Vietnamese Mother Hides Son’s Letter in Bamboo for 21 Years

Lê Ngọc Lân wrote an eight-page letter to his mother, Trình Thị Quy, from Quảng Ninh province in 1959, after relocating to the North. He hadn't received any news from his family for five years and expressed his longing for them and concern for her well-being. His mother carefully concealed the letter within a bamboo tube, placed inside a ceramic jar, and buried it in her garden to protect it from discovery during wartime.

The letter remained hidden for 21 years, surviving the conflict, until Lân returned to his hometown in 1975. He was deeply moved to find it preserved by his mother as a treasured keepsake. Both Lân and his mother have since passed away, but the letter, bamboo tube, and jar are now preserved at the Monument to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers in Đà Nẵng.

The letter offers a poignant glimpse into a family separated by war and the enduring strength of a mother’s love. It reflects a time of hardship and sacrifice, and the lengths to which people went to maintain connections during a tumultuous period in Vietnamese history.