The love, nostalgia and desire for reunion of Major General Hoang Dan and his wife during the war were conveyed through more than 400 letters.
Love story Major General Hoang Dan and Mrs. Nguyen Thi An Vinh are portrayed by their youngest son - businessman Hoang Nam Tien - in the book Letter for You. The book consists of four parts: After returning from Dien Bien Phu, we will get married!; Fragrance causes memories; Letter for You, Between the enemy and our guns still firing; Come back here together, corresponding to the time points from when the major general and his wife became lovers, to the days of separation due to war, and finally their old age together.
Their love story is linked to two wars, with historical events such as the 1953 Upper Laos campaign, the 1968 Mau Than Spring General Offensive, and the Quang Tri Citadel battle in the summer of 1972.
The book "Letter for You" was published by Nha Nam on March 25. Photo: Phuong Linh
In the preface, author Hoang Nam Tien wrote: ''I want to tell the story of my parents - a love story that spans two centuries, is full of affection and is associated with the great historical milestones of the nation. I want to preserve everything that belongs to them''.
Mr. Hoang Nam Tien recalled the moment his father passed away, his mother told him to put the letters and diaries between the two of them in the coffin. However, Mr. Tien kept a box of documents, containing more than 400 letters, and read them slowly over the years. When the papers gradually turned yellow with time, the author asked his staff to retype them and then brought them along to ponder on business trips. ''Each letter is like a soft thread tying a 50-year love affair, slowly unfolding over time,'' Mr. Tien said.
Author Hoang Nam Tien reads an excerpt from the book "Letter for You". Video: Character provided
Through the messages sent to his wife, the major general appeared to be a passionate and romantic person in love. He was the one who took the initiative in his love affair with Mrs. An Vinh. As his love grew, with the support of his family, he quickly wrote to his family to discuss the important matter. Before participating in the Upper Laos campaign, the major general asked for leave to organize the engagement ceremony, although he was only allowed to stay for one night.
After the Dien Bien Phu victory, he cycled 1,300 km to Nghe An, Thai Nguyen, and Lang Son to find and propose to "Miss Vinh". When she said she wanted to focus on work and temporarily put off having children, he understood and respected her. Nearly two months after the engagement ceremony in March 1953, they shared their first kiss. Four years after their wedding, the couple welcomed their first daughter.
In his letters, he always took the initiative to express his feelings with sweet words, using the titles "Em Vinh", "Vinh em", "Chong cua Vinh". Sometimes, the major general showed his tact in suggesting that his wife express her love for him more. Originally a reserved person, over time, Mrs. An Vinh gradually changed and wrote letters to him more often.
According to author Hoang Nam Tien, during the four years Major General Hoang Dan went to the Soviet Union for advanced military studies, his parents did not wait for each other's responses but wrote each other, on average sending one letter a week, sometimes two a week. In addition to expressing their feelings and longing, they updated their children's lives and situations, shared their views on love, even got angry and reconciled through letters.
Amidst the flames of war and separation with no known date of reunion, the love of Major General Hoang Dan and his wife is touching. After the confessions, readers can partly see life during wartime and the feelings of those in the rear.
Wedding photo of Mr. Hoang Dan and Mrs. An Vinh. Photo: Family provided
In his letters, Mr. Hoang Dan rarely mentioned the fierceness of the battlefield but always expressed his willingness to sacrifice for the country. In the letter he sent to his wife on November 15, 1960, while in the Soviet Union, he mentioned his children: "I look at their future lives and I am even happier because at least I see that the ones who truly live happily are our children. As for me, I spent my passionate youth contributing to the Fatherland, to the years of war."
Understanding that her husband missed his wife and children, in each letter, Mrs. An Vinh often updated him on how her children had grown and how her health was. She constantly mentioned that her children were waiting for their father to return, which somehow gave him more motivation to fight: ''The older An gets, the more he looks like you...'', ''Little Hong doesn't know anything, and doesn't know who her father is. She's thin and weak, but she's very obedient'', ''Honey, if you lived with our two children, you would see that our love was deeper, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of you...''.
Witnessing his parents' marriage, he Hoang Nam Tien said he has never stopped admiring them: ''In my heart, no love can be more beautiful than the love of parents, no affection can be greater than the affection of father for mother, no tolerance can be greater than the tolerance of mother for father''.
In the book, the author said that even at his old age, whenever Mrs. An Vinh had a stomachache or a craving for something, regardless of whether it was night or cold, Mr. Hoang Dan was willing to go buy painkillers or her favorite food. His children and grandchildren tried to stop him many times because they were worried about the general's health, but he often did not listen, always following all his wife's requests. Therefore, when the general suddenly passed away in 2003, Mrs. Vinh was so sad that she became seriously ill, and it took a while for her to recover. 19 years later, she finally "returned" to him.
Major General Hoang Dan was born in 1928 into a famous general family in Nghe An, the 21st generation descendant of Hoang Ta Thon, a general of the Tran Dynasty, who was once given the title of Sat Hai Dai Vuong. He was a commanding officer who participated in the resistance wars against the French and the Americans.
In 2010, the People's Army Publishing House launched the book From Ben Hai River to Independence Palace with his vivid battlefield memories. In the introduction, former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu commented on Major General Hoang Dan: ''A man who spent almost his entire life and career in the military field, he directly commanded battles on the battlefields from the years of resistance against France to the resistance against America in many different positions. Most of the battles were highly effective and he completed his tasks excellently''.
Hoang Nam Tien, 55 years old, is a business administrator, a technologist, and a teacher. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPT University.
Phuong Linh
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