Letters written in haste

Collecting hundreds of genuine and touching letters during the war, the book "Vietnamese Women Had a Time Like That" contains the thoughts and nostalgia of women during a heroic period of the nation's history.

The book was just released by the National Political Publishing House Truth in February.

The book introduces to readers wartime letters selected from thousands of letters kept at the Vietnam Women's Museum, contributing to clarifying and honoring the good qualities, spiritual strength, and noble ideals of Vietnamese women during the years of the nation's resistance war against French colonialism and American imperialism.

The letters express the feelings of couples who are temporarily separated, of wives waiting for their husbands, of children missing their mothers, of sisters waiting for news of their younger siblings... It is the separation between the home front and the front line that forces them to send their love, joys and sorrows of life and encourage each other through letters.

Each page of the book, though written hastily, without polished words or flowery sentences, is filled with longing for family, words of encouragement and wishes for reunion, for the nation to be independent, for the country to be unified.

The book includes a letter from female general Nguyen Thi Dinh to her son; letters from Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thap - the first woman to be awarded the Gold Star Medal, to her grandchild; letters from her sister - the daughter with the "Victory Smile" Vo Thi Thang, sent to her family from Con Dao...

Notably, the letters of Nguyen Thi Ngoc Toan - a medic in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign - to her lover Khanh (later Lieutenant General Cao Van Khanh (1917-1980), former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army) were written between 1954 and 1973 - a period when the war was extremely fierce.

The letters of musician couple Tran Hoan - Thanh Hong also touched many readers. They got married in 1950 but it was not until after the country was unified that they were officially reunited and letters and diaries were the only means at that time to express their feelings and communicate with their life partners.

The hastily written letter to her mother written by Ms. Vo Thi Tan, Squad Leader of Squad 4, Company 552 of Ha Tinh Youth Volunteers on July 19, 1968, is a truly special keepsake, because just five days later, she and nine of her comrades heroically sacrificed themselves. Until now, more than half a century has passed, but anyone who reads this letter will be moved and proud of the girls who are "forever 20 years old"...

As the unit that collected the letters to publish the book, Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum Nguyen Thi Tuyet said that these were all handwritten letters written during the resistance war, the paper was yellowed, the letters faded, so the editors were very patient, careful and cherished them throughout the process of compiling the book.

Deputy Director of the National Political Publishing House, Truth Nguyen Thai Binh, believes that the book will be a valuable document, providing readers with the most authentic view of the heroic qualities of a generation ready to sacrifice for the cause of national liberation; at the same time, inspiring today's generation of women to learn, follow and emulate.

The war is getting further away, but those letters are becoming more valuable, becoming precious spiritual heritage for today's and future generations.

The book was published on the occasion of the 1884th anniversary of the Hai Ba Trung uprising, the 94th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3, and International Women's Day on March 8, to honor the tradition of "Heroic, indomitable, loyal, and courageous" of Vietnamese women.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/sach-phu-nu-viet-nam-co-mot-thoi-nhu-the-nhung-la-thu-viet-voi-306711.html