Historical bride procession on Hien Luong bridge

The wedding of Mr. Nghi and Mrs. Hoa is a testament to the faithful love of the couple, overcoming all the cruelty of war. This is also considered the first procession of the bride to cross the border bridge when peace is restored.

On each occasion of April 30, Mr. Nghi and Mrs. Hoa go to the historic Hien Luong bridge. The love between the two is still as passionate as the beginning

A love story that transcends time on both sides of the parallel

Following the winding alleys along the Ben Hai River, we found the small house of Mr. Hoang Nghi and Mrs. Hoang Thi Hoa, both over 70 years old this year, in Hien Luong village (Vinh Thanh, Vinh Linh, Quang Tri). ).

Next to us was a very happy-looking couple, with dew-colored skin and extremely hospitable.

Recalling the “destined for life” in his youth, Mr. Nghi slowly said that in 1972, Mr. Nghi was the Captain of the Guerrilla Militia Team, the Captain of the Production Team in Hien Luong village (on the north bank of the Ben River). Sea).

And Mrs. Hoa is a militia and guerrillas in Tam Huu village, in Trieu Trung commune (Trieu Phong district, on the south bank).

During those years, the enemy madly ravaged fiercely, burned all the houses, destroyed all the fields and gardens. Ms. Hoa received orders from her superiors to urgently evacuate people to the north bank of the Ben Hai River, including her family.

During the war, she got lost on the road, lost in the village of Hien Luong and accidentally met Mr. Nghi.

Knowing that Mrs. Hoa’s father was seriously injured by a bomb hit, Mr. Nghi immediately took him to the emergency clinic. The young militia man enthusiastically helped and devotedly took care of Mrs. Hoa’s father like his own blood. Then the love between the two also rekindled and blossomed.

After a while, the revolutionary mission was urgent, so Ms. Hoa had to return to Trieu Trung to continue her work. Before leaving, Mr. Nghi himself knitted a sweater for Mrs. Hoa as a token of love.

Days and months passed, but still no sign of the lost guerrillas returned, the nostalgia kept filling up day by day, prompting Mr. Nghi to resolve to cross the Ben Hai river to find Mrs. Hoa.

The first time he went but could not meet his lover, Mr. Nghi returned sadly. Undeterred, a few months later, he continued to re-enter Trieu Phong, just in time to meet Ms. Hoa on a mission on the way back.

“When the boat was about to leave the dock, I looked up to the shore and saw the figure of the person I love. Meeting each other for only 5 minutes, both of them were both happy and sad. After that, we said goodbye to each other and quickly returned to the fighting position,” Mr. Nghi recalled tearfully.

Mr. Nghi continued: One night in 1972, Ms. Hoa received an order from the Commanding Committee of the Trieu Trung Commune to move to Dai Loc to close the gates and protect the newly liberated area. Since then, the two have lost contact with each other for more than half a year.

It was not until a military unit entered Dai Loc to take over that Mr. Nghi learned the information of the person he wished for day and night. Since then, the longing for nostalgia was sent by both of them into hasty letters, and then asked the soldiers to return to the base to transfer them to each other.

Hien Luong Bridge “connects two regions of love and memory”

Mr. Nghi and Mrs. Hoa recalled the memories of a time of fire flowers as well as their special wedding

Taking us back to visit the historic Hien Luong bridge – once a symbol of the pain of division and the aspiration of the whole nation, Mr. Nghi recalled the passionate poem he wrote for Mrs. Hoa when she was a child. During the war: “Ben Hai River is flooded, landslides are on the side / Hien Luong Bridge is on the memory side, and the injured side / There is a long distance between each other / I know when the road will reconnect to – Out / Now the bridge is over again / The fragrant plank , new wood let me meet you”.

He said, although the meetings were sparse, the letters were sent and received when they were lost, but both of them couldn’t help but hope that one day they would be reunited together when the country was at peace.

Then the Paris Agreement was signed in January 1973, ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam. Hien Luong Bridge across the Ben Hai River was destroyed by bombs in 1967, and was rebuilt in early 1974.

The bridge is made of reinforced concrete 186m long, 9m wide, with a 1.2m wide pedestrian corridor. People on both sides of the parallel happily held hands and burst into happiness.

In that great joy, Mr. Nghi and Mrs. Hoa decided to hold a wedding to introduce them, friends and teammates.

From Mrs. Hoa’s hometown, rowing a boat across the river and then crossing another 50km, the procession was assisted by the army by car from the South to the South bank at the foot of Hien Luong Bridge.

At this time, the groom’s family was waiting, relatives around the border also came to congratulate the young couple.

Mr. Nghi needs to take Hoa’s hand to walk on the historic bridge, bring the bride to the village, the two officially return to the same house.

Mrs. Hoa emotional recounts, at that time, the situation was difficult, so her wedding only served a few sweets and a bowl of green tea.

The wedding party was simple but very warm, the hall was made in a hurry with bamboo paintings and raised the bullet box to make a table. Next to it is a bamboo wall with a picture of a couple of pigeons flying, with the slogan: “Happiness in the river, happiness at home / Fall in love with the country and our love”.

By 1975, the country was completely unified, North and South reunited in one house. The couple chose the land right next to the Ben Hai River to build a house and make a living.

Ms. Hoa said that it was here that he and she met, so they both wanted to live in the place where they first met.

They have a total of 5 children, in which the first 2 sons are named Hoang Van Hien (Hien Luong village – father’s hometown) and Hoang Van Huu (Tam Huu village – mother’s hometown).

30 years later, in 2004, the historic Hien Luong Bridge continued to witness another coincidence when Mr. Nghi and his wife held a wedding for their son and carried the bride from the South bank across this bridge.

Mr. Huu married his wife, Ms. Tran Thi Hue, from Xuan Hoa village (Trung Hai, Gio Linh; south bank). The happy reunion of two generations in the same family took place on the historic border bridge as well as a testament to the iron connection between the North and South banks.