“Letters from the Vietnam War”: A diary of a time of war and bullets

Amid the fierce years of resistance, between the fragile boundary between life and death, countless letters from Uncle Ho's soldiers sent to the rear were still full of faith and strong will on the battlefield.

The book "Letters from the Vietnam War".

Although it was only released in mid-April, the book “Letters from the Vietnam War” published by the Truth National Political Publishing House has received much attention from readers nationwide. The work was collected and compiled by veteran, poet, and journalist Dang Vuong Hung.

Valuable historical data

During wartime, letter writing was considered a part of the daily life of every soldier. They wrote letters to express their feelings and to converse. After sending the letters, they anxiously hoped that they would reach the recipients, and then were extremely happy when they received a reply. During that whole process, they lived in anticipation and hope.

Veteran Dang Vuong Hung, who wrote the book, admitted that: “At that time, writing, sending and receiving letters was a source of life, as necessary as… food and water. It can even be said that people relied on letters as a spiritual support to live and overcome the fierceness of war.”

“Letters from the Vietnam War” gathers hundreds of memorabilia from soldiers in the two wars to protect the country. Sometimes, they are pages filled with love sent to their families and loved ones. Sometimes, they are stories about a tense confrontation with the enemy. Sometimes, they are thoughts about the loss and pain of witnessing the sacrifice of their comrades. Or simply a few diary entries recounting the days of “tasting honey and lying on thorns” on the way to the battlefield.

For more than two months, we marched continuously to chase the enemy, traveling day and night for an average of 34-45 kilometers (some days up to 62 kilometers), climbing mountain passes as high as 20 kilometers and under the scorching sun, with our throats parched without a single drop of clean water. Some nights, we marched in the rain, the water seeped into our bodies, chilling us to the bone, with leeches clinging to our legs. The next morning, everyone looked like a wounded soldier and the road was soaked with the fresh blood of everyone…”, excerpt from a letter from Senior Lieutenant General Vu Lang, former Commander of the 3rd Corps (Tay Nguyen Corps) to his wife before the Dien Bien Phu campaign.

The lines of thoughts were written hastily during breaks between marches. They are imbued with the reality of combat life. The images and experiences in them are recreated so realistically that the reader seems to imagine that he is marching with the character, with great courage and determination.

Surely when writing, few people could have imagined that one day, these letters would become priceless souvenirs. And most of their owners are no longer alive. However, each message hastily written on yellowed paper over the years has become a witness to the heroic historical period of the nation.

“These seemingly private letters, diaries, and notes provide extremely valuable information and documents. They reveal many things about spiritual, material, and socio-cultural life in the past, contributing to explaining the secrets of history, making our present and future lives better,” Mr. Dang Vuong Hung shared.

Spreading noble ideals

The letters from both sides of nostalgia have become the ideal of life for an entire generation of soldiers. They belong to many different groups, coming from all regions of the country. They can be intellectuals, workers, farmers, or just students who have just left school. There are even letters sent from people on the other side of the front line.

The letters were collected by veteran, poet and journalist Dang Vuong Hung over many years.

Throughout the book are the most genuine and simple emotions in the soul of each soldier. There, there is the exuberance of optimism for victory, there are memories, love, but also moments of sadness and pain.

Reader Dang Van Thang, a veteran of the Special Forces, said: “The book reminds me of the days of fighting in Quang Tri Citadel in 1972. Many of my comrades died in this land. However, for us, holding a gun to fight to protect the fatherland forever is a great honor.”

The ideals of the gunman are clearly shown in the work “Letters from the Vietnam War”. Perhaps, that is the reason why the book is not only attractive to veterans and the elderly, but also attracts many young readers.

Nguyen Dam Linh, a first-year student at the National Economics University, shared: “I was very moved when I read the letters that soldiers sent home to their families before going to battle. To have the peace we have today, our ancestors sacrificed their blood and bones. They lived and fought for a noble ideal: To die for the Fatherland, to live for it.”

Sharing the same sentiment, Le An Hai, a first-year student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) expressed that without these letters, future generations like us would hardly know how the soldiers of that time lived and fought amidst the rain of bombs and bullets.

“The book helps me feel the resilient spirit of a heroic generation who put down their pens and joined the army to protect the country. Reading the book, I feel like I have more motivation to strive, try harder in studying, training and improving myself,” An Hai added.

Until today, “Letters from the Vietnam War” still retains its value of extraordinary will, determination and shining ideals. These are pages written very “real”, vivid and strangely attractive. Because when reading them, we can imagine the fate of each person, each situation, even the breath of the whole era.

In December 2004, the campaign to collect and publish the book series "Letters and Diaries of the Vietnam War" was launched by the National Political Publishing House Truth on mass media.

The works “Forever 20”, “Dang Thuy Tram’s Diary”, “Living to Love and Devote”, “Talented to Battle”, “Returning in Dreams”,… and most recently “Letters from the Vietnam War” are the results of this campaign. These books have been enthusiastically received by many readers across the country.

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