Memorable birthday of Lieutenant Colonel of the Vietnam People's Army in the earthquake zone of Myanmar

NDO - Returning to Vietnam after nearly 10 days of rescuing earthquake victims in Myanmar, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Anh (Deputy Head of Translation Department, Department of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense) still cannot forget the memorable memories in the host country. The most special one is the "unprecedented" birthday night that he had the opportunity to experience.

Sharing with Nhan Dan Newspaper reporter, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Anh said: 2 days after the earthquake disaster in Myanmar, he received orders to leave for international duty.

Due to the short time to prepare, before leaving, he only had time to tell Minh, his sick son at home: "Minh, stay home and be good. Daddy will be gone for a few days and then come back to you." The 4-year-old boy did not understand what was going on, he just insisted on hugging his leg and crying.

Participating in a rescue operation abroad for the first time, the Deputy Head of the Translation Department, Department of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of National Defense was responsible for conducting field reconnaissance before deploying forces. Therefore, he was the first person to approach the areas heavily affected by the earthquake. Therefore, he also directly witnessed many losses and pains in the neighboring country.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Anh (right) talks with Bangladeshi rescue forces at the search and rescue scene in Naypyidaw.

On the evening of April 1, after a hard day of work, having a quick simple meal with his teammates, Lieutenant Colonel Thang Anh hurriedly returned to his small room and called his family. Today was Lieutenant Colonel Thang Anh's birthday. Therefore, he especially wanted to talk to his family, to his eldest daughter Lan Chi and "private" Nguyen Anh Minh, the way he often called his youngest son.

- Did you see your dad on TV today, Minh? - he asked.

- Yes, dad! - Minh replied.

- So today is dad's birthday, what song will Minh sing for dad?

From the other end, the 4-year-old “private” sang a birthday song in a foreign language to his father thousands of kilometers away. The song was occasionally interrupted by the unstable signal at the epicenter.

After telling Minh to take medicine to recover from his illness and promising to return safely soon, the father affectionately greeted his family and sat there for a while. He said: “Today, I surveyed a total of 5 locations, including one that left me speechless. Under the ruined house, there were 5 children under 10 years old and a woman still buried. Outside, the grieving mothers and fathers were still standing and sitting, looking inside. At that time, I thought, the fact that tonight, I could still come home and call and talk to my children on their birthday was an extremely lucky and happy thing.”

Birthdays in foreign lands do not have candles, flowers, cakes or too many wishes. There is only a phone call across the border with an unstable signal. But, for Lieutenant Colonel Thang Anh, this is the most meaningful birthday in more than 20 years of military service…

The innocent wishes from Vietnam gave him more strength and determination to complete his mission, not backing down during the days of rescue and relief work in Myanmar.

Lieutenant Colonel Thang Anh called Minh - a young "private" from Myanmar.

Tell your son to take his medicine to get well soon. "When we get home, I'll take you two out," Lieutenant Colonel Thang Anh said.

The innocent wishes from Vietnam gave him more strength and determination to complete his mission, not backing down during the days of rescue and relief work in Myanmar.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/sinh-nhat-dang-nho-cua-trung-ta-quan-doi-nhan-dan-viet-nam-trong-vung-dong-dat-myanmar-post871649.html