Commemorating the 51st anniversary of the Liberation of the South - National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2026), the work "Soldiers of Division 10 - Army Corps 3 attack and occupy Tan Son Nhat airport" in the photo report "Liberation of Saigon" by photographer Dinh Quang Thanh is like a historical mark.
The photo captures the moment when soldiers of Regiment 24, Division 10 (Army Corps 3) rushed into the position where enemy aircraft were burning on the runway of Tan Son Nhat airport.
Young soldiers, guns on their shoulders, running in combat readiness, behind is a column of black smoke from destroyed enemy aircraft.
It is no coincidence that this photo is in the report "Liberation of Saigon", becoming a vivid historical evidence of April 30, 1975.
According to the book "Vietnamese Military History" Volume 11 and the System of Documents - Party Documents, in the spring of 1975, after the entire loss of Military Region 1 and Military Region 2, nearly half of the enemy's main force was destroyed.
In mid-April 1975, the Politburo decided to launch the "Ho Chi Minh" offensive campaign to liberate Saigon and the entire South before the rainy season. All of our main strategic forces were mobilized for the key campaign.
From April 26 to 28, our troops pierced the outer defense line, destroyed and disintegrated many enemy divisions, and quickly approached the Saigon suburbs. The enemy was completely confused in command.
On April 29, our army switched to a general offensive. The corps marched and fought, destroying enemy blockade and counter-attack forces, advancing straight to the important targets assigned.
On the morning of April 30, although the enemy had requested a ceasefire, our troops still resolutely attacked. The corps quickly captured key targets. At 11:30 am on April 30, after the Independence Palace was occupied, puppet President Duong Van Minh declared unconditional surrender.
Right in the midst of that shaking Saigon setting, photographer Dinh Quang Thanh - then 40 years old, a reporter for Vietnam News Agency - was present to record that historic moment.
In an interview with Lao Dong reporters, photographer Dinh Quang Thanh recounted: "I have been a reporter for Vietnam News Agency since I was 21 years old. When the campaign broke out, the agency assigned me to go immediately, without time to think. At that time I was working in Hai Phong, receiving an order to go back to Hanoi to go to the campaign and immediately set off.
I intended to go home to get clothes, but the office said:'No need, everything is ready here, from uniforms to guns'. I only had time to call my wife to the office door to get some personal belongings and then went straight.
Mr. Thanh marched with Army Corps 2 from Hue to the South, for more than a month along National Highway 1, through the central provinces.
“We walked along National Highway 1, through the central provinces, the fighting was really fierce, battles and fighting took place continuously,” Mr. Thanh recounted.
Carrying thousands of rolls of film, Mr. Thanh not only took photos but also shared the film with colleagues, including journalist Tran Mai Huong - who captured the moment tanks entered the Independence Palace.
When our troops entered Saigon on April 30, Mr. Thanh met a local resident and "negotiated" very casually: "You take me to Tan Son Nhat airport, I give you a brand new coin".
People happily took him away right in the middle of gunfire. Arriving at the airport, he immediately met Regiment 24, Division 10, which had just occupied the Air Force Command. "After taking pictures, I only had time to ask the unit and then say:'Your images will go around the world'. Then we separated, each doing their own thing," Mr. Thanh recounted.
Looking back after more than half a century, photographer Dinh Quang Thanh is still full of pride: "That is immense pride. I am someone who directly went through the war, from the battles in the North to the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign.
My photos are real war photos, real liberation. After so many years of being enslaved, on the day of regaining independence, the'joy' of soldiers and people in the South is unimaginable.
The photo "Division 10 - Army Corps 3 soldiers occupying Tan Son Nhat airport" in the photo report "Liberating Saigon" by photographer Dinh Quang Thanh has won many domestic and international awards, including a Bronze Medal at the International Journalism Award (OIJ).
