Among them, the famous photo "Female soldiers of the Truong Son oil unit" evokes many emotions in the hearts of viewers...

In the photo, female soldier Tran Thi Thanh Kiem (from Thai Binh) on the left has a "wasp waist, arched chest", on her shoulder is a carrying pole with curved necks; next to her is her tall comrade Nguyen Thi Lan (from Hai Duong), carrying a "sky-high" section of gasoline pipeline.

The two are posed moving forward in the bright sunlight. The photographer stands below (perhaps on a slope or the mouth of a bomb crater) and points the lens at the direction the two female soldiers are moving towards. This angle makes the two girls stand out against the sky filled with billowing clouds.

The left foreground has a tree trunk with its top missing and in tatters – a true reflection of the brutality of the battlefield. It is easy to see that the photographer and the subject have merged their emotions, creating a timeless artistic impression right on the fierce battlefield.

“Female soldiers of Truong Son petroleum unit”. Photo: Vuong Khanh Hong

The transport soldiers of the past said: The photo was taken at the end of 1973, the author is Vuong Khanh Hong, a photojournalist of the Political Department of the 559th Command (this work won the First Prize of the Army Literature Magazine in 1974, Mr. Vuong Khanh Hong was also honored to receive the State Prize for Literature and Arts in 2012 with the photo series "Ho Chi Minh Trail in the War Years"). At that time, two female soldiers were fighting in the 592nd Petroleum Pipeline Regiment of the Truong Son Army, along the Se Pon River in Savannakhet Province, Laos. The unit had about 300 girls on duty to ensure the smooth and safe transportation of petroleum to the South. They stubbornly faced hardships, with American B-52 bombs, and were "steel flowers" that added to the beauty of the Truong Son pipeline.

That day, while transporting oil pipes from the Se Pon River to the assembly point, two female soldiers walked up from the riverbank, chatting as they walked. Suddenly, a soldier with a camera appeared and said loudly: “Hey, you two girls, stop so I can take a picture”; the girls were delighted and said: “Yes. Remember to send us each one”. Thus, the photo “Female soldiers of the Truong Son oil unit” was born. It was as simple as that, but it is one of the photos that has gone down in the history of the nation’s resistance war against the US.

Female soldier Tran Thi Thanh Kiem before going to the battlefield. Photo: Archive

Looking at the photo, we can see that the young and enthusiastic Truong Son female soldiers of that time always enthusiastically took on all assigned tasks: operating the oil pipeline, operating the switchboard, being a warehouse keeper, and even singing to help their comrades be more optimistic and love life... Just like the song: "The long pipe connects the rhythm of the gasoline ringing/ My shoulder carries the whole Truong Son mountain pass", the two female soldiers are like "Truong Son forest flowers" that are always fresh even though they have to be immersed in the fierce fire of war. On the battlefield, the line between life and death is extremely fragile, but they still radiate optimism, love life, and firmly believe in the day of total victory.

In 2019, the Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh Trail Tradition Association of Vietnam celebrated the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Truong Son Troops' Traditional Day (May 19, 1959 - May 19, 2019), and then the Truong Son Women's Association held a celebration at the Vietnam Women's Museum, Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Kiem and Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan were invited to attend and tell about the photo. On the occasions of commemorating the founding day of the Vietnam People's Army on December 22, the Victory Day on April 30, the story of Truong Son, the story of the photo was recalled, spreading more pride about a heroic time...

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202505/chuyen-ve-buc-anh-chien-si-gai-don-vi-xang-dau-truong-son-cee05fa/