Wartime Diaries series

“Nhat Ky Thoi Chien Vietnam” (Wartime diary), released by the Writers' Association Publishing House, includes 31 pieces of writing by 31 authors who tell their true stories after returning from the war.

Lieutenant General Doan Sinh Huong, Chairman of the “Mai mai tuoi 20” (Forever Twenty) Fund, said that the work spreads a strong humanitarian message. It can be considered an intangible heritage that heroic martyrs and war veterans present to younger generations, he said.

Writer Dang Vuong Hung, who compiled and edited the work, said that two thirds of the book’s authors passed away, many of whom fell down in the battle fields or returned with wounds and died.

The book was compiled with the diaries of soldiers, including martyrs’ relics kept by their relatives.

At the event, the Soldiers’ Heart Club, a forum of war veterans on Facebook, launched a campaign to collect letters and diaries of soldiers written in wartime to supplement documents to the book. The club also opened a writing and story-telling contest on “Love in wartime”. Entries, in the form of less than 3,000-word writings or 30-minute video clips, must be real stories involving real characters and events.

The winner will receive 10 million VND, while most outstanding stories will be compiled into a book entitled “Soldiers’ Heart”. The contest’s award ceremony is scheduled for early March, 2021./. VNA