THE MOST POIGNANT STORY THAT I HAVE EVER READ

This may be the last time I tell you a story about Vietnam war athough we are very proud of our resplendent victory in the past . People say that friends from all over the world just know Viet Nam as a country undergoing 2 wars and that is what I do not want . However I will regret if I do not tell you this poignant story.The last does not mean the worst. On the contrary , this is the uncanniest but true story that I have ever read . Do you believe that a diary has its own fate ? I'm sure you will trust after reading this story . Nowadays , it is talked about so much in every Vietnamese newspaper ,yesterday, they broadcasted a special program about the martyr and her splendid story . This is my gift for all of you , my friends living throughout the world .
Well , let me see where to begin . The diary belongs to a 27-year old martyr . Her name was DANG THUY TRAM . Her death was also a wonderful and incredible story , but I will tell you about this later . Reverting to the diary , the reason why it is special is not only the content inside but also its destiny . It came back to Vietnam after drifting in the USA for 35 years . It has been kept in the hand of an American , who used to be a belligerent army officer in Duc Pho , Quang Ngai , Viet Nam .His name is FREDERIC WHITEHURST. The fate of Tram 's diary began after she had passed away . According to the rule of US army , all of the unimportant documents for the army seized from the enemy had to be burnt and Fred was the one who was entrusted . That day , he had lots of documents . Together with the interpreter ,he started burning all of the documents that were useless . While he was firing them , Nguyen Trung Hieu - the interpreter,held a small notebook approaching to him and said: " Fred , don't kindle this notebook.Because it itself has a flame inside . " Looking at Hieu's moving face and his respect for the notebook , Fred did as he said and put it into the pocket.
Night after night , they read that notebook together . By the translation of Hieu , Fred knew that it was a diary of theVIET CONG , she had worked in Duc Pho as a doctor for nearly 2 years . Some months after , Fred received the second diary of Thuy Tram , which was also given by Trung Hieu . Every line in her diary made Fred touched so much even when Hieu translated it in a hurry . It was the hatred for the American aggressors . In 1972, Fred came back to the USA, bringing home the two diaries .But his heart always suffered torments from the radiant flame of two discoloured notebooks . He tossed and turned every night because he wanted to do something for that doctor . For many times did Fred tried to find Tram's family , but in vain, although thanks to the diary, he could know her parents' name , her university and the street they used to live .

ROBER WHITEHURST was also a veteran combating in Viet Nam . His two years in the Cuu Long river plain made him love this land and soulful , gentle Vietnamese . He married a Vietnamese girl , learnt Vietnamese , liked Vietnamese food and brought home Vietnamese vegetables to plant . He read Tram's diary when coming back to the USA in 1972. From the very first did the diaries make him thunderstruck . He read them over and over again . The more he read , the more affected he felt for a woman who was at the opposing camp . Then ,accidentally , by searching on the Internet , he found a so -calledVIETNAMCENTER at the university of Texas . He knew that they usually hold a annual convention about Viet Nam war. There were many people attending this convention : scholars , embassadors , generals and American veterans . Robert and Fred also attended and they told about Tram's diary poignantly . When the convention ended,people asked them lots of questions , many of them expressed a wish to find Tram 's family in VietNam .
TED ENGELMANN was one of the people attending that convention . Three days after that , he went to VietNam . In HaNoi , he relied on a friend working in an American huminatarian organization to find Tram's family. He worked enthusiastically although it was such a long way to seek . Finally , they succeeded in finding her father and her family . The copied CD of Dang Thuy Tram 's diary was given to her beloved family . The original notebooks are now preserved in the university of Texas . Like a fairy tale with a happy ending , the diary has come back to its motherland where its author used to live and lay down. Afterwards , Fred and Robert wrote lots of letters to Tram's mother to express their profound admiration for a bright soul and a miraculous optimism during the fierce war . In the agreement of Tram's family , they have published her diary . And DANG THUY TRAM ' S DIARY , besides FOREVER 20 ( which I mentioned in the very first post ) is being the best seller book in Viet Nam these days . The flame in Tram 's diary is still remaining and will never be extinguished . What created that flame that has changed the conception of enemy ? What made Fred and Robert move to tear every night ? How can the book wake up thousands of Vietnamese young people like me ? IT IS THE GREAT SOUL , THE GREAT LIVING IDEAL of a normal woman . That is why Fred and I want Thuy Tram to be known from all over the world .

The content of the diary itself is a wonderful story besides its fate . So I will translate some days in Thuy Tram 's diary as many as I can , but the book is not as short as I think , so I will try to read the whole book before translating into English .Please wait for me till tomorrow or the day after tomorrow . Wait for the next post and you will have to admire for my idol - a very young martyr.
TO BE CONTINUED...