Ho Sy Hau and the call of gratitude

The author of the book is Major General Ho Sy Hau - former Director of the Economic Department ( Ministry of National Defense ), an engineer who directly participated in the survey and design of this route.

Therefore, “The River of Fire” not only records the difficult years, but is also a call of deep gratitude to those who fell for the immortal values of the nation.

1. Regarding the Truong Son pipeline, I think there are no words that can express it more accurately and better than the saying of Lieutenant General Dong Si Nguyen, former member of the Politburo , former Commander of the Truong Son Army: "If the Truong Son road is a legend, then the petroleum pipeline is the legend within that legend."

Western press once called the Truong Son and Ho Chi Minh roads "The Eight Trigrams Array through the jungle" and the oil pipeline is a very mysterious thing in that Eight Trigrams Array, because this unique route crosses high mountains, deep rivers, dangerous passes, and sky-high bombs and fire, from the North all the way to the South.

The oil and gas pipeline is the lifeblood of the Truong Son Trail, and the Truong Son Trail is the giant blood vessel of the socialist North - the great rear base for the great front line of the South. Without these special blood vessels, we could not have won.

The work “The River of Fire” was written by Ho Sy Hau in the form of a novel. Novels, of course, contain fiction and imagination. But I believe that the author did not start from fiction and imagination, but from the urge of the heart, from the life-and-death experience on that very route. There, he was not only a witness, but also a direct participant in the “great project” as a survey and design engineer, present in almost every section of the route. I think, therefore, Ho Sy Hau was both a Truong Son soldier and a writer emerging from the fierce war, to give life a special work. He was the one who contributed to the feat and also the one who recounted the feat of his comrades and brothers.

“The River of Fire” is an epic about patriotism, comradeship, bravery, intelligence, courage, love of life, love of couples and love of our beloved Vietnam.
I heard Poet Huu Thinh, former Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, talk about the high appreciation of the Vietnam Writers Association for this novel. I am proud, but a little regretful, because such a good work has not been honored with an award from the Vietnam Writers Association. It must be said that, although it has been well-deservedly honored in an award for writing about the armed forces and revolutionary war, the award from the Vietnam Writers Association is still the most prestigious award. The Writers Association stipulates that a work that has been honored in another award cannot be considered for honor at the Vietnam Writers Association Award. Although “The River Carrying Fire” has not been honored at an award from the Vietnam Writers Association, I think this work is in the hearts of readers, the public, brothers, comrades, and teammates. I think that is the most touching and profound honor.

2. Although not born to write, Ho Sy Hau was nurtured in the warm and loving atmosphere of a village rich in literary tradition. His hometown, Quynh Doi (Nghe An), is the birthplace of Ho Xuan Huong - a world cultural celebrity; poet Hoang Trung Thong - author of "Broken Land Song", former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Literature; Tu Mo (Ho Trong Hieu) - a satirical poet; and many writers of later generations, including Ho Anh Thai, former Chairman of the Hanoi Writers Association... In particular, Quynh Doi is also the hometown of Ho Thom, aka "the cloth-clothed hero", military genius Nguyen Hue - King Quang Trung...

Mr. Ho Sy Hau was born in 1946 and is now 80 years old. We are both descendants of the Ho Quynh Doi family. My house is less than 200m from his house. When I was little, I often ran over there to play. He is the son of revolutionary veteran Ho Viet Thang, member of the 2nd Party Central Committee, former Minister of Food and Foodstuffs. He is the great-grandson of the famous Ho Si Tu. In the house of his parents and grandparents in Quynh Doi, there is still a stele recording the event: In 1903, Mr. Pho Bang Nguyen Sinh Sac came here with the scholars to discuss the country's fate, with his two sons, Nguyen Sinh Khiem and Nguyen Sinh Cung (ie President Ho Chi Minh) following and staying here. That was a sacred and special event associated with the family...

Graduated from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, in 1968 Ho Sy Hau went to the battlefield, participated in the construction of the oil pipeline and was attached to this legendary route until the day the country was completely liberated. After the war, he worked at the Ministry of Defense. When he retired, he picked up the pen again, writing works that left many impressions in the hearts of readers and "The River of Fire" is one of them.

3. I read “The River of Fire” as soon as it was released and really liked the chapters he wrote: Authentic, rich in literary light, especially touching in the last chapter about soldiers after the war, about the post-war problems of the country. There, we cannot help but wonder: There are people who have gone through the war and are honored, but there are also people who are forgotten; there are great contributions, but their lives are still poor. We must know them, must care for them.

Therefore, the reprinting of the book on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day and the 80th anniversary of the country's independence is very meaningful. I think, "The River Carrying Fire" carries a profound message of gratitude, history and culture. If history is forgotten or distorted, it is the seed that leads to unpredictable disasters. It is impossible to move towards a bright, sustainable future if we forget, distort or deny history. In fact, the world has had nations that suffered disasters because of that. Therefore, works that carry the weight of history like "The River Carrying Fire" are extremely valuable. I agree with Dr. Vu Kim Dung's assessment that this work is truly a precious gem in the literature about soldiers and our war years.

I suddenly remembered two verses of Thu Bon, author of the famous epic poem "The Song of the Cho Rao Bird":

“But it will all be meaningless
If those graves cannot call the sun”.

In my mind, the image of the grave of martyr Nguyen Luong Dinh in “The River of Fire” appeared. Those were also the last pages and lines of this book. When closing the work, Ho Sy Hau included two eternally moving verses of King Tran Thai Tong, written more than 700 years ago:

"The old soldier with silver hair
Telling Nguyen Phong's story forever".

That was a glorious period in history, when our people won the victory over the Yuan-Mongol army. During the Ho Chi Minh era, our people also achieved many feats of historic significance. The story that Ho Sy Hau wrote today, ending with the image of his comrades standing before the tomb of martyr Nguyen Luong Dinh - a real person, now posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces - is the continuation of that source.

I feel that the grave has “called the sun”, and Ho Sy Hau’s work “The River of Fire” is also “calling the sun”. That is gratitude and connection, the spirit of dedication and sacrifice for the country and the people.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ho-sy-hau-va-tieng-goi-cua-long-tri-an-717793.html