrs. Le Thi Le, wife of martyr Luong, sadly said: “We got married in 1960, then he went to work as an armed police officer in Ha Nam, then went to Cam Pha to be stationed. The time we met and were together can be counted on the fingers, hastily and briefly. In 1964, I gave birth to my first daughter after he came home to visit. In 1966, he changed jobs, then came back to visit his wife and children once. Then I became pregnant with my second daughter, giving birth in the year of Mau Than. At that time, the army was mobilizing its forces to go to war, so he went back to the army in February 1968. On December 3, 1969, he sacrificed himself.”

The three of them lived a difficult life during the war years. Mrs. Le sent her children to her husband's parents to take care of and did various jobs such as construction workers and market vendors to earn a living. When her children grew up, they were all independent and accustomed to hardships and shortages. In the family of martyr Luong, no one knew which unit he was in. One autumn day, he sent a telegram to the commune, telling his father to go to Bac Ma (a commune of Dong Trieu district, former Hai Duong province) to see him because he had to go to the South to fight, but Luong's father could not go immediately, he planned to leave in a few days. Time was urgent at the front, so Mr. Luong had to leave for the South immediately, passing through Dong Van town (Duy Tien district - Ha Nam at that time), the unit stopped to rest, and he took the opportunity to write a letter to his family.

The letter reached Oanh’s grandfather when her father had passed away. Later, when returning the letter to his nephew, Oanh’s uncle said: The reason why my grandfather did not give the letter to his daughter-in-law to read was because she had just given birth, he was afraid that thinking and worrying would affect her health. He kept it and read it every day, “swallowing each word” as a way to suppress his longing for his son. When he received his son’s death notice, Oanh’s grandfather considered the letter as the only valuable keepsake to keep, to love…

… The letter began with simple words:

“Dong Van February 27, 1969

My dear parents

Dear parents! Tonight, my battalion is temporarily stopping in Dong Van. I really want to go home but I can’t. I know that you will blame me. I don’t know what to say to you. If only I could come back to visit you and see how you are doing, and that only half an hour would satisfy my life’s wishes. Dear parents! Standing before the moment of parting, I don’t know what to say. I can only write a few short lines. That is the responsibility of the person leaving (and that person is me).

First of all, I send my best regards to my parents and family, and my love and care to you all…”

Perhaps, only the soldiers in that atmosphere could understand the nature of this war. And, with the spirit of “communists”, Uncle Ho’s soldiers, they were ready to prepare themselves to sacrifice for the Fatherland, without hesitation, without regret, without sorrow! “Parents, don’t be afraid or worry too much about me, even if I have to stop breathing for a moment, I am determined not to do anything that will harm the honor of a party member, of my parents, of my family and of my grandchildren in the future…”

The hastily written letters, touching to the core, will bring tears to the eyes of mothers, fathers, wives and children... But for young people, if they read this letter, they will think more about themselves, about their responsibility to the Fatherland, society and homeland. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Oanh said, "That was my father's fateful letter. He wrote it as a final message to forever lie down for the green Fatherland..."

Jiangnan

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/van-hoa/la-thu-dinh-menh-130277.html