Tran Thi Thu Ha is burning incenses on the altar of her father
Photo: Tuoi Tre

The souls of martyrs are believed to accompany and support their beloved relatives as they make a connection between the two worlds.

Stories and letters sent to these martyrs, and the search for their remains all indicate links between the living and the martyrs.

The letter without a recipient

The author of the letter without a recipient is Tran Thi Thu Ha, who wrote to her father Tran Duc Thong – the chief of the Vietnamese forces engaged in the sea battle around Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on March 14, 1988.

It was written on March 20, six days after the battle and also six days after the would-be recipient died.

Ha recalled, “I was sitting at my learning table and I missed my father so much that I totally lost my concentration. I began writing the letter.” The letter was sent to PO 2C100A Cam Ranh – Phu Khanh.

“Today a TV program aired songs about Truong Sa. It reminded me of you. I miss you so much. You left our family three weeks ago. I have received three letters you sent back.

“Yesterday [March 19], a coach from Brigade 147 visited your barracks here. You told Mr. Hoa to send me and mother 50kg of rice and 140,000 dong. We have received it all,” read the letter.

In the letter, Ha reported her learning situation to her father and encouraged her father to conserve his health regardless of ‘your busyness’ due to the ‘tense situation at the islands offshore’.

Ha and her family had not been informed of the death of her father.

Ha, who is now working for the police department of Ha Nam Province in the north, recalled, “No one in my family had ever imagined that our dad had died because we received rice and money.”

“On the day of writing the letter, I was suddenly so worried. It was the last letter I wrote to him,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Soldiers confirmed that Thong remained the top commander of the fight at his commanding post till his death, though he was seriously injured on the leg and head during the battle.

In 2009, the local army built a memorial for martyr Tran Duc Thong. In 2010, his name was used to name three local schools, including the high school he attended when he was young.

Her father died when Ha was 18 years old and her young brother Tran Hoai Nam was 14.

Martyr Tran Duc Thong (Archives Photo)

The search for remains at the bottom of the sea

Thanks to a report from the crew of Thanh Cong 07 ship, in 2008 soldiers of Co Lin Island identified the location of the HQ-604, which sank during the fight with Chinese invaders. The ship was led by captain Vu Phi Tru, who engaged in the battle around Gac Ma Island.

Divers fished out bags with remains of soldiers and other belongings and weaponry left inside the ship, which was 20 meters underwater.

On the second day of the search, diver Pham Vinh lost consciousness in the deep water and passed away, though he was sent to a nearby island for treatment. Vinh had no equipment to assist his work, except a breathing pipe.

However, the search for remains was later resumed to bring soldiers back for reburial in their home lands.

Captain Chu Van Phuong, head of the Co Lin Island, said, “We found many remains including three skulls, all damaged. We cooked hot perfume water to bathe the remains for the last time and put them in boxes covered with the national flag.

“After a commemoration ceremony, the remains were kept in the hall room on Co Lin with incense constantly burning. They were also guarded for days before they were carried back to the mainland,” Phuong said.

The ship Truong Sa 21, carrying the remains, arrived at Vung Tau on August 26, 2008 and the souls of the martyrs were able to truly rest in peace 20 years after the battle.


Remains of dead soldiers and their belongings and weaponry were fished out of water and kept in wooden boxes to carry back to the mainland (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Source: tuoitrenews.vn