A hamlet holds historical value for war rehabilitation

Ruong Hamlet, a remote locality in Huong Tan Commune, Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri Province having scars from the war, has greatly changed thanks to US friends who vow to rehabilitate this historic area.

The book kept for 56 years plays a significant role in healing wartime scars. Photo: D.G

Even though the war has long since ended, bomb craters remain scattered on a hill close to Ruong Hamlet, marking the site of a fierce battle between the US Army and the Liberation Army of South Vietnam in Tet Holiday 1968.

Because this location has so much historical significance, many Americans visit it these days. The Ransom family, from Seattle, Washington state, USA, is one of them, including Larry Ransom and his wife, their daughter, son-in-law, and four brothers.

I went to Ruong Hamlet with Ransom’s family to cover the kindergarten’s opening. This was just another typical press event I had assisted with. But when I uncovered a unique detail, the story went beyond simple reporting. I watched the crowd and noticed that Mr. Larry Ransom always held an extremely old magazine from the cover to the printed paper.

I realized it was interesting from the cover: “July 27, 1968 - The New Yorker, Price 35 cents”. I suppose this magazine must be unique since Mr. Larry Ransom handled it with great care and bothered to transport it from the United States to this far-off village of Ruong.

Larry Ransom claimed to have saved this magazine as a priceless heirloom. He had a reason for bringing it with him to Ruong Hamlet. He showed me a magazine with a lengthy article about his brother Mike Ransom’s passing and how his family participated in a protest in Washington in 1968 against the war against American troops or the Vietnam War.

According to Larry Ransom, his brother Mike was born in 1944, two years older than him. Mike left for Vietnam in late 1967 and was killed in action in the early months of 1968. Following that, Bob and Louise Ransom, his parents, became staunch opponents of the war and dedicated many years of their lives to trying to lessen the grave effects it had on both nations. “Neither my brother nor my parents wanted war,” stated Larry Ransom. They support education, families, children, peace, and love.

The Larry Ransom family at the inauguration ceremony of Ruong Village Kindergarten they funded. Photo: D.G

For this reason, Larry Ransom traveled to Ruong Hamlet with his wife – Gail Ransom – in order to construct a kindergarten. The brothers of Larry Ransom donated funds and, with the help of their friends in Seattle, built a school on a piece of land that had previously been cleared of mines by PeaceTrees Vietnam.

And Mr. Larry Ransom and his wife came to the school’s inauguration ceremony this time accompanied by their brothers and kids.

He said during the inauguration ceremony that everyone saw on stage that it was written that Ruong Hamlet Kindergarten was a gift from the Ransom family, but actually the most important and precious gift was the love everyone here has for the Ransom family members. The fact that the children of Ruong Hamlet attend this school and learn from it is a gift from them, he emphasized.

Arriving at the site of her husband’s brother died 56 years ago, Gail Ransom said that in the past, distance and conflict separated the paths taken by people from Vietnam and the United States. However, we have united today in the name of peace and the next generation’s educational opportunities.

“The Ransom family expresses gratitude to everyone for providing us with the chance to play a role in the children’s future. I think my brother and parents will really want to see the school that you have allowed to be built,” Gail Ransom said.

Dinh Giao – Linh Pham