The wish of a soldier who spent half a century looking for his comrades

BAC NINH - The war has long since ended, but for veteran Hoang Huy (born in 1950) in Vu neighborhood, Vo Cuong ward (Bac Ninh province), the war has not really ended. For nearly 50 years, he has quietly continued his own journey to fulfill his promise to find his fallen comrades: "If I am still alive, I will find and bring my brothers back to their motherland." For him, it is not only a promise but also a sacred comradeship.

Promise to teammates

In 1970, young man Hoang Huy volunteered to join the army, becoming a soldier of Special Forces Battalion 406, Military Region 5. In fierce battlefields such as Quang Nam , Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum, Gia Lai..., he experienced many fierce battles and achieved many feats.

Mr. Hoang Huy searches for information and data about martyrs.

He still remembers clearly the intense battle in Son Ha ( Quang Ngai province) in June 1971. Under the command of his superiors, he and his comrades secretly ambushed for 10 hours in the harsh mountains and forests; when the opportunity was ripe, they suddenly opened fire, destroying the enemy and shooting down two planes. That victory created favorable conditions for our infantry to advance to liberate Son Ha. For this feat, he was awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal.

In April 1972, the 406th Special Forces Battalion continued to confront the enemy forces at Dai Duc base (Hoai An, Binh Dinh province) - a place with a solid defense system and modern weapons. In that unequal battle, Mr. Huy's unit suffered heavy losses, many comrades forever remaining on the battlefield.

During the years of fighting on the fronts, he and his comrades buried many fallen comrades. From those fierce years, he promised himself that if he was still alive, he would find and bring back the remains of his comrades.

Nearly 50 years of silently fulfilling his promise to his comrades, veteran Hoang Huy is not only a soldier who held a gun on the battlefield but also a person who lights up and spreads noble deeds and gratitude towards martyrs.

On the day of national reunification, the young soldier returned to his hometown carrying heavy memories and an unfulfilled promise. In 1976, he began his first trip back to Quang Ngai, looking for the burial place of martyr Tran Quang Xa, from Tran village, Hap Linh commune, Tien Son district (now Tran quarter, Hap Linh ward, Bac Ninh province). Mr. Xa was the Deputy Head of the Military Medical Department, and while buying medicine for a unit that was suddenly attacked by the enemy, he heroically sacrificed himself. “Mr. Xa sacrificed himself on March 10, 1974 at Vinh Tuy slope, Tinh Hiep commune, Son Tinh district - Quang Ngai province. That day it was pouring rain. We buried him next to a small house on the mountainside. When I came back to find him, this place had changed a lot,” Mr. Huy sadly recounted. The small house from before was dilapidated, only the mossy stone foundation remained… but the signs he recorded were still there. When searching and bringing the remains of martyr Xa back to his hometown Bac Ninh, in front of the altar of his old comrade, his eyes filled with tears. For the first time since the war, he felt relieved.

Journey to bring 70 martyrs back to their homeland

Since then, Mr. Huy continued his journey to find his comrades, silently and persistently. He followed his memory, met his old comrades, turned over each page of records, each military symbol, asked the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, the military command of many provinces and cities. When necessary, he coordinated with the martyrs' families to conduct DNA tests, verifying every detail, even the smallest.

The list of martyrs remaining on the battlefields has been collected, researched and compiled by Mr. Hoang Huy over many years.

Every time he returned to the old battlefield, his backpack was always full of old maps, compasses, flashlights, magnifying glasses, cameras, and a small notebook with many detailed notes. These items accompanied him on many long trips to find his comrades, climbing mountains, wading streams, and traversing forests. Many times, to find a martyr's remains, Mr. Huy had to travel from North to South 2 to 3 times.

Up to now, he has helped bring the remains of 70 martyrs back to their homeland. He meticulously recorded each martyr's name, hometown, and date of death. They are: Nguyen Ba Ton (Hoai Duc, Ha Tay province, now Hanoi), Nguyen Van Hung and Nguyen Vu Thuong in Phu Cu (Hung Yen), Nguyen Dinh Tat in Phuong Mao commune (now Phuong Lieu ward, Bac Ninh), Cao Duc Thang in Dong Tien commune (now Yen Phong commune, Bac Ninh province)... Every time he brought a comrade back to his family and homeland, he lit a stick of incense and whispered: "I kept my word, brother".

He has crossed the Central Highlands forest many times, sometimes having to turn back because of floods. In 2011, he had a traffic accident while on his way to find the remains of martyr Nguyen Van Hung in Quang Ngai. Sometimes he and the martyr's relatives had to stay in the deep forest for days, sleeping in huts, eating instant noodles, just to verify a place suspected to be the martyr's burial place. However, he never gave up. "As long as I have strength, I will continue to go with my relatives to find my comrades to return" - he said simply but resolutely.

His wife, Dao Thi Toan, although very worried before each of her husband's trips, always quietly supported him: "Seeing him living with his comrades, I can only light incense and pray, hoping that he will find more brothers"! He covered the expenses for those trips himself from his pension of less than three million VND per month. Occasionally, family and friends helped a little. For him, the green forest of the past not only kept memories of war but also kept a part of his life, where there were comrades who had not been named, who had not returned to their wives, children, and families. That urged him to keep going.

For nearly 50 years, veteran Hoang Huy has silently fulfilled his promise to his comrades. He is not only a soldier who once held a gun on the battlefield, but also a person who lit up and spread noble deeds and gratitude towards the martyrs. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Vietnam Veterans Association (in 2021) and a Certificate of Merit by the Minister of National Defense (in 2023) for his special contributions in searching for and collecting martyrs' remains. But for him, the greatest reward is bringing his comrades back to their families and homeland. When asked why he has not stopped at his old age, he replied: "Because the war only truly ends when the last person who has fallen is called by name."

Vu Thang - Van Phong

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/tam-nguyen-cua-nguoi-linh-nua-the-ky-di-tim-dong-doi-postid422279.bbg