The death certificate of martyr Huỳnh Văn Quên. VNA/VNS Photo

TÂY NINH – In the spring of 1968, soldier Huỳnh Văn Quên fell in Sài Gòn during the Tết Offensive, leaving behind a family with a rich revolutionary tradition and an unfulfilled promise to the woman he loved.

Nearly six decades later, the journey to rediscover the identity of this fallen soldier brought about a belated reunion, showed a family that dedicated generations to the nation and told the story of unwavering loyalty, sacrifice and a steadfast and enduring love.

In Đức Tân, now Vàm Cỏ Commune in Tây Ninh Province, there is a family that has seen many generations devote their youth to the fight for national independence.

It was from that land rich in revolutionary tradition that the soldier Quên grew up and followed his father's path, which ultimately led him to his resting place in a grave at Lê Thị Riêng Park in HCM City.

As his family spent days awaiting the results of DNA tests on Quên's remains, the house of the martyr's younger brother Huỳnh Văn Chín in Vàm Cỏ Commune bustled with the chatter of relatives and neighbours.

Every story told reminded family members of the young man who passed away nearly six decades ago.

But the more the family reviewed their memories, the more they realised that Quên's life was just a part of a larger story – that of a family that devoted generations to the revolution.

Born into a family rich in revolutionary tradition, raised on land that was once a fierce battlefield, Quên quickly realised the value of freedom and the sacrifices of previous generations.

At the end of 1967, before marching into the inner city of Sài Gòn to participate in the 1968 Tết Offensive, Quên said farewell to the girl he loved, Nguyễn Thị Lệ.

Before leaving, he promised: "If I win this battle, then I will come back and marry you."

No one expected that it would be their last promise. In the spring of 1968, the soldier fell in battle in Sài Gòn.

Since then, his family has continued to cherish his memory. His name remains etched in his hometown, and the woman from those days still waits silently, but they did not anticipate that he would ever be found.

“We had no hope that we would find Quên’s remains,” Quên's cousin Lê Văn Xem said.

“After learning about the Party and State's 500-day campaign to recover and identify the remains of fallen soldiers whose identities remain unknown, the entire family was overwhelmed with emotion.

"For the past few days, our whole family has been waiting together for the DNA test results so that we can finally bring him home, to his homeland and to the cemetery, where future generations will have a place to pay their respects."

"We also hope the authorities will quickly complete procedures so that he can return home after nearly six decades away,” he added.

58 years, one promise

Nguyễn Thị Lệ. VNA/VNS Photo

On this same land, one woman has spent her youth – and nearly her entire life – waiting for the soldier who left one spring.

At the age of 79, Lệ is still keeping her promise of waiting for Quên’s return.

There was no wedding and no certificate of marriage, but over six decades, she quietly became a daughter-in-law of Quên’s family, taking care of her beloved's parents and keeping her promise.

Only when she was recognised by the State as the wife of martyr Quên did her 58-year journey of waiting end in tears of satisfaction.

Her hair turned silver, her health seriously degraded by illness and age, but Lệ clearly remembers her soldier’s face.

"He had fair skin, was of average height, kind, lovely and well-liked by everyone,” Lệ recalled.

Every time she mentions her beloved, her eyes still shine with nostalgia. Their love blossomed in the years of war, when Lệ was also a soldier on the front line. She worked as a courier supplying food and medicine to other soldiers.

She carried water and rice and mended clothes for the soldiers stationed in the locality every day.

"Quên came back to be stationed here. One time I mended two suits for him. I did not know when he noticed and fell in love with me," she said.

Amid the smoke and fire of war, their love grew, until eventually, Quên offered to go home and talk to his family if she agreed to get married.

"I thought the two of us were compatible and had the same goals, so I accepted," Lệ recalled.

At the end of 1967, before leaving for Sài Gòn to prepare for the Tết Offensive, the young soldier promised to come back and marry his girlfriend. In that moment, the young woman in her twenties did not cry; she just nodded, saying, "I would fulfil my duty in the rear."

From the battlefield, Quên regularly wrote her loving letters of encouragement that became mementoes she kept her entire life.

After the offensive, the letters stopped coming, but Lệ never gave up hope.

On the day the country was unified, the man she was waiting for still did not return. Four or five other people proposed marriage, but she refused them all.

"I promised to marry only one person. Whether I live or die, that will not change," she said, gently but firmly.

After receiving information of Quên's death, she went to his parents, asking to be their daughter-in-law and take care of them in his place. Quên's mother burst into tears. She gave the girl a pair of earrings intended as a gift for her son's wedding day.

Since then, Lệ became the family's daughter-in-law. For 60 years, she was present at every memorial service, caring for the parents of the fallen soldier until their end and tending to the ancestral altar.

No one in the family ever considered her an outsider. Quên's siblings called her 'sister', and the children and grandchildren called her 'aunt'.

Earlier in July, after she heard about the discovery of remains and personal belongings relating to Quên, the 79-year-old woman felt silent. All of the memories came flooding back.

"I am happy, touched, happy but also sad. Sad because it has been many years since I had the hope of seeing him again," she said.

Another joy came when she was officially recognised as Quên’s wife, a partial compensation for her loyalty and sacrifice.

War took Lệ’s beloved man, but it did not take her steadfast love and loyalty.

Now, nearly six decades after his sacrifice, Quên is on his way back to his family and homeland.

For Lệ, 58 years was not just a period of waiting, but a journey to live fully with her promise and her love. VNS