(VOVWORLD) - Quick notes and letters written on pelure paper were familiar to millions of Vietnamese families during the war. The letters express the emotions and revolutionary ideology of the soldiers and the affection of the people at home for those at the front. In peace time, the feelings of those wartime letters can still be felt.
“From the Southern front, on January 20, 1968.
To my parents, brothers and sisters,
At the age of 16, I left my homeland to go to the battlefield. I have grown up in the fire of war. I fight for my homeland, so I don’t mind all the hardships and I will continue fighting. Each of your letters is a great encouragement to me. See you on unification day!”
That is what war martyr Luong Nam Tien wrote in the last letter he sent to his family before he died on the battlefield. Tien’s letter was included in a collection of wartime letters compiled by writer and war veteran Colonel Dang Vuong Hung.
 Wartime letters compiled by writer and war veteran Colonel Dang Vuong Hung. (Photo: laodongxahoi.net) |
Each letter expresses the deep emotions of a father, a husband, or a brother from the battlefield to his loved ones, or from them to him.
“Wartime letters were written in difficult conditions on various kinds of paper with fountain pen, ballpoint pen, or pencil. People communicated with one another mostly by letters. Letters full of the powerful emotions of soldiers and their loved ones were widely read back then. It’s quite different now,” said Colonel Hung.
The letters honestly recount daily events: fighting the enemy, digging secret tunnels, or admitting new Party members at a secret ceremony. The letters reflect the harshness of the war, Mr. Hung said.
“The letters were a combination of private letter and news bulletin. The frequency of the letters reflected the situation on the battlefield. Many letters became lost for months or even years. The letters were a source of great encouragement to soldiers on the battlefield,” he added.
 Writer and war veteran Colonel Dang Vuong Hung. (Photo: nhandan.vn) |
All the letters reveal the soldiers’ love for their families, their patriotism, their sense of responsibility to their country, and a determination to carry out their duty. Ms. Le Thi Kim Dung still remembers the letters she received 50 years ago from the young soldier she loved, a young man named Pham Xuan Sinh.
“It was a great joy to receive a letter from the battlefield at that time. It sometimes took 3 or 4 months for a letter to arrive. Whenever I received a letter from my lover, I knew that he was still safe. I sent replies to encourage him while he was fighting for our homeland,” she said.
The wartime letters convey a parade of emotions – love, longing, sorrow, joy, and hope for a great victory. With the passage of time, the letters have lost none of their meaning and remain precious remembrances of Vietnam’s heroic revolution.