“They belong to us all”

Every page of the book overflows with emotion, from the longing and nostalgia of those who lost their friends and companions, to the reverence of today’s youth reflecting o­n previous generations.

Below are some quotes from the book -

Hoang Kim Giao is a distinguished student and Ho Chi Minh prize winner – instead of moving to the Soviet Union to do his doctorate studies, he decided to stay and join the magnetic bomb research group. During this time he was able to demolish dozens of magnetic bombs.

Nguyen Van Gia, a war journalist, wrote to his young wife from the front, “I come here for the film rolls. I will leave o­nly when I have acquired the worthy footage for the Homeland, though, as a war journalist, I am very likely to fall o­n this burning land”.

Chu Cam Phong wrote in his diary, “dauntless, selfless and enthusiastic as a genuine pioneering communist. It is still good to die an hour or half an hour before the total victory”.

Le Anh Xuan died at 28, leaving no belongings behind.

When reading about these heroic people and the sacrifices they made, something strikes at o­ne’s throat. Some honorable names include Hoang Kim Giao, Nguyen Van Gia, Vu Dung, Ngo Kha, Hoang Thuong Lan, Nguyen Van Thac, Dang Thuy Tram, Chu Cam Phong, Nguyen My, Minh Chinh to name a few. These names are carved into history as well as people’s hearts. They are both heroic and humane.

Pham Thanh Hung recalls the bold artilleryman, Vu Dung, who during a fire-cease was fetching rice to feed a spotted dove nesting o­n top of an old tree. Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong wrote about his buddy Ngo Kha, who was caught and secretly murdered by enemies outside Hue city. Ngo Kha was lying in the green, a bullet at his head, leaving behind beautiful verses because heart is a clock pendulum/ wind it everyday, my dear, don’t forget/ thus life in there started…

Part 2 of the book – “Receiving Flame” – collects articles about those heroes and about the past, such as ‘Genuine values in reason d’ªtre of Vietnamese youth’ by former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, ‘Fervent Source of Aspirations’ by journalist Huu Tho and songs, poetic verses, and the sharing of young people o­n forums today.

Pham Nguyen Toan, chief editor, said in the opening remarks “Let’s agree that no book can say all that we want to say. As the whole collection ‘Relaying Flames of Tradition, this book is just a “drop of emotion”. But if you read this book and find your way to the blood-stained diaries, you will find that you are in debt, in debt at the age of twenty. As writer Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong put it in this book: Read to remember the people that belong to us all and not to become ungrateful to the unforgettable past”.