Beloved Truong Sa. Part 3: The close-knit bond of compatriots

Far from home is not stoppingtry

"Hello, principal," Senior Lieutenant Truong Thanh Tu from Dong village, Binh Lang commune (Tu Ky, Hai Duong) immediately recognized Ms. Pham Hong Hanh, Head of the Propaganda Department of Tu Ky District Party Committee, as his former teacher. The two teachers and students shook hands and chatted happily about their hometown. Tu boasted that he had just gotten married 3 months ago. "I miss my wife so much. But we always take the time to call each other to ask about her and encourage each other to try harder," Tu said.

Anh Tu is currently the leader of Squad 37 on Song Tu Tay Island. Hearing that a delegation was coming to visit the island, he was excited and looked up the names of his compatriots on the delegation list. He was so moved that he ran back to his unit to give Ms. Hanh a box of bird's nest drink, a standard allowance that had just been transferred from the mainland.

Anh Tu once worked and celebrated Tet away from home on An Bang Island. This was the first Tet he had his own family, but also celebrated Tet away from home. It was sad, but he said: "On the island, there are comrades, there are joys, and pride unique to soldiers protecting the border and islands." Feeling sorry for the agile, intelligent little student, Ms. Hanh clasped his hand, wishing Tu to always be happy, healthy, and strive with his comrades to complete his mission well.

The first thing Colonel Nguyen Xuan Hoa, Deputy Head of the Electronic Newspaper Department of the People's Army Newspaper, from Chi Linh (Hai Duong) did when arriving at the islands was to find fellow countrymen because he wanted to give some gifts and encourage officers and soldiers from the same hometown who were working and protecting the islands, and at the same time inform his comrades about the situation on the mainland and his homeland.

The soldiers and people of Truong Sa island district come from many places in the country to live and work. There are deep voices of people from the coastal areas of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh; sweet voices from the "white rice and clear water" regions of Can Tho and Dong Thap; or high and low voices from the "sun-scorching Central region"... Just by speaking, everyone quickly recognizes their fellow countrymen, shakes hands, and talks about their hometowns and islands without stopping.

Hearing the voice, Hai Doan, a reporter for Thoi Dai magazine, immediately recognized his fellow countrymen and was overjoyed to meet nearly ten people from the same hometown of Hai Phong on Sinh Ton Island. They quickly came to meet each other after just a few hours of asking each other questions. Which district, which commune, did they know this house or that house? Lieutenant Nguyen Tran Dang, Commander of the Logistics and Technical Service Center of Sinh Ton Island (under the 129th Fleet, Saigon Port) met his fellow countrymen from Tien Lang - Vinh Bao (Hai Phong) and was as happy as Tet. "It's very rare to meet fellow countrymen visiting the island, and even meeting people from the same district, asking about so many things at home," Dang said. Then peanut candy, green bean cakes, burnt rice..., all the gifts from the hometown brought to the island were brought out to invite each other to chat.

Like family

Over a cup of warm tea imbued with the love of fellow countrymen on Sinh Ton Island, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Phong, the island's political commissar, whose hometown is Chi Linh (Hai Duong), said that on the island, officers and soldiers from the same hometown are like brothers in the family, often coming to meet and encourage each other to try their best. He is both a brother and a friend to many young soldiers who have just started their duties on the island, helping them ease their homesickness and guiding them to quickly train and mature in the army. Phong will take on a new assignment after this Tet holiday, so these are also his commemorative days with the officers, soldiers and people on Sinh Ton Island. He chooses good items to share with his brothers who are still working on the island; receives items that people send back to their families... He visits each house to say goodbye, wishing everyone a happy, reunited and happy Tet. They promise to call each other often.

Sending a message to his hometown, Lieutenant Nguyen Tran Dang asked fellow reporters to inform his family so that they could feel secure about the working and living conditions on the island. Telling those in the rear, he thanked the wives and mothers whose husbands and children are soldiers working on the island for sharing and sympathizing more, helping them feel secure and steady in their guns as they build and protect the islands of the Fatherland. Far from home, they always turn to their homeland and try harder.

Mr. Tran Duy Huy, a reporter for Thai Binh Radio and Television, interviewed his fellow countrymen until his phone was "hot" because the cadres, soldiers, and people on the islands were the most numerous from Thai Binh. Like family, the fellow countrymen from Thai Binh called out to each other, sharing cigarettes, tea packs, etc. Mr. Huy recorded every wish and message from everyone back home because he wanted to bring the most genuine images and feelings from the island back home, so that everyone back home could see how the children of his hometown were living, training, and working.

Tet is a time for reunion, but for officers and soldiers on remote islands, Tet is not a time to forget their duties, still holding their guns firmly to protect the sacred sea of ​​the Fatherland with a proud attitude towards their homeland, family, and beloved mainland.

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