Translation of Colonel Tran Minh Hao's Poem
Pleiku, October 18, 1993
To General Hal Moore and the leadership of the 1st Cavalry, 3rd Brigade of Americans of the Ia Drang Battle in November, 1965.
I was so moved by the visit to our battlefield by you, General Nguyen Huu An, the veterans from both sides, and the ABC News crew, that I have composed this poem for you and the group.
To remember the days of war!
We have come to you this afternoon.
Our
old battlefield still here
Yet how to find your graves
Now hidden
by thirty years of growth.
In your youth
Like leaves so green
Your
blood soaks the earth red
For today's forest to grow
Words cannot
describe how we miss you.
Our fingers trace the bark for clues of the
days past
Imagining you resting for a thousand peaceful autumns
Feeling
the loss of each of you.
We come to rejoin a span of bridge
For
the happiness of those living
On a calm autumn afternoon in Ia Drang
Veterans
join hands
After thirty years, we relive that battle
Between two
sides of the frontlines
Time now we stand at each other's side
remembering.
Generals and soldiers of years past
Bring back the
months and years of history
Untroubled by ancient rifts
We look
together towards the future
Hoping that generations to come will
remember this deed.
Our peoples know love and bravery
We leave old
hates for new friendships
Together we will live in peace
So that
this land will remain ever green
Forever in peace and harmony.
Translated by Quynh Thai, ABC News