The country has unforgettable days. One of the unforgettable days is April 30, 1975.
I had not yet returned to Saigon on that historic day. In early May 1975, I was present in the "bright area of Saigon" that poet Le Anh Xuan wrote about, and that I later dreamed of.
But when I was in the middle of Saigon, I suddenly remembered Truong Son, Dong Thap Muoi, the battlefield of Nam Lo Bon - Cai Lay, the years I spent with my brothers and comrades:
"The day the nation gathered on Highway One"
my heart never stops loving these forests
where thousands of children lie on the back of the pass at the end of the slope
along the hidden path under the trees"
(excerpt from the epic poem "Those Who Go to the Sea" - Thanh Thao)
For those who have been through the war, memories always return. I am a journalist specializing in writing about military affairs, focusing on the topic of national reconciliation and harmony, so I cannot forget the historic words of Senior Lieutenant General Tran Van Tra, Chairman of the Saigon Military Management Committee, about the new day of peace and unification.
That sentence Mr. Tra said to General Duong Van Minh, former President of the Republic of Vietnam, on May 2, 1975, verbatim as follows: "For us, there are no losers or winners, only our Vietnamese people defeating America."
Lion and dragon dance performance in Ho Chi Minh City Photo: Hoang Trieu
50 years have passed, but that historical saying shines brighter and brighter, because it represents Vietnamese humanity and the solidarity of the Vietnamese people. Only invaders attempt to divide the Vietnamese people, and the Vietnamese, whether on this side or the other, are all Vietnamese.
In the spirit of loving our fellow countrymen, on that new day of peace, poet Ngo The Oanh and I, led by my younger brother studying at Van Hanh University, walked all over Saigon, always carrying a cassette with Trinh Cong Son's "yellow skin songs" and playing songs like "What did we see tonight" and "Joining hands in a big circle". In those days, Trinh Cong Son's music made us much happier, even though his songs contained sadness because our nation had to endure so much suffering.
Wandering around Saigon, we went to many small streets in Cho Lon and saw that besides the well-off life, there were also many poor working families, people who had to flee from the countryside to Saigon. They lived in small alleys, built "houses" out of cardboard, all the family's activities were contained inside those "cardboard houses".
Indeed, although the forest was extremely difficult, we never thought that there were workers who were so miserable. That was something that made us young soldiers feel sorry.
In May 1975, Saigon was bustling with student parades and lion dances, as if the whole city took to the streets to celebrate peace and unification.
I was absorbed in participating in one meeting after another, and when it was time to eat, the people of Saigon invited me to eat and drink. I met everyone as if they were my own relatives, without feeling strange at all. When poet Ngo The Oanh and I wore military uniforms to choose books to buy on the sidewalk of Le Loi Street, there was a group of intellectuals sitting drinking coffee and watching us with surprise.
They did not know what books these two liberation soldiers were buying, so they came out to help us wrap the books and read the titles of the books we bought. They were even more surprised because we were buying classics and translated books. They invited us to have coffee and chat. Knowing that we had studied at a university in Hanoi, they were very excited. The conversation was friendly and cheerful. They invited us to their house to visit and drink beer to celebrate the reunion. We happily accepted.
That May 1975 was truly unforgettable! Meeting poor workers in Saigon, like the cyclo driver, the xe lam driver, they were all happy to invite us, drink whatever they had, have fun whatever they had, chat with us with love and affection, as if we were their blood relatives. "The South accepts them" is like that.
I still remember one time I visited the house of a close friend's sister from the R war zone, the house was in Thi Nghe canal, the house - called that for prestige - was extremely simple. There I met a little girl just over 2 years old, the sister's daughter. The girl greeted me cheerfully, when I asked her name, her mother said her name was Hoa Binh. I was so moved, it was truly Hoa Binh:
"You hug me and kiss me passionately.
From today I am forever at peace
Forever is my name
On this land, bomb craters and trenches are closing in" ("Notes on Highway One" - poem by Thanh Thao)
Surely there is no nation that loves peace more than the Vietnamese people. It is not an exaggeration to say so. Just remember that our nation, our people have sacrificed, suffered so much loss and pain for decades, and had to endure 21 years of division, then we can see how high a price peace and unification must be paid.
I was lucky enough to travel with a group of Central writers at the end of May 1975, traveling from Saigon to Da Lat, then down Highway One, all the way to Central Vietnam, to Hue, and all the way to Hanoi. That was the trip I had dreamed of since the day I set foot on Truong Son. I vowed to myself that I would go to the Southern battlefield via Truong Son and return to Hanoi via Highway One.
5 years in the Southern battlefield helped me mature, and I feel those were the most beautiful years of my youth.
My friends from Saigon, from Hanoi to the battlefield and we met in war zone R, lucky to survive the fierce war, all had the same feeling as me.
"We went without regretting our lives
But how can I not regret my twenties?
(But everyone regrets that when they are twenty, what is left of the Fatherland?)
The grass is sharp and warm, isn't it?
(excerpt from the epic poem "Those Who Go to the Sea")
Fifty years have passed, our generation has gone from the forest to the sea, although we are old now, our love for our people and country remains forever young.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/ngay-dan-toc-tu-ve-duong-so-mot-196250121133715729.htm
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