Writer Colonel Dang Vuong Hung is President of the “Soldiers’ Heart” Organization (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

The handover was held by the “Soldiers’ Heart” organization, the Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center, “Vietnam Urban and Environment Magazine”, and the “Forever 20 Club”.

During the resistance war against the American army, a large number of diaries, letters, and personal items belonging to soldiers from the North as well as the Southern Liberation Army were seized by the opposition. Although most of the originals were destroyed during the war, many documents and items were photographed and stored at the Vietnam Center and Archive of Texas Tech University (VNCA) in the United States.

The copied documents can be used to find graves and remains of missing soldiers. The “Soldiers’ Heart” organization has coordinated with VNCA to run a non-profit project called the “Vietnam War Legacy Files” to search for information about Vietnamese soldiers and hand over their legacy to their relatives.

The handover of the “Vietnam War Legacy Files” (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

The ceremony also introduced the autobiography “Always a Soldier” written by Dang Ngoc Da about his journey from fierce battlefield to a peaceful life. Veteran Dang Ngoc Da was born in 1939 in Me So Commune in Van Giang District, Hung Yen Province.

“The autobiography tells my emotional journey and experience of human values and life philosophy. I want to share it with everyone. I want to express my gratitude to the people of Long An Province, where I was stationed, and to my comrades who stood by my side throughout the cruel war,” Da said.

Portraits of the martyrs are given to their families. (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

At the ceremony, the Organizing Committee gave four portraits of martyrs to their relatives. Phan Trong Son received a portrait of his brother, Phan Trong Van. He said: “My brother died in a fight against the American airstrikes in the north in 1972. My family is very touched to receive his portrait. We feel like my brother returned to the family.”