On November 30, 2011, at the Ho Chi Minh City Writers' Association hall, the Standing Committee of the City Writers' Association, the Culture and Arts Publishing House, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and the Ca Lê family held a cordial gathering to introduce the diary of Lê Anh Xuân. Attendees included representatives from the Propaganda Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, leaders and staff of the Ben Tre Museum (where the original copy of the diary is kept), leaders and reporters from various newspapers and television stations, and a number of writers and friends who had worked and fought alongside Lê Anh Xuân.Poet Le Quang Trang, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers' Association, delivered the opening speech. He was moved to hold the Le Anh Xuan Diary in his hands and, as he said, "I read the Le Anh Xuan Diary with special fascination…". He also affirmed the value of the diary because it reflects "
a pure, beautiful, and noble ideal”; notes by Le Anh Xuan
"They are all sincere, genuine, and true to life."; and is the source
"Invaluable material for research"Writer Bich Ngan, Deputy Director of the Culture and Arts Publishing House, spoke about the collaboration with the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the family, and the efforts of the publishing house's staff to complete the printing and publication of the book in time for the Vietnamese Teachers' Day on November 20th.
Professor Vu Thanh Tung, Chairman of the Veterans Association of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, who directly typed and organized the manuscript, spoke about the process of contacting, exchanging information, and coordinating with the family, the Ben Tre Museum, writers, and poets of the university's leadership and the Veterans Association, as well as the difficulties in completing the manuscript. He also spoke about the image of the young teacher Ca Le Hien - Le Anh Xuan and the martyrs who were former lecturers and students who sacrificed their lives in the resistance war against America, always closely associated with and accompanying every step of the university's development. As someone who directly worked to complete the manuscript, Professor Vu Thanh Tung also affirmed the value of the diary as a sketch of a generation's portrait and an invaluable source of war documents. In particular, reading Le Anh Xuan's diary, we will see the beauty of a pure and faithful love between a young man on the battlefield and a young woman on the home front. In his approximately 400-page diary, Le Anh Xuan mentioned his lover's name and spoke of their love about 40 times. Writer Dinh Phong, who worked and fought alongside Le Anh Xuan, recounted memories of transporting weapons and food, and of living and working together in the forests of southeastern Vietnam. He said that reading Le Anh Xuan's diary allowed him to relive and reconnect with himself and his friends from a time of hardship, sacrifice, and heroism during the war against America. He also affirmed that Le Anh Xuan's writings were very authentic and vivid, reflecting the real life, real sacrifice, and real heroism of our compatriots and soldiers during the war. Writer Dinh Phong also recounted the story of the anonymous soldier whom Le Anh Xuan based his immortal poem "The Stance of Vietnam" on, who is now no longer anonymous. (We are reprinting Dinh Phong's article on this matter.) Representing the Ca Lê family, Professor and People's Artist Ca Lê Thuần, Chairman of the Union of Literature and Arts Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, spoke about his childhood memories with his younger brother, Ca Lê Hiến, and their time studying in the North. He also, on behalf of the family, thanked the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, where Ca Lê Hiến studied and taught before heading south to fight, for their efforts and dedication in typing and deciphering the handwritten diary, which contained many abbreviations and symbols unique to the author. He also thanked the City's Culture and Arts Publishing House, the Ben Tre Museum, and the martyr's friends and family for helping bring this book, originally just Lê Anh Xuân's personal notes, to readers nationwide because of its true value. Representatives from newspapers and attendees also expressed their emotion upon holding the Lê Anh Xuân diary in their hands, having the opportunity to learn more about a stranger who was both familiar and close to them. This diary will help today's young people better understand the hardships, sacrifices, and the price our people paid for the independence and freedom of our country, so that they can look towards the future with pride and faith in our national traditions. That same afternoon, representatives from the school, along with the family, visited the City Martyrs' Cemetery to pay respects to Martyr Le Anh Xuan.
