Memories imbued with a yearning for peace.

Việt Nam•04/01/2024

It can be seen that, following the revolutionary literature of the anti-French and anti-American periods, largely centered around the themes of war and soldiers, another revolutionary literary movement emerged when Vietnam entered the fight to defend its southwestern border and fulfill its international duty in Cambodia, marked by the victory on January 7, 1979. Poet Le Minh Quoc, a veteran who fought and spent his youth in Cambodia, in the preface to writer Doan Tuan's war memoir, "That Season of War," referred to the memoirs, recollections, and essays about Vietnamese volunteer soldiers on the Cambodian battlefield during those years as the "Literature from Outside the Homeland."

Some works depict the fighting to defend the southwestern border and the Vietnamese volunteer army's international duty in Cambodia - Photo: D.T.

I was fortunate enough to be given and read several memoirs, recollections, and essays that are considered excellent and hold a significant place among works written about Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia by authors such as Doan Tuan, Van Le, Trung Sy, Nguyen Vu Dien, Bui Thanh Minh, and Ha Minh Son... Through these works, the authors truthfully recorded the arduous struggle and sacrifices, and portrayed the noble image of the "Buddhist Army" from Vietnam who shed their blood to save the Cambodian people from genocide. This is a moving, authentic, and brilliant literary tradition, so much so that, as Colonel, writer, and veteran Dang Vuong Hung said in the introduction to the autobiography "Southern Campaign, Northern War" by veteran Ha Minh Son: if one hadn't been there, hadn't faced the enemy with a gun, hadn't directly bandaged the wounded, and hadn't buried comrades many times, then such vivid and convincing writings could not have been produced. Therefore, many of Ha Minh Son's writings contain not only sweat but also blood and tears!

Upon its initial release in 2017, Doan Tuan's war memoir, "That Season of War," made a profound impression on readers, especially veterans of the 307th Division—the author's comrades. This work is considered one of the outstanding collections of memoirs, meticulously and realistically recreating the arduous life, struggles, and sacrifices of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in Cambodia. A distinctive feature of Doan Tuan's works is his "soldierly spirit." He writes about war with a brutally honest tone, raw and painful yet optimistic, imbued with human compassion and camaraderie, without a single line of self-pity. Each page of Doan Tuan's writing is intended to ensure that "no one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten," no matter how many years have passed since the war ended.

Read these lines from Doan Tuan's "That Season of War," describing the sacrifice of his comrades during the attack on Stung Treng airfield: "Upon encountering the airfield, we deployed... I was looking around when the order to fire came. Looking to the right, I saw the regimental reconnaissance soldiers marching steadily forward. Leading the way was Chau, a soldier from Hanoi , whose house was in the Bach Khoa area. I recognized Chau because of the red birthmark on his forehead. Having not encountered the enemy for several days, our soldiers were very complacent. Chau still had his AK rifle on his shoulder, as if walking into an empty space. Suddenly, Chau was hit by a bullet. One bullet struck him in the middle of his forehead. He fell down. My position wasn't far away. My position was high enough to see everything. Immediately, in my direction, Khai ordered the firing... I saw Khai turn to the left. I ran after him, thinking that information had to be kept close to the commander. Suddenly, Khai shouted: 'There he is! Capture him alive!' As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of bullets hit Khai in the chest. He collapsed... That day was January 4th, 1979."

If "That Season of War" is a record of a war-tinged youth with everyday stories full of soldierly spirit about love, friendship, and camaraderie, then Doan Tuan's memoir "The Season of Premonition" presents 18 portraits of the writer's comrades, each of whom, "though deep down knew they would die, calmly accepted it. They calmly faced death as a matter of course. Not just one person, but many went like that. They were not afraid. They did not desert. They did not try to escape or retreat to the rear. They died. They were the bravest. The youngest. The most beautiful. Their image will forever shine brightly in our minds."

In his memoir "The Deciduous Forest in the Season of Changing Leaves," former Major Nguyen Vu Dien, who fought in the Cambodian battlefield from 1978-1980, recorded his memories of the close bond between the author and a Cambodian mother: "One day I caught a cold, had a high fever, and couldn't eat. The unit nurse gave me medicine, but it didn't help. She passed by on her way to the market and stopped to ask for water. Seeing me lying listlessly, she inquired about my condition and told the soldiers to get her a bottle of liniment so she could give me a traditional Vietnamese massage. She made me undress, lie face down on the wooden floor, and then she took the liniment and used a silver coin to scrape along my spine and ribs. A few days later, my fever subsided. One day, I jokingly asked her for a piece of cloth to make pants. The next day, she came back from the market, carrying a whole pile of colorful cloth, and threw it down on the wooden floor, saying, 'Mother is giving you a piece of cloth.'" "Choose whatever color you like." A piece of fabric for trousers, brought from Thailand and sold at Svay Chek market, was worth one gold coin, so I didn't dare accept it, but she insisted I choose..."

In his memoir "Stories of Soldiers in the Southwest," Sergeant Xuan Tung, formerly a communications sergeant in the 4th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 9th Division, 4th Corps, who participated in the war to defend the southwestern border and overthrow the genocidal regime from 1978 to 1983, recounted the thirsts during the dry season in the dipterocarp forest: "One day, I was so thirsty I almost died. Like many other days, we found a puddle of clear water in the middle of a dry stream, beside a row of green reeds. We rushed in to quench our thirst and collect water, so the puddle gradually dried up. When it was my turn, I scooped up some water from my cap and took a long, gulp. The cool, sweet water soothed the burning sensation in my chest. When I scooped up my water from my canteen, I saw something white at the bottom. Looking closely, I saw a pale white human skull, staring at the world with two lifeless, moss-covered eye sockets... We continued drinking, and no one spilled their canteen." "Go ahead. It's already in my stomach anyway. Using this holy water is still better than using urine..."

In the concluding remarks of "Stories of Soldiers in the Southwest," Sergeant explained that the book's creation stemmed from an inner urge, a deep-seated memory that only those who shared life and death on the arduous battlefields could truly understand: "I returned, stepping onto the doorstep of my house on the afternoon of the 23rd of the Lunar New Year in 1983, after more than four and a half years traversing the battlefields of Cambodia, a land of sacrifice and hardship, with many friends and comrades who never returned. Life is hectic, but those familiar faces return many nights. Their names are still mentioned on anniversaries, in old-timer conversations over a glass of draft beer on the sidewalk. It was they who prompted me to recount this story of the Southwest. I keep their names unchanged, as if they still live in this world."

During these days when the country is celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Victory in the war to defend the southwestern border of the Fatherland and the victory of the Vietnamese and Cambodian people over the genocidal regime on January 7th (1979-2024), rereading works from the literary movement "Lands Outside the Fatherland," we appreciate even more the immense value of peace, and value building friendship, cooperation, and development with countries around the world , especially neighboring countries. Just as 45 years ago, in the arduous Cambodian battlefield, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers felt happiness coming from something simple and humble, imbued with the aspiration for peace: "It seemed as if happiness was enveloping us in a peaceful sleep, no longer anxiously waiting to hear the call to night watch"... (Stories of Southwestern Soldiers - Sergeant).

Dan Tam

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