In a small one-room house in Huu Chung village, Hong Quang commune, Thanh Mien district, Hai Duong, heroic Vietnamese mother Nguyen Thi Ngach (109 years old) continuously points to the portraits of her two sons, martyr Dang Ngoc Thoc (born in 1936) and martyr Dang Van Bang (born in 1947) and proudly says that her sons have gone to save the country and have not returned yet.
Mother Ngach and her husband, Mr. Dang Van Tien (113 years old), still cannot believe that their two sons sacrificed their lives while joining the army to protect the country, even though this heartbreaking incident happened more than 50 years ago.
Mother Ngach (from Thai Binh) married Mr. Dang Van Tien (from Hai Duong) and had 5 children (3 boys, 2 girls). Of which, the first 2 sons joined the army to go to the South to fight the Americans to save the country.
Vietnamese Heroic Mother Nguyen Thi Ngach (109 years old) and her husband Dang Van Tien (113 years old)
This year, 109 years old, Ngach's mother is no longer as clear-minded as before, but in her subconscious, she still remembers and constantly mentions the names of her two sons who are martyrs.
Currently, all activities of mother Ngach and Mr. Tien are taken care of by the third son and his wife, Mr. Dang Xuan Chang (75 years old) and Mrs. Tran Thi Yen (71 years old).
Mr. Chang said that because he was not married, his younger sister, Mrs. Dang Thi Buom, asked to take on the responsibility of directly taking care of her parents. However, 3 years ago, Mrs. Buom died in a traffic accident, so Mr. Chang's family took care of this.
Vietnamese Heroic Mother Nguyen Thi Ngach (109 years old) and her husband Dang Van Tien (113 years old)
Recalling the years when his family was still complete, Mr. Chang said that his two older brothers were both active and hard-working. Following the call of the Fatherland, Mr. Thoc and Mr. Bang joined the army in 1958 and 1960 respectively.
“At that time, my two brothers were determined to join the army to protect the Fatherland. Our parents did not stop us, but instead encouraged us and were proud of having patriotic children who sacrificed their youth to regain freedom for the nation. Every time they came home on leave, my two brothers did not get a single day off, and immediately rushed to help their family harvest rice,” Mr. Chang recalled.
During those leaves, Mr. Thoc and Mr. Bang both gave their parents a shirt or a scarf as gifts. No one knew that those were the last times that Ngach's mother met her children, and that beloved family would no longer have the chance to reunite.
Mother Ngach was awarded the title of Vietnamese Heroic Mother in 2014.
“In 1966, Mr. Bang died in Binh Phuoc. The pain had not yet subsided when in 1970, Mr. Thoc died in Lam Dong. Upon receiving the death notice, my parents cried and cried and could not believe it was true. They both thought that their son was busy on a business trip and had not returned home yet.
Mr. Thoc has no surviving photo, and Mr. Bang died when he was just over 20 years old and had not yet had time to get married. My parents have been slowly fading away since then, but they still long for their son to come home. Every time they hear the gate open, my mother thinks her two sons have returned from the battlefield and urges everyone to cook rice and eat together," Mr. Chang said with tears in his eyes.
There were nights when, in that simple house, Mr. Chang woke up to see his mother sobbing, tears of longing for her son falling down, covering the newly cleaned portrait.
Despite this, Mother Ngach never complained. To her, the deaths of her two sons were not meaningless as they contributed to regaining freedom for the nation later on.
Every time Mother Ngach misses her son, she takes out the portrait of martyr Dang Van Bang, wipes it clean, and looks at it to ease her pain.
With great contributions, dedication and sacrifices for the cause of national liberation, building and defending the Fatherland, on June 25, 2014, Mother Ngach was awarded the title of Vietnamese Heroic Mother.
In addition to the care of the family, the local government and many organizations still join hands to support Ngach’s mother and Mr. Tien. Local leaders and Thanh Mien District Police regularly visit and give gifts to Ngach’s mother.
In particular, the Women's Union of Hong Quang commune accepted to help raise Ngach's mother, coming to her house twice a week to talk, clean the house and take care of her.
Mother Ngach and Mr. Tien are taken care of every day by her son's family, Mr. Dang Xuan Chang.
“Through your care, my family has more confidence in the Party, the State and the local government. I believe that the merits and sacrifices of heroic Vietnamese mothers will be remembered by the whole nation, and no one can forget that our country has such great mothers,” Mr. Chang shared.
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