Le Anh Thi, Journalist for her comrades

However, Thi was not the "golden goose." His post-war salary as a Captain was barely enough to cover the endless, long trips he took as a journalist. All the major and minor expenses for the household depended on the furniture shop run by his wife, Minh, a capable and virtuous woman.

Mature through battle

In early 1975, while studying Literature in her final year at Phan Dinh Phung High School - a top school in Ha Tinh province - the war against the US entered its most intense phase. Thi and her friends were mobilized into the army to reinforce the battlefields in the South.

After completing elite special forces training at Gia Lam airport, Thi and his teammates were deployed to reinforce the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign of 1975.

Journalist Le Anh Thi from the Vietnam Veterans Newspaper presents gifts to support female soldiers of the heroic Ngu Thuy Artillery Company in Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province.

For a full 10 years as a soldier in the elite special forces, Lê Anh Thi went through many missions and battlefields, facing enemy bombs and bullets countless times, yet he remained steadfast. While serving as a military police officer in Ho Chi Minh City during the early days of liberation, patrolling day and night, eliminating thugs, robbers, and gunfights in the city center… in October 1977, he and his unit were quickly deployed to the Tây Ninh border, reinforcing the 429th Special Forces Regiment of Military Region 7.

Witnessing firsthand the atrocities committed by Pol Pot's soldiers, who in the dead of night invaded the Tay Ninh border, massacring 501 civilians in a village in Tan Bien district along with dozens of our border guards, Thi and his comrades were filled with hatred. Their footprints left their mark day after day, through countless sleepless nights, along the border of Tay Ninh province; from Kompong Cham to the Niek Luong ferry crossing, rescuing civilians and eliminating the brutal Khmer Rouge.

Even today, nearly 46 years later, as she recounts the story to me, Thi's tears still well up when she remembers the sacrifice of Special Forces Regiment Commander Ba Tong and his nine comrades in the same platoon, mostly from Duc Tho, Ha Tinh province, in December 1977.

The memorial service for Battalion Commander Ba Tong and his nine beloved comrades, all in their twenties, at Duong Minh Chau base that night left an indelible mark on Thi's heart, reminding him how he must live and fight so as not to disappoint his fallen friends.

Thanks to his training, dedication, and outstanding performance in the Cambodian battlefield, Thi was selected by his superiors to train as a special forces officer. When the Northern border war broke out, he and other trainees were discharged from the Ministry of National Defense and promoted early to the rank of special forces officer to promptly reinforce the front lines.

The courageous sacrifices of his comrades and fellow countrymen in the war against the Americans and in defending the two southwestern and northern borders of the Fatherland revived Captain Le Anh Thi's love for literature and writing.

Le Anh Thi, a contributing writer in the Special Forces, quickly caught the attention of his superiors. He was selected by the General Political Department to attend the first training course for military journalists and worked as a journalist in the armed forces until June 1988.

Journalists for their comrades

After 10 years of dedicated collaboration with the Veterans' Newspaper, in 2007, Le Anh Thi officially became a reporter for the newspaper and has been based in the North Central provinces until now.

Leaders of the Veterans Association at all levels, as well as colleagues working in the area, always express their respect and affection when speaking about journalist Le Anh Thi. He is a reporter who always lives responsibly towards his profession, his colleagues, and his comrades. This is demonstrated in the hundreds of works he has written about the noble examples and great sacrifices of veterans and their families in both wartime and peacetime.

Journalist Le Anh Thi (left in the photo) and her Lao colleagues working at the Cau Treo International Border Gate, Ha Tinh province.

Through his writing, the images and actions of soldiers returning from war become so beautifully depicted. It's impossible to remember how many times Le Anh Thi has connected with readers, helping veterans and their families overcome illness and hardship. A colleague told me that once, based on information from a friend, Thi immediately got in his car and traveled dozens of kilometers through the forest during lunchtime to the home of veteran and war invalid Nguyen Van Buong in the mountainous commune of Huong Thuy (Huong Khe - Ha Tinh) to investigate the situation.

Thanks to his article, "Save a critically ill veteran," published in the Veterans newspaper, readers near and far donated hundreds of millions of dong, helping Mr. Buong get hospitalized and have one leg amputated in time to save other parts of his body from spreading infection and necrosis.

Reading his series of reportage articles – “April in Con Dao”, “Cambodia – The Return”; “Echoes of Dien Bien Phu ” – reveals the writing prowess and passion for his profession of a journalist in his sixties. This is the result of his multi-day journey, covering more than 10,000 kilometers from Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Ca Mau, all the way to Cambodia, returning to the Lung Cu flagpole, Dong Dang fortress, and up to the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.

In 2017, he personally spent 15 days with the soldiers in Truong Sa, visiting all 11 large and small islands, taking thousands of photos, writing dozens of articles, and winning many valuable awards from People's Television, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, and the North Central Region Art Photography Festival.

Recently, he shared some very good news with me. His article, "53 Years of Sacrifice Yet Not Recognized as a Martyr," and his efforts over several years, along with the Ha Tinh Youth Volunteer Association, to seek justice for former Youth Volunteer Tran Van Hoan from Truong Son commune (Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province), who died at Dong Loc Crossroads during the war against the US, have received a positive response. Earlier this year, Ha Tinh sent a letter to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs requesting recognition of his death as a sacrifice in the line of duty. Hopefully, Mr. Hoan will receive the decision to be recognized as a martyr on July 27th.

Thi laughed heartily and didn't forget to repeat the quote by the French revolutionary poet Louis Aragon, which he deeply appreciated whenever he spoke about the responsibility of the living towards the sacrifices of their comrades: "One should not die twice. One from enemy bombs and bullets, and the other from the forgetfulness of one's fellow human beings!"

Khac Hien

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/le-anh-thi-nha-bao-vi-dong-doi-post252457.html