HÀ NỘI — A love story between a soldier and his young girlfriend during the Việt Nam-American War received the first prize at a writing contest titled 'Love in War' on December 16 in Hà Nội.

It was a story about Trần Minh Tiến and Vũ Lưu Liên, who had to put their love aside when Tiến joined the army and gave his youth and energy — and, ultimately, his life — to fight for national liberation.

Although the couple never got their happy ending, through their letters to each other, they spread the noble ideal of a generation in their 20s making huge sacrifices for their country.

Tiến and Liên's love story was adapted and compiled into the work Cuộc Đời Còn Mãi (Life Lives On) by writer, poet and Colonel Đặng Vương Hưng, consisting of two parts: Trở Về Trong Giấc Mơ (Returning in a Dream) and Những Lá Thư Tình Đi Qua Chiến Tranh (Love Letters That Passed Through the War).

Seven other works also received prizes from the organising committee in the contest. These include battlefield diary Lính Chiến (Soldiers) by Phạm Hữu Thậm, memoir Chiến Trường và Quê Hương (Battlefield and Homeland) by Phan Văn Lai and autobiography Mãi Vẫn Là Người Lính (Forever a Soldier) by Đặng Ngọc Đa.

The writing contest was organised by the Soldiers' Hearts Club in collaboration with the Việt Nam Women's Museum and the Forever 20 Club, launching in July 2020.

It aimed to uncover beautiful and touching love stories that helped officers and soldiers overcome hardships, adversity and bombs in the fight for the country’s freedom and independence, while also celebrating the silent sacrifices of women on the home front who preserved love and family happiness.

After five years, the organising committee has published and distributed hundreds of works with profound humanistic significance and collected and donated hundreds of artefacts to the Việt Nam Women's Museum. 

 

Also at the event, the organising committee introduced a collection of portraits of soldiers, called 'Privates in Wartime'.

According to Colonel Hưng, head of the organising committee, privates and corporals were the most frequently killed in war. Most of them died at the age of 18-20, while still possessing the enthusiasm, innocence and purity of youth.

These portraits were presented to commemorate them and also to express gratitude, to confirm that no one was forgotten or left behind.

The organisers collected black-and-white photographs of fallen heroes, veterans and former people’s police officers from when they first enlisted. Young artists from the Soldiers’ Hearts Club then restored the images in colour, recreating the youthful faces of these individuals.

Hundreds of portraits of wartime soldiers have been restored in a short period of time, with the work still ongoing.

The project is one of many that the organisers hope will capture public attention and encourage appreciation and honour for the soldiers who silently dedicated their youth to the country and sacrificed their lives in war. — VNS