A decade (1997-2007) spent in the sun-drenched, windswept Central and Central Highlands regions of Vietnam taught me that: The people's hearts are like coffee plantations; only with persistent and sincere care can one reap lasting trust. A soldier is only truly steadfast when they know how to put the people first, and take the love and affection of their compatriots as their foundation.

The Central Highlands are bustling with activity during the coffee harvest season. (Illustrative image: laodong.vn)

During the period of 2001-2004, when hostile forces sought to divide national unity in the Central Highlands, our task became heavier than ever. Amidst those tense times, we understood that the sharpest weapon was not guns and bullets, but empathy and compassion for the people. Soldiers wielded weapons to protect the border and used their hearts to safeguard the villages and maintain peace in every communal house.

Anyone who has lived in the Central Highlands during the last months of the year will find it hard to forget the biting cold and the rich aroma of ripening coffee. For me, the days spent working with the local people in Chu Se or Dak Doa are the most vivid memories. Picking coffee wasn't simply a labor job; it was a time when we got to experience the worries and hardships of the local people.

On the vast coffee plantations, the hands of the soldiers, accustomed to holding guns, now nimbly pick clusters of ripe red berries. We reap the hardships of the villagers and sow seeds of trust. The hands stained with soil, the radiant smiles of the elderly Ba Na and Gia Rai mothers when they see the soldiers helping carry heavy sacks of coffee back to their villages... are proof of a simple truth: Their uniforms may be different in color from the villagers' clothing, but their heartbeats are always in the same direction. When sweat mingles with the red basalt soil, the distance between the soldiers of Uncle Ho's army and the villagers is completely erased.

Recently, Military Region 5 was honored to receive the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces. This prestigious award not only recognizes brilliant victories but also engraves in history the silent sacrifices of countless generations of officers and soldiers in the cause of defending the land, villages, and people. Looking at that heroic title, I see both the arduous green of the mountains and forests and the vibrant red of the ripening coffee harvests that we soldiers have persistently cultivated together with the people.

Ten years of service in the 2nd Division has been a journey where I've realized that the most precious reward is the trusting gaze of the village elders and chiefs, and the affectionate call of "our soldiers" from the children in the majestic Central Highlands.

Now, though I've left behind those red basalt roads, whenever the aroma of coffee wafts by, my heart is filled with nostalgia for the 2nd Division, for the comrades who shared rations and water in the forest, and for the nights we drank rice wine while bending bamboo straws. Under the victorious flag of the heroic 5th Military Region, the memories of 10 years of civilian mobilization will forever be a flame warming the hearts of the soldiers—a time when we lived our youth not only for ourselves but also for the enduring green of the Central Highlands.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/nho-ve-mua-ray-va-long-dan-tay-nguyen-1038887