“Lie down and listen to the sea lull, lie down and listen to the river sing…”

Martyr Ngo Van Lien (born in 1952), from Nghe An, sacrificed in September 1972 on the southern front, when the country was about to be liberated. He fell at the most beautiful age of his life. He fell once, but more than half a century later he had the opportunity to return to his homeland...

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh listens to the story of martyr Ngo Van Lien.

Leaving his family to fight in 1970, 20-year-old Ngo Van Lien heroically sacrificed himself not long after. Mrs. Ngo Thi Ly said that decades ago, life was difficult so her father did not have the means to go to the South to search for his brother's remains. Relatives gradually passed away, and martyr Lien's siblings also died. Memories of the young martyr became increasingly vague. She never met this uncle, but she clearly felt her father's longing through the story that was told over and over again.

The responsibility of searching for martyr Lien was gradually “transferred” to Mrs. Ly’s generation. But the information they got was only a yellowed death certificate, which were insignificant clues. “Many times, we went to the South, to the martyrs’ cemeteries to search “indiscriminately”, “hope for luck”, without any clear instructions. For the past 10 years, we had almost lost hope. Suddenly, Team K93 ( An Giang Province Military Command) reported that they had found martyr Lien’s remains. The whole family rushed to the place, filled with both joy and sadness on the trip. Thank you very much to the officers and soldiers who made efforts to help us!”, Mrs. Ly tearfully said.

This July, her family was busy with flights to the South, back to Nghe An, renting a car, traveling thousands of kilometers, personally bringing martyr Lien back to his birthplace to rest. On July 23, Dien Chau commune was moved to welcome the "far from home" child back, in the sacred incense smoke. Once again, the martyr was immersed in the land, serene and peaceful. Echoing were the lyrics of the song "Linh Thieng Viet Nam": "Come back here, lie down and listen to the sea lull, lie down and listen to the river sing. Forever proud on the beloved motherland...".

The story of martyr Lien is also told from the perspective of brave soldiers in peacetime. Major Nguyen Van Dung (Team K93) recalled: “In early May 2025, when the heat in the Kingdom of Cambodia showed signs of cooling down, sudden rains began, we went looking for our comrades again. After many years of digging everywhere, examining every inch of land according to the tombstone, we were lucky to find martyr Lien in Kirivong district, Takeo province, with full name and hometown in the relics. There was no joy or happiness that could describe that moment. In the middle of the Cambodian mountains and forests, laughter and cheers mixed with the cries of soldiers searching for the soldier.”

53 years later, soldier Ngo Van Lien remained in the land of Cambodia, without a tombstone, without an address, only the grass and trees here that cared for and kept him company. When he “returned”, the process of finding his relatives also took a lot of time. Many times, Team K93 wanted to give up, because all the connections were not responded to. Finally, Major Nguyen Van Dung was lucky to meet a veteran in Nghe An, and tried to find the martyr’s family. Unfortunately, the family (now only the aunt-in-law - the person who worships the martyr, and the martyr’s grandchildren) moved to Lam Dong province to live. After a little more searching, they finally met each other, an unforgettable encounter.

“At the recent memorial service at Doc Ba Dac Martyrs Cemetery, Thoi Son Ward, we bowed our heads to see you off, the soldiers who have completed their historic mission. You returned to the arms of the People, comrades, and teammates who once fought side by side, in the choked sobs of your families, in the solemnity and respect of the entire nation. The Fatherland sent you away, today the soldiers of Team K93 bring you back,” Major Nguyen Van Dung was moved.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Xuyen - Captain of Team K93, to carry out the task of searching for and collecting the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died on the battlefields of Cambodia and in the country, for the past 25 years, the unit has combined many methods. Based on seminars, information about graves, combined with records, data, old unit liaison committees, veterans, relatives, families of martyrs, etc., Team K93 also promotes propaganda, mobilizes organizations and individuals at home and abroad to provide information about martyrs and martyrs' graves. Especially in areas where there were previous wars, remote areas, mountains, borders, and rugged terrain, many years of searching and collecting have not yielded results.

“At the same time, we organized our forces into many units, divided into many foot teams, about 300 mobile vehicles with a route of over 10,000km of rugged hills and mountains... to carry out the tasks of surveying, searching, and gathering. We thoroughly followed the motto "as long as there is information about martyrs' remains, we will continue to search; if this search has no results, we will continue the search in the next round; the search will only be temporarily stopped when there is no more information available".

Officers and soldiers determined that the search and collection of martyrs' remains is a sacred and noble political task and responsibility of today's generation; a responsibility to the martyrs' families, demonstrating the tradition and morality of remembering the source of water when drinking water, repaying gratitude, contributing to easing the pain of war, responding to the thoughts, feelings and earnest wishes of the martyrs' relatives and families.

Martyr Ngo Van Lien has returned with his full name and hometown. But many of his comrades, even though they have returned, have lost their identities or are still lying in the deep forests, in foreign lands. Each set of martyrs' remains collected, each handful of soil brought back is a sacred act, a message of gratitude from today's generations to the previous generations. And that act will continue forever, like a never-ending source of gratitude in the hearts of the Vietnamese people.

Article and photos: GIA KHANH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/-nam-nghe-bien-ru-nam-nghe-song-hat--a424943.html