More than half a century has passed since the end of the war, but in the small house of Mrs. Dang Thi Xo (76 years old, in Le Loi commune, Hung Yen province), memories of her martyr husband are still intact as if it were yesterday. Her husband is martyr Le Van Huynh. Mrs. Xo only spent 7 days with her husband, but spent the rest of her life preserving her love, memories and promise to the person who lay forever on the battlefield.
Anyone who has met her can feel her calmness and simplicity, but behind that appearance is a long journey of waiting, loss and loyalty.
That year, Mrs. Xo was a female village militia, and fell in love with student Le Van Huynh. In the midst of the country still submerged in smoke and fire, the wedding took place simply, without betrothal gifts, no lavish wedding party. The happiness of the young couple was only 7 days before Mr. Huynh set off for the Quang Tri battlefield.
Mentioning her husband's letters sent from the battlefield, Mrs. Dang Thi Xo could not hide her emotion. She recounted that since entering the Quang Tri battlefield, almost every month Mr. Huynh sent letters back to his family. Each letter was carefully divided by him into three parts: to his mother, to his siblings and a separate part for his newlywed wife.
For more than half a century, the last lines in the last letter made Mrs. Xo remember forever. As if inspired by his sacrifice, the young soldier meticulously pointed the way for his wife to find him if he did not return one day: "Take the train to Quang Tri town, across the Thach Han river is where you sacrificed... From the town across the bridge, back, ask about Nhan Bieu 1 village. You just go there, follow the water and it is at the end of the village. There you will find a stele with your name carved on a piece of corrugated iron. Your grave is there...".
Every time she reads those lines again, Mrs. Xo chokes up. For her, it is not only the last message from her husband, but also a farewell written in the fierce battlefield, when he seems to have prepared for his sacrifice.
In 2002, my family decided to go to Quang Tri to find him. When we left, I brought his last letter. In the letter, he clearly pointed out which way to go, we followed each line he wrote. When we arrived, exactly as he instructed, the family found his grave in Thuong Phuoc village. The day we welcomed him back to his hometown, I was both happy and sad. After so many years of separation, he finally returned to his family and homeland..."
Currently, the remains of martyr Le Van Huynh are buried at Hong Thai Martyrs' Cemetery, Tra Giang commune, Hung Yen province. The 10-page letter he wrote before his sacrifice has been donated by his family to the Quang Tri Ancient Citadel Museum.
For Mrs. Dang Thi Xo, martyr Le Van Huynh's letter is not only a keepsake, but also a witness to a time of bombs and bullets. Over the years, those letters still remind her of the sacrifices of her fathers and brothers and the value of peace today. As for Mrs. Xo, a wife who only spent 7 days with her husband, but the love for the soldier of yesteryear has never closed.
