Last letters by a brave tank soldier

PANO - Visiting the Tank-Armoured Museum in Hanoi these days, visitors will be impressed at the last letters written by martyr Nguyen Dac Luong, crewmember of Tank T54A, numbered 377, which took part in the operations to fully liberate Dac To and Tan Canh districts of Kon Tum province on April 24^th, 1972.

Nguyen Dac Luong, born in a poor village of the northern midland province of Phu Tho, volunteered to join the army and took his mission as a tank soldier in a unit heading to the South into battle right after his graduation from high school. Luong was willing to devote all his life to national independence and freedom. He kept sending letters with boundless love and deep homesickness to his relatives at home . However, only three of his letters reached his home due to so many obstacles from the fierce war. These letters were then handed over to the museum by the soldier's family.

The envelop of the last letter by martyr Nguyen Dac Luong

The last letter was written when he was in the Truong Son Mountain Chain on October 31^st 1971, showing his willpower, confidence, and spirit of revolutionary optimism even on the fierce battlefield. These short letters could not express all his thoughts, but still they revealed the great ideal and desire deep inside the soldier’s heart to devote all his life to national reunification. Over a third of a century has gone by, the envelope's corners were worn out, but the late soldier's handwriting still keeps its original colours.

Back to the past, on April 24^th 1972, Luong together with other crew members of Tank 377 of Platoon 3 of Company 7 of Tank Battalion 297 took part in the Dac To - Tan Canh battle. Right after liberating Tan Canh district, the tank led the combat formation straight to the enemy base of Dac To 2 and all crew members were laid to rest there because of the enemy's strong counter attack.

On September 9^th 2009, the president approved posthumously honouring tank 377's crew with the title "Hero of the People's Armed Force" in recognition of their feats of arms.

After national reunification, the tank was moved to the centre of Kon Tum city and become a historical display. Many local students visited every day and laid flowers to pay great tribute to late soldiers.

After reading Luong's letters on a visit to the museum, one war veteran wrote in the museum's memorial book that the late soldier' letters have contributed to awaken lofty living ideals to help us leave behind trivial desires and sacrifice our entire lives for the nation.

Hoang Trung Dung, a student from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University, after reading the letters, said that he still believed there have been many people willing to sacrifice themselves for the beloved country like this brave tank soldier. He expressed his thanks to the museum's staff for maintaining the letters and promised to try his best to honour the soldiers' sacrifices.

Written by Mai Ngoc - Huong Sen