Love transcends bombs and bullets.
During the fierce years of the war against the US, when the line between life and death was thin, love was the driving force that gave strength to Mr. Duong Quang Tien, born in 1944, and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tham, born in 1947, residing in Vu Huu Street, Thanh Binh Ward (Hai Duong City).
Carefully flipping through the time-worn love letters of the couple, Mr. Tien recalled the first letter he sent to Mrs. Tham exactly 60 years ago. The letter contained the passage: "I am writing this letter to you from the main combat transport unit right now. I miss you terribly. How happy I would be if you were here with me, holding my rifle steady... Although you are not with me, I'm sure you are still ready to take on any task the Party needs, and that too is fighting."
Mr. Tien recalled that their budding romance was put on hold by war. In February 1964, Mr. Tien enlisted and underwent training at the Artillery unit, Battalion 12, Division 350 (Military Region 3) in Quan Toan, Hai Phong . That same year, Ms. Tham joined the local youth movement and later served in the women's militia platoon on concentrated combat duty in Cam Giang district. Those letters were a source of encouragement and strong faith for the soldier on the battlefield, helping him overcome the bombing and shelling, and for the woman on the home front, giving her hope that victory would come, the country would be unified, and her lover would return.
After joining the Quang Tri front, the letters Mr. Tien sent home to his girlfriend and family became less frequent due to the fierce fighting. Some letters were written slowly and carefully during long nights of guard duty. Others were hastily and briefly written during quiet moments between battles or during breaks on the march. "Because of the war conditions, sometimes it took six months for a letter to reach me. Each time I received a letter, I felt a little closer to the front lines and the home front," Mr. Tien recalled.
Because of the difficulties, according to Mr. Tien, the letters were no longer private but became a shared joy. When letters arrived and went, when sent and received, they were all opened and read aloud to all comrades. In Mr. Tien's letters to Mrs. Tham, we didn't see a hint of sorrow because of the war; instead, he always remained steadfast in his belief in the day the country would be liberated. A letter Mr. Tien wrote on January 1, 1968, contained a romantic poem: “ This year spring comes to the front lines / Smoke and fire obscure the sky day and night / Remembering you, I write a few lines / To you, my beloved wife / My whole soul is in this distant battlefield .”
In March 1971, Mr. Tien returned to the 581st Regiment in Nam Ha (now Ha Nam province) for recuperation and requested leave to organize his wedding with Ms. Tham. In February 1972, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown to work at the People's Committee of Thanh Binh commune (now Thanh Binh ward, Hai Duong city). Mr. Tien's children were named Trung, Hieu, Nghia, and Tinh, signifying the complete love story of their parents, which endured through the war. Along with his own letters, Mr. Tien also carefully preserved and cherished letters from his fallen comrades; two battlefield diaries; and a collection of wartime poems.
Cherished for a lifetime.
During those historic days of April, we had the opportunity to visit and talk with Le Van Tuoc (born in 1930), a veteran soldier of Dien Bien Phu. In Bich Cam village, Quang Phuc commune (Tu Ky district), Mr. Tuoc emotionally recounted to us the war relics he cherishes like treasures. These included a small backpack, a piece of parachute fabric, and a belt he was issued from the early days of his military service.
In 1950, young Le Van Tuoc volunteered to join the army. He was assigned to the 176th Regiment, then sent to nursing school before transferring to a new unit in the 316th Division. In early 1954, Mr. Tuoc and his comrades went to Dien Bien Phu to work as medical personnel in support of the fighting. He was given a green, coarse-fabric backpack with shoulder straps by his unit from the day he enlisted. From then on, the backpack was with him throughout the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Later, Mr. Tuoc donated many mementos to the provincial museum, such as his Dien Bien Phu badge certificate and wartime photographs… But he still kept the backpack as a reminder of a time of sacrifice and hardship.
During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Mr. Tuoc recalled that the divisions had to strain themselves to provide medical care for the wounded and ensure the health of the soldiers participating in the campaign. With the slogan "each vehicle is a mobile infirmary, each stretcher is a beloved family , " the civilian workers, youth volunteers, and military medical personnel accompanied the troops to provide timely emergency care. After the campaign, our military medical forces even deployed parachutes on the ground to transport about 1,500 wounded French soldiers for treatment. To never forget those historical moments, Mr. Tuoc carefully keeps the parachute and the belt he collected while serving on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.
NGUYEN THAOSource
![[Image] The appearance of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway before its opening.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/03/25/1774430324663_ndo_br_2-resize-6064-jpg.webp)
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