The Vietnamese artist Dang Ai Viet paints a portrait of a woman as a part of her project, heroic mothers of Vietnam a term recognized by the Vietnam government for women who lost their husbands and sons to the Vietnam WarVietnam War, in Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province, Vietnam, March 8, 2023. PHOTO REUTERS Vietnam - On her trusty motorcycle, Vietnamese artist Dang Ai Viet travels through the Southeast Asian country in a bid to make sure that the thousands of women who suffered the loss of two or more loved ones during the Vietnam WarVietnam War are not forgotten.
The 75-year-old has painted the portraits of 2,765 of the women, who are part of a group known as heroic mothers in Vietnam in recognition of their sacrifice during the war that ended in 1975.
Viet told Reuters that I paint so that the current generation and those after will have a chance to see the look in the eyes of a mother who lost more than one of her sons.
Viet, a Vietnamese artist, poses with her motorcycle in Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province, Vietnam, March 10, 2023. PHOTO REUTERS During the war, Viet was a guerrilla in the Mekong Delta for the Viet Cong, fighters who supported North Vietnam in the battle against the government of then South Vietnam and its main ally, the United States.
The estimates of the death toll vary, but some researchers say 3.8 million people were killed during the war.
In Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta, Viet recently painted the portrait of Huynh Thi Bay, 98, whose husband and eldest son were killed in 1969, only days apart.
It is devastating for a mother to learn of the death of her son, but it takes a hero to learn of the death of a husband and a son, Viet said.
Viet details of the woman and how her loved ones died before the portrait is handed over to the family, and the local government gives a stamp of authenticity.
Vietnamian artist Dang Ai Viet poses with a woman she painted as part of her project, heroic mothers of Vietnam a term recognized by the Vietnam government for women who lost their husbands and sons to the Vietnam WarVietnam War, in Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province, Vietnam, March 8, 2023. PHOTO REUTERS - From now on, there will be a picture of her in the family's possession and we can always see my mother, said Bay's only surviving son, Thuong Van Hop.
In the last six months, Bay has traveled more than 10,000 km on her mission to paint the 5,000 surviving women.
She knows she's in a race as time takes its toll.
She said that my biggest fear is that they would leave, and I would never want to miss anyone.