We met all of them recently and came to know that after the war they have gone in different directions, living their own lives, tough and hard, indeed.

Nguyen Van Tap, the tank-driver, and Vu Van Toan, the tank captain, were demobilized in 1976 and 1985 respectively, having returned to their homelands in nbsp;Gia Loc, Hai Duong Province , and joined efforts with their wives in doing farm work.

nbsp;Le Van Phuong, ex-deputy commander of Tank Company 4 and a substitute for gunner 2 of Tank 390 who got wounded in battle, was also demobilized in 1985, went back to his home village in Son Tay after his re-enlistment in the war for the defence of the borders as captain – commander of Tank Battalion 1, Brigade 203. He has lived in a small alley, working as a barber to earn his living with more incomes to help his wife.

Lieut. Ngo Sy Nguyen, the youngest “brother” of the four in the tank, did not return to his homeland in Dien Chau, Nghe An Province after demobilization, but stayed on in Hanoi, working at Pha Den river port. In whatever ways they are earning their living as farmers, barber and worker amidst the mainstream of people hurrying and scurrying for life, they have all mingled themselves well into such a civil life full of hardships and difficulties.

“We would like to thank Francoise de Mulder, a French reporter, who took the unique photo of the moment when our tank crashed through the main gate of the Independence Palace . In early 1995, she came to Vietnam on a working mission and created an opportunity for our reunion after so many years of separation,” Le Van Phuong said with great emotion, adding: “On that day, I was doing my job by the hedge of hibiscus at my house when she walked in. After some hesitation, she rushed to hug me, her tears running down on her cheeks. I could not hold back my emotion either.”nbsp;

Over the past few years, their lives have somewhat changed. Ass. Prof. – Dr. Nguyen Thi Hoe, Chairman of Management Board and Director General of Kova Paint Company, has taken in the two veterans, Vu Dang Toan and Nguyen Van Tap, to work in her own enterprise, materializing the Vietnamese people’s philosophy: “As you drink water, you should remember its source; as you take fruit, you should remember its growers”. Bui Ngoc Lan, Director of October-10 Bus Company employed Ngo Sy Nguyen as a bus-driver. Senior Lieut. Col. Duong Ngoc Hong, Head of Section for Military Instructions of Infantry Academy 1, not only let veteran Le Van Phuong use his house verandah’s roof to open a barber’s shopnbsp; but also nbsp;gave Phuong his key so that “Phuong could have a place to receive his clients, drink tea and take a nap.”

When we met them and took photos of them to portray part of their current lives, Vu Dang Toan had been promoted to acting manager of a road paint workshop, and Nguyen Van Tap was working as warehouse manager and forklift truck driver. Veteran Ngo Sy Nguyen was just assigned a new task by his Bus Company as an inspector of safety conditions of the buses after a day’s operation.

We called at their houses, feeling happy indeed to see the changes in their lives. But what’s really relishing is that all their families are cozier and happier and still holding aloft their glorious traditions. The eldest sons of Phuong, Tap and Nguyen have joined the army as a tank soldier, a military airport officer and a student of the Military Medical Academy . Toan’s eldest son was brave enough “to row his lone oar” in the faraway Central Highlands , running a coffee plantation, with a strong determination to get rich. Their other children are all studious and assiduous, trying to be worthy of their elders.

Thus, the tank veterans have never claimed their meritorious services, nor asked for honours and privileges, always with the only thought in their minds: nbsp;At war, they were ready to take up arms to defend the Fatherland; in peace, they lead an unassuming, quiet life, without claiming rewards for their merits but returning to normal life like so many others.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;

By Quang Van