Unforgettable losses
"My dear wife and children,
Today marks the fifth day since he set off on his mission, and it's also the last day before he says goodbye to his wife and children. When North and South are reunified, then we will be reunited..."
Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tình Thị Lộc with her children and grandchildren.
That was the message in a letter that martyr Ma Van Lap, from Cay Thi village, Hop Thanh commune (Son Duong district), sent to his wife - Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tinh Thi Loc. North and South Vietnam have been unified, yet the promise of family reunion will never be fulfilled.
Ms. Ma Thi Ngan, the eldest daughter of Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tinh Thi Loc and martyr Ma Van Lap, recalled: “In 1968, following the general mobilization order, my father enlisted in the army and directly fought on the ‘front line’ in Quang Binh. During his journey from Tuyen Quang to Quang Binh, he wrote four letters to his wife and children on February 27, 1968, October 16, 1968, January 7, 1969, and the last one on March 3, 1969. Each letter inquired about their health, reminded the children to focus on their studies, help with household chores, and urged them to sell pigs and dogs to buy rice because they were pregnant with the youngest child and couldn't do heavy work…” And in all those letters, the sentiment of a soldier going to battle, surrounded by bombs, smoke, and fire, was always “this farewell, who knows, might be the farewell forever…”
These letters have been carefully preserved by Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tình Thị Lộc for many years. They are also the last mementos, the final link before her husband, father, and the family's pillar sacrificed his life on the battlefield in the South. But that pain wasn't the end of it all... In early 1983, Mother Lộc's son, Ma Văn Đoán, followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted to defend the Fatherland. Đoán had just finished his engagement ceremony when he joined the army. No letters were sent home; his siblings never got to see him in his military uniform before, five months later, the family received a death notice. Martyr Ma Văn Đoán died on August 22, 1983, in Thượng Phùng, Mèo Vạc, Hà Giang, during the glorious battle to defend the northern border.
Pain upon pain.
Each child left and never returned.
At 99 years old, her memory is sometimes sharp, sometimes forgetful, but the memories of her two sons, eighteen and twenty years old, who answered the call of the Fatherland, have never faded in the stories told by Mrs. Lam Thi Gia, from Hamlet 4, Kim Phu Commune (Tuyen Quang City).
Heroic Vietnamese Mother Lam Thi Gia gazes at the portrait of martyr Lam Van Tuan.
"They said, 'Mom, stay home and take care of your health, we'll be back with you when we leave.'"
"I never come back. When I leave, I leave for good."
“There were no letters. Only death notices. Hai was in the Laotian battlefield, Tuan was in the Cambodian battlefield. They haven’t been found yet. They haven’t been found at all.”
Mother Giã spoke in short sentences. The passage of time, along with countless times of waiting for news, hoping, and then being disappointed, seemed to have numbed her emotions. But her children and grandchildren said that at night, in her dreams, Mother Giã still called out the names of her two sons. And on days when she wandered to the cemetery, she said, "Hai, Tuan, they're calling." That alone was enough to understand the agonizing longing and the torment of a mother who had not yet found the remains of her two sons who died on the battlefield.
Mother Giã had five children, four sons and one daughter. Three of her sons volunteered for military service, but only one returned. Le Thanh Hai, who enlisted in May 1971, died in the Laotian war in March 1972. Lam Van Tuan, who enlisted in July 1977, died in the Cambodian war in March 1982. Their blood mingled with the soil of their motherland, allowing the country to blossom with independence and bear the fruits of freedom. When the war ended, there was no greater joy than the joy of reunion, but there was also no greater pain than the pain of knowing that her sons would never return on the day of victory.
Extracting sorrow into life force.
There is no pain greater than losing a loved one, losing a child, as if losing a part of oneself. Mother Gia, Mother Loc, and countless other Heroic Vietnamese Mothers have experienced such pain. Their grief is not measured in years or months, but in a lifetime.
At 92 years old, with failing eyesight and unsteady steps, Mother Loc is still constantly busy with household chores. Sometimes she chops bananas for the chickens, other times she gathers firewood, boils water, and cleans the house... Her children try to dissuade her, telling her to rest, but working regularly seems to have become a habit for this hardworking woman who sacrificed for her husband and children. For 56 years, she has been devoted to her husband and raised her children, keeping her promise to the martyr Ma Van Lap, ensuring her children received a full education and grew up to be good people, no matter how difficult things got. Yet, the longing and yearning are still evident in her eyes, which have grown dry and weary...
“After Mr. Doan brought the grave back here, she didn’t mention it anymore. But whenever she’s lucid, she tells her children to go find their father and bring him home. When she was healthy, she used to go to the commune office to do paperwork and listen for news about him. But the battlefield was so vast, how could we possibly find him?” – Ms. Ma Thi Ngan, the daughter of Mother Loc, confided.
The flames of war have died down, and in Mother Gia's memory, only the image of her two hardworking, dutiful sons remains, never wanting her to lift a finger. Throughout her life, Mother Gia toiled from dawn till dusk, working in the fields and doing odd jobs year-round, hoping to survive until the day her sons returned.
During the long years of fighting against French colonialism, American imperialism, and the war to defend the northern border, millions of Vietnamese mothers shared the pain of losing their husbands and sons. In Tuyen Quang, Mother Luong Thi Hong, Mother Nguyen Thi Lien in Cong Da (Yen Son), Mother Pham Thi Duom in Hung Duc (Ham Yen), Mother Nguyen Thi Nhon, Lam Thi Gia in Tuyen Quang city, Mother Tinh Thi Loc in Hop Thanh (Son Duong)... have become shining examples of noble sacrifice and unwavering loyalty for future generations. The nation honors these mothers with the title "Heroic Vietnamese Mother." These mothers are legends in everyday life, the rear guard, the heart of the nation.
The province has 196 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers who have been awarded and posthumously awarded the prestigious title by the State, of which 4 are still alive. All Vietnamese Heroic Mothers in the province are cared for and supported by various agencies, units, and businesses. In addition to monthly financial support, they are regularly visited, receive medical check-ups, and are provided with necessary medicine and supplies to maintain their health and daily lives. This is both a responsibility and a sacred duty, further enhancing the nation's tradition of "drinking water, remembering the source," and contributing to the effective implementation of the "gratitude and repayment" movement in the province.
In this historic month of April, sharing in the joy of the Great Spring Victory, we are reminded of history to understand that the peace , independence, and freedom we enjoy today were bought with the blood and tears of our ancestors. Only those who have experienced loss truly understand how precious freedom is. And the Heroic Vietnamese Mothers are the ones who sacrificed more than anything to preserve that sacred thing.
Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/tron-tinh-nuoc-non-210959.html
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