Stepping into the front yard of martyr Phan Van Ban’s mother’s house, they were overcome with a heavy feeling of dread of the possible reaction of the mother whose son they had killed in battle 42 years before, the Australians admitted.

Laurens Wildeboer (L) hands over keepsakes of Vietnamese martyr Phan Van Ban to his mother Nguyen Thi Hieu (R) living in Dong Nai Province - Photo: Tuoi Tre

“Mother, I wish you peace of mind”

Contrary to the veterans’ anxiety, the 85-year-old woman calmly seated herself in front of the family altar and invited the two guests to take a seat. She is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hieu, the mother of martyr Phan Van Ban, also called Phan Thanh Nhon or Phan Thanh Hung in war time. Derril De Heer started the conversation, looking at the wooden box in his hands, “This is what Laurens has kept of your son in the last 42 years. He has undergone a great deal of torment in all these years. Today he has brought them here to give them back to you.”

Laurens gently opened the box and handed each item to Mrs. Hieu. “This is Mr. Ban’s scarf and this is his wartime diary.” Struggling to control his emotion, he reached out to touch the old lady’s hand, “I apologize for what happened. Mr. Ban and other Vietnamese soldiers are great. They fought to their last breath for their country. I hope this can bring you and your family peace of mind.”

Mrs. Hieu replied, her eyes full of tears, “It was war. My son sacrificed his life for the country. It is deeply moving that you keep his belongings till this day. To see his handwriting and scarf today is like feeling my son has come back to me. Thank you for bringing this great joy to my family.”

Her words seemed to relieve the heavy burden of remorse on the two veterans’ hearts. They asked for permission to burn an incense stick on Ban’s altar. Putting her son’s remembrances on the altar with trembling hands, Mrs. Hieu said, “This is your handwriting. I will cherish it.” In Ban’s diary, he wrote his date of birth, 22 April 1948; the day he joined the Communist Youth Union, 16 February 1963; his war-time aliases; and especially his burning desire and commitment to the cause of the Youth Union and the country’s liberation.

Searching for a needle in a haystack

In May 2011, knowing that senior lieutenant colonel Nguyen Thi Tien, Deputy Director of the Museum of Military Region 4 had identified the names and hometowns of 549 Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war, Dr. Bob Hall – director of the Australian Center for Research in Social and Armed Conflicts, contacted her via email. He asked for her help in identifying the home of a martyr named Phan Van Ban, alias Phan Thanh Hung and Phan Thanh Nhon, and then sent her a copy of the diary that Australian veteran Wilderboer obtained after a battle in Bien Hoa in 1970.

Although already retired, Mrs. Tien started the mission immediately by seeking information from journalists and the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Dong Nai Province. Unfortunately, the reply always came back with the words “not found.” Finally, Mrs. Pham Thi Oanh in Binh Duong, the younger sister of a martyr whose burial site Mrs. Tien has helped to identify, found Ban’s family after great efforts. His father, Mr. Phan Van Lau, had passed away, and his mother was living in a hamlet in Dong Nai Province.

Ban’s sister recalled that when he died, his comrades buried his body and marked the site. But when the family went to look for his grave, following their instructions, they could not find it. She also told Mrs. Tien that not only one but two men in her family died for the country, Phan Thanh Nhon (Ban) in 1970 and Phan Huu Nghia in 1965.

Only after going to Long Thanh to verify the information did Mrs. Tien inform Dr. Bob Hall, who quickly sent Mr. Derrill De Heer, on behalf of the Center, to go with Laurens Wildeboer to Vietnam.

Coaxed out of retirement by the prospect of bringing peace and closure to Mrs. Hieu’s family and many others, Mrs. Tien said, “After they have returned the remembrances to Mr. Ban’s family, I will start to search for his grave with information and help from his old comrades. I hope with my experience, I will find the lost needle in the haystack.”

On their trip to Vietnam, besides Mr. Nhon’s remembrances, the Australian research center also passed along a valuable document to Mrs. Tien, a list of names and dates of death in Ba Ria-Vung Tau of 500 Vietnamese soldiers. Holding the document to her heart, she said, “I will find information about their former units and go looking for their graves.”

Source: tuoitrenews.vn