Over the years there have been thousands of personal accounts have been made by U.S. veterans and former soldiers who served in the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN), only a fistful of which are in English, but none of them are as unique as Last night, I dreamed that Peace by Dang Thuy Tram. Contrary to most accounts, a voice from the other side is offered by this book, yet this voice is so universal that it was worth preserving. Unlike a majority of the northern accounts, this book is a chronicle of the journey of a young woman who works as a civilian doctor on the front lines. Hence, her account gives voice to the everyday experiences of the war from the front lines. Although the book provides insight into Tram’s motivations to join the community party of Vietnam as an honor, but the purpose of this paper is to further explore and analyze true intention behind Tram’s decision to volunteer to go to South Vietnam.
Back in high school, Thuy was more interested in writing and teaching literature. It was the medical tradition in her family that influenced her to become a doctor. Like many other women after WWII, and following in the footsteps of her father, who was a surgeon, Thuy entered the profession of medicine as well. Thuy had chosen ophthalmology as a specialty in medical school. However, when the Vietnam War was underway, she dedicated herself to save the lives of civilians and soldiers during the way, even rejecting an ophthalmology fellowship. Thuy volunteered to service her country as soon as she graduated, and some argued that she was not mentally and physically tough enough to survive the harsh dangers and hardships in a war zone, considering her educational background and small physique. Yet, on her mother’s birthday Dang Thuy Tram left for Hanoi. The question remains, why did she decide to volunteer to go to South Vietnam, leaving her family and a potentially fruitful career behind.
“For Peace and Independence, we have sacrificed everything. So many people have volunteered to sacrifice their lives for those two words: Independence and Liberty. I too, have sacrificed my life for that grandiose fulfillment” (Tram 27). To the average reader, this diary entry June 4, 1968 might seemingly reveal the reason that Dang Thuy Tram volunteered to serve as a doctor in the Quảng Ngãi province in South Vietnam in a Viet Cong military hospital. The historical, geographical and military settings for the Dang Thuy Tram’s diaries have been traced in the introduction to Last Night I Dreamed of Peace. At the beginning of the book, Dang Thuy Tram’s entries certainly reveal her patriotic sentiments, and that she cared for the wounded soldiers. The book also reflects Thuy’s despair when she asks “What joy is there when the American bandits are trampling our nation and killing our countrymen?” (Tram). This further reflects her steadfast commitment to her profession and to her fellow countrymen.
The above would probably lead most readers to assume that heroism and patriotism was the sole reason that Dang Thuy Tram willingly left home to serve in the unimaginably dangerous and primitive conditions. However, when reading Last night, I dreamed that Peace, there is more than meets the eye. In an entry from April 12, 1968, she writes that she has “'the heart of a lonely girl filled with unanswered hopes and dreams” (Tram). If the reader puts spares some time to wonder what her hopes and dreams were, part of her reason for volunteering to go to South Vietnam will become obvious. In fact, she has even written about it in the book. Her poignant diary entries, as they have been called, are filled with references of “the soldier with black eyes,” “that liberation soldier” or at times, simply “that soldier,” who she obvious makes it apparent longs and years.
Dang Thuy Tram herself has written in one of her diary entries that she partly decided to volunteer to go to South Vietnam to be near this soldier, who has been named as ‘M.’ This is why she specifically requested to work in the Quảng Ngãi province, the same region as M. So who was M? Obviously, M, whose real name was Khuong The Hung, was Thuy’s lover, a college sweetheart to whom she promised herself back in Hanoi. Back at home, she was rarely able to see him because of his military service in South Vietnam, and thus, it was also her learning for him that partly led her to leave home and go to South Vietnam, with hopes of being near her lover. Dang Thuy Tram’s diary entries reveal her unhappiness because of the fact that her relationship with ‘M’ had been worn away by the war.
The purpose of this paper was to decipher another aspect of Dang Thuy Tram’s decision to volunteer to go to South Vietnam. Her heroic accomplishments in the face of the chaos and horrors of war, and her commitment to save as many lives as she could can certainly not be ignored. However, the truth remains that Tram’s decision to serve in South Vietnam was not merely based on devotion and dedication, but also in pursuit of love. As much as this book is stunning and tragic, but at the same time, her prevailing references to her mysterious lover, the solider ‘M,’ make this book all the more passionate. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons that this book truly pierces the heart.
Works Cited
Tram, Dang Thuy. Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram. Reprint edition. Broadway, 2008. Print.
