Praying for the dead in the middle of the forest

Praying for the dead is a ceremony to commemorate the deceased and sincerely pray for the peace or salvation of their soul. Praying for the dead for those who sacrificed for the Fatherland has a special meaning: it is gratitude and a wish for the souls of the best children to be liberated and at peace in eternity.

On the sacred moment of July 27, 2025, at the Truong Son Thuong Trach Martyrs Temple ( Quang Tri ), in addition to the requiem for the heroic martyrs, monks and Buddhists and people of all ethnic groups, this place also requiems for those who fell in the war caused by the invading enemy. Perhaps that is why the requiem took place during three days of wind, rain and storms, making it even more sacred and imbued with profound humanistic meaning.

This martyrs’ temple on the towering Ca Roong peak is a cultural and spiritual project that is an extension of the “Truong Son Love” program organized by Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper 15 years ago. It is an extension because most of the people who built this sacred temple on Tay Truong Son Road were cadres, reporters and employees of Nong Thon Viet Magazine.

With gratitude and respect for the heroic martyrs, they have been and are continuing to carry out their work from the heart. With the sponsorship of Lien Viet Bank - where the Chairman of the Board of Directors is the son of a Truong Son soldier - they have connected with the Border Guard and the Quang Binh Provincial Youth Union (formerly) to build a sacred temple in the border area, as a border landmark left for future generations.

I have attended many such memorial services. Each spiritual event has its own characteristics. But this time it had a mysterious, dreamy, and strange look. “Truong Son, east sun, west rain”, bordering Vietnam - Laos, July is a rainy month. Lieutenant Colonel Thong, Chief of Ca Roong Border Guard Station said: “No matter what rain, it will stop when the ceremony is held”. Indeed, when the art program “Singing for the fallen” began, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

The Lao wind season is harsh, but the weather is as cold as early autumn in Hanoi . Strangely, flocks of white butterflies fly back like flower petals in the middle of the legendary forest. From the first steps to the main hall of the temple, 288 candles flicker like the eyes of the deceased.

Ceremony of carrying Uncle Ho's statue to the Truong Son Martyrs Memorial Temple, Ca Roong key point - ATP Road 20 Quyet Thang

I suddenly remembered the requiem ceremony of the people of Binh Thuan (formerly) for the young martyrs who sacrificed their lives while performing a training mission at the “May Tau shooting range” not long ago. On July 25, before attending the ceremony to enshrine the statue of President Ho Chi Minh and requiem at the martyrs’ temple on the top of Ca Roong, I went with the generals of the 5th Division’s Traditional Liaison Committee to burn incense in memory of the martyrs in their twenties.

I witnessed an old lady over 90 years old struggling to cry, and the mysterious chanting resounded, praying for her grandson and the 11 young soldiers who had sacrificed their lives in the above mentioned exercise. I could not hold back my tears.

Together with Lieutenant General Luu Phuoc Luong, Head of the Veterans Liaison Committee of Division 5 - burning incense to commemorate the young martyrs, I whispered: "In the past, when we devoted ourselves to the resistance war to liberate and protect the country, we prepared ourselves to sacrifice and become martyrs. After the war ended, we survived and returned home with injuries on our bodies. Now, you are performing your military service, dedicating your 20s to your sacred duty, becoming martyrs."

Listening to my whispering conversation, Lieutenant General Luu Phuoc Luong could not help but say emotionally: "The qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers always shine, regardless of time or circumstance, if the soldiers forget themselves for their duty". The 12 martyrs of Division 5 who died during training not long ago were exactly such Uncle Ho's soldiers...

On the Truong Son mountain peak, attending the memorial service at the sacred moment of the 78th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day, I thought of the young heroic martyrs of Division 5 whom I recently visited.

They are truly Uncle Ho's soldiers!

Colonel TRAN THE TUYEN - Chairman of the Association for Supporting Families of Martyrs in Ho Chi Minh City

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cau-sieu-giua-dai-ngan-post805889.html