I only know my grandfather's face on the altar - Photo: NVCC
My grandparents' family had five martyrs: three of her brothers, my grandfather's brother, and my grandfather. All of them died on the battlefield at a young age.
When he died, my grandfather was only twenty-five years old, my grandmother was two years younger, and my father had just learned to walk.
The loss was so heartbreaking. The anxiety she had been worrying about every night finally came to pass.
She said that in those days everyone considered death as light as a feather, not to mention wife, children, or family.
He died right on the Duanwu Festival in 1970. His body was left in the sun until the afternoon before being received.
She cried until she had no more tears. From then on, the young wife was widowed and her child was fatherless.
Pain followed pain when a few years later the family was shocked to receive death notices of three more martyrs. None of them had wives, some had never even known love. The price of peace was so high that just hearing about its brutality was terrifying to me.
Every time she burned incense before the altar and looked at the portraits of him and his three brothers, she choked up: "Peace has come, my brothers are all gone, no one is left. It must be a comfort to have one person alive. But now..."
And looking at the certificates of merit from the Fatherland honoring her hanging on the wall, I feel more clearly what war is.
It took away so many innocent people who should have lived happily with their children and grandchildren today. It left behind such lasting pain that even after 50 years of national reunification, the pain of those still living has not subsided.
The pain is truly not unique to one family. In the surrounding neighborhood, every family that has a member who went to war hangs a certificate of recognition from the Fatherland. Go one, sacrifice one. Go two, sacrifice two. Like my paternal great-grandmother, a Heroic Mother of Vietnam .
The same goes for the monthly death benefit . Every penny of this small amount of money holds great value, it is worth the blood and sweat of a person. Every time she receives the money, she sighs: "Poor thing, dead but still supporting a wife and children."
She carefully and preciously saved up for the most complete and proper anniversary of his death. For the past decades, she has never missed a single anniversary of his death, always with enough dishes and a full tray.
She said that in the past, during the war, there was no way to eat delicious food like now. So, even though it was just a pleasant smell, at least she was satisfied with taking care of her husband completely.
For her, she kept her true love for him - her first love and only husband - for the rest of her life, never changing. Her steadfast loyalty was proven by her loyalty to her husband and her determination not to remarry. Because she thought that there was no joy in remarrying after her husband had died so painfully.
Worshiping her husband, living with him with memories of their youthful love mixed with memories of the fierce war. And she has the right to be proud because she is the wife of a soldier of Uncle Ho who heroically sacrificed for the country for the past 50 years of the North and South being unified under one roof.
Thank you readers for submitting your entries to the Peace Storytelling contest.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of peace, the Peace Storytelling writing contest (organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper, accompanied by Vietnam Rubber Group) allows readers to send in touching, unforgettable stories of each family, each person as well as thoughts about the reunification day of April 30, 1975, about 50 years of peace.
The contest is open to all Vietnamese people at home and abroad, without age or occupation restrictions.
Peace Stories accepts articles of up to 1,200 words in Vietnamese, with accompanying photos and videos, and sent to the email address [email protected]. Articles are only accepted via email, not via post to avoid loss.
Quality entries will be selected to be published in Tuoi Tre products, receive royalties, and the entries that pass the preliminary round will be printed into a book (no royalties paid - no sale). The entries must not have participated in any other writing contest and must not have been published in the media or social networks.
Authors are responsible for the copyright of the articles, photos and videos submitted to the contest. We do not accept illustrative photos and videos taken from social networks without copyright.
Authors must provide their address, phone number, email, account number, and citizen identification number so that the organizing committee can contact them and send them royalties or prizes.
As of March 17, the Peace Storytelling writing contest has received 60 entries from readers.
Award Ceremony and Book Launch of Peace Stories
The jury, including famous journalists, cultural figures and representatives of Tuoi Tre newspaper, will review and award prizes from the preliminary entries and choose to award prizes to the best entries.
The award ceremony, book launch of Peace Storytelling and special issue of Tuoi Tre newspaper 30-4 are expected to be held at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street at the end of April 2025. The decision of the organizing committee is final.
Peace Storytelling Award
- 1 first prize: 15 million VND + certificate, book, Tuoi Tre special edition.
- 2 second prizes: 7 million VND each + certificate, book, Tuoi Tre special edition.
- 3 third prizes: 5 million VND each + certificate, book, Tuoi Tre special edition.
- 10 consolation prizes: 2 million VND each + certificate, book, Tuoi Tre special issue.
- 10 reader-voted prizes: 1 million VND each + certificate, book, Tuoi Tre special edition. Voting points are calculated based on interactions with the article, in which 1 star = 15 points, 1 heart = 3 points, 1 like = 2 points.
The awards also come with certificates, books, and Tuoi Tre 30-4 special edition.
Organizing Committee
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-ke-chien-tranh-20250318095256385.htm
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