With the theme "Your Love", the October edition of “Prideful Melodies” shared extraordinary love stories through handwritten letters. These wartime love letters, faded by time, carry the emotional memories of soldiers from the past—memories that are both romantic and glorious, yet deeply ordinary, serving as remnants of love that endured the brutality of war.
Through the stories told in the program, we can feel the courage and sincerity of the soldiers, and above all, their sacrifice for a noble cause, “when the nation called, they knew how to live apart.” These personal letters have now become part of history, part of memory, helping today’s generations understand a heroic yet painful past, filled with love and sacrifice. They remind us of those unforgettable moments in the history of the entire nation. By understanding the past, we learn to better appreciate the values of life today.
One of the most impressive stories told in the program is the love story of the writer-journalist couple Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong and Vu Tu Nam, which brought special emotions to the audience. The more than 500 letters they wrote to each other during theirseparation are vivid proof of a love that transcended time. These handwritten letters take the audience to the early days when they were friends, then lovers, and eventually husband and wife. The letters, passed by hand and entrusted to fellow couriers before the advent of postal stamps, have yellowed over time, with many pages smudged with ink, yet they still hold the same raw and intense emotions.
For 20 years, Colonel and writer Dang Vuong Hung has tirelessly searched for and collected tens of thousands of wartime letters and diaries, and is well aware of the value of these relics. He told the program: “The letters written during the war served as emotional ties, connecting the soldiers on the battlefield with their loved ones on the home front.” Through Dang Vuong Hung's reflections, we gain a deeper understanding of a time marked by hardship and scarcity, yet overflowing with love and affection.
In those days, paper and envelopes were scarce, with most letters were written on torn pages from notebooks, some on cigarette packs, and others even on scraps of fabric from trousers. These letters played an incredibly important role, serving as a source of support and strength for the soldiers.
