The story of the sadness of war of a son of the fiery land of Quang Tri

The story of the sacrifice and loss caused by the war, even though it has long since ended, of Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi's family and the tolerance of a son of the fiery land of Quang Tri moved us deeply...

Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi, Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, shared his family's touching story at the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and the 35th anniversary of the joint search for US soldiers missing in action (MIA) on June 8 , 2023.

The stories that Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi, Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, shared at the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and the 35th Anniversary of the Joint Search for US Soldiers Missing in Action (MIA) on June 8th have haunted me forever. Today, July 27th, War Invalids and Martyrs Day, I called him and he told me more stories and memories of the war that, although long gone, is unforgettable for his family...

Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi was born into a poor family, very poor and grew up in a concentration camp created by the Republic of Vietnam regime on the southern bank of the Ben Hai River. His childhood was associated with images of arrest, imprisonment, bombs and bullets, and death and tragedy. Hunger and poverty. His hometown at that time was like that and like many other Vietnamese villages, it continuously experienced wars. He remembers never having a full meal…

Talking about his family's sacrifices and losses, Mr. Phoi choked up, remembering the image of his father being shot dead by a Republic of Vietnam soldier right in front of his house on August 25, 1968. At that time, he was just a child, just 6 years old.

He recalled the image of his mother and sister crying when his brother died less than a year later, on June 19, 1969. His brother ran away from home to join the army when he was only 17 years old, and at 20 he was captured in a battle and imprisoned in Non Nuoc prison in Da Nang. Two years later, his family learned that his brother had been tortured to death in prison for the simple reason that he was a “Viet Cong”.

Later, through talking with Mr. Phoi, I learned that he also had an older brother born in 1941. At the age of 23, he joined the army and fought directly on the Tri Thien battlefield. In 1966, he was captured in a battle and began his journey of years of imprisonment and torture from Hue prison to Chi Hoa prison and nearly 8 years in Phu Quoc prison.

There was no form of brutal torture of the Republic of Vietnam regime that Phoi’s brother did not experience. It was not until 1973, after the Paris Agreement, that the strong man who had only weighed 46 kg after years of imprisonment was returned according to the “prisoner regime” convention. But in 1996, after years of continuous illness due to the after-effects of his years in prison, he passed away.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper sympathized with Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi's sharing at the Commemoration Ceremony.

Mr. Phoi emotionally remembers his sister's death on January 23, 1976, when he was 14 years old. Although he was still a child, he was a child of war, old enough to remember all the sad memories of war.

He said his sister died right in front of her 14-year-old brother, right in their garden, while participating in the bomb disposal force. An artillery shell suddenly exploded, while his sister and other female teammates were using a shovel to search for bombs, mines and artillery shells because at that time, her bomb disposal team did not have modern equipment like today.

Mr. Phoi sadly said that in his childhood memories, there were many painful losses that the war brought to his family, his homeland and Vietnam. The painful and haunting deaths: The story of his father dying when he was very young; his brother and sister also passed away when they were in their twenties, both without their own families, no wives, no children, not even a picture to worship.

Mr. Phoi added that when the war ended in his homeland Vietnam, its remnants, not only in his homeland but also in neighboring Cambodia, caused his family to lose another beloved person. He said that his brother joined the army at the age of 20 and died in 1981 at the age of 26 due to a landmine on his way to perform a mission in the Cambodian battlefield. His brother was buried by his comrades in a village in Pretviha province, Cambodia.

Four years later, his brother was found by a comrade who had returned to Vietnam from the Cambodian battlefield, who had put his remains in a backpack and brought them to the Kon Tum Martyrs' Cemetery. This soldier had thrown away most of his luggage just to bring his brother's body back to the country. In 1987, Phoi's family went to Kon Tum to bury his brother's body in his hometown. Phoi did not know about all of this because he was studying in the Soviet Union at the time. In 1989, when he returned to the country, his mother was very happy to tell the story and express her gratitude to her son's comrade when she went with him to his brother's grave to burn incense. He was moved, later, when he thought about his mother, he understood the hearts of all mothers who lost their children. He was lucky to still have his son's body...

Director of the US Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency, Mr. Kelly McKeague (center) presented the Commemorative Medal to Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi (far right) and members who made important contributions to MIA work.

Feeling that, since 1993, Mr. Phoi has participated in the search for missing in action (MIA) in war. He said that, although at that time, he still had a lot of hatred for those who caused the war, causing his family to lose their most beloved ones. Mr. Phoi shared that for 30 years, almost his entire life as a civil servant, he was tirelessly searching for missing soldiers, from both sides.

And after 30 years, many of his thoughts have changed, he understands more about compassion and tolerance. He understands why he must “close the past and move towards the future”. Ordinary Americans are not at fault. And so, he no longer hates anyone. If anything, it is only hatred for war, hatred for war, with the wish that there will never be war anywhere, with anyone, and for any reason.

Mr. Phoi shared that those who witnessed and endured the extreme pain of war, and then directly participated in activities to heal the wounds of war, like you, have, are, and will continue to overcome their own loss and pain with a very Vietnamese kind and compassionate heart. These actions will contribute to a journey to help ease the pain of mothers, to help heal the wounds of war between two countries, two peoples, no matter how difficult and arduous the work is.

He wants the land to be free of bombs and mines so that his people can freely cultivate their land. He wants more Americans who went missing in Vietnam to be found and of course more Vietnamese soldiers who died to be found and identified so that they can return home and to their families.

“I believe so!” Mr. Phoi ended his touching story with sadness and applause from those present.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cau-chuyen-noi-buon-chien-tranh-cua-mot-nguoi-con-dat-lua-quang-tri-236188.html