More pain than death
Mr. Truong Thanh Nha choked up, while Mr. Ngo Hoang Van was moved with tears when he heard us ask about the sacrifice of the Southwest battlefield reporter (CTTNB). We feel guilty in rekindling the pain that you have been trying to hide for more than half a century. Because that is more brutal and cruel than death.
According to statistics from the Journalists Association of Kien Giang province, in the war against the US alone, the whole province had dozens of people working in press news arrested and detained in various forms and 28 journalists sacrificed themselves on the battlefield. "The soldiers are so evil, many of our teammates have lost their loved ones, some have had to bury them twice, but there are also people who cannot return because their bodies are lying somewhere in the land of U Minh's mother" - Mr. Nha's voice choked up - "Going with us on a trip to U Minh, you will understand".
On the train journey back to Vinh Thuan through the vast cajuput forests, the brothers and sisters enthusiastically told us, to be more precise, to illustrate to us the indomitable spirit of the CTTNB reporter before death.
"When he discovered that Mr. Bay Tran had been shot by a helicopter through his lung and thigh, a tourist nearby ran to help him get into the edge of the forest, but he could not survive, so he refused to help but only asked the tourist to bring the notebook to Chien Thang newspaper" - Mr. Nha said.
Comrades took his body to bury at Ke Mot Cemetery (Vinh Binh Bac Commune, Vinh Thuan District). But after many times of dropping bombs, his body crashed into the ground. This is one of dozens of PV CTTBN who will forever be on the battlefield. More painfully, there are many cases where the journalist lost his full name after the sacrifice.
In the dry season of 1969, the enemy spread B52 carpets around the press agency area, killing 4 people. When burying each person, the uncles and aunts carefully built a stele grave for each person. But the enemy bombs and shells dropped them all.
"On the day the country was unified, the remains were excavated, there were no traces left to determine the exact names of each remains, we agreed to write the names of each person and draw lots to bury them". Mr. Nha's memories make us feel bitter when seeing the cruelty of war: It not only takes lives, but also pushes journalists and martyrs to the brink of loss when they have to accept fame as a game of luck.
But the truth that will never change is that whether they still have their names or lose their bodies, they still live in the care of the Party and the people. At the Vinh Thuan District Martyrs' Cemetery, the Party and the State have reserved a solemn position and erected a memorial stele engraved with the names of each cadre working in the propaganda sector, including the press, who sacrificed but have not yet found their remains.
This is a recognition and honor for the role of those working in communication during the special period - Mr. Vo Thanh Xuan - Standing member of Vinh Thuan District Party Committee, Secretary of Vinh Thuan Town, former Head of the Propaganda Department of Vinh Thuan District Party Committee shared.
After the rain of bombs and bullets, especially the 3 "U Minh Grass Rift", the enemy moss spread and destroyed the revolution, stirring up people's trust... At this time, thanks to articles and news reports from CTTNB reporters, the propaganda of the enemy's lies was promptly distorted, strengthening people's trust. Flowering in the new situation.
Professional ethics
Carrying the pain of losing teammates in the war, after the day of national reunification, the PV CTTNB focused on the new situation. With documents recording the years of war combined with thousands of pages of handwritten documents and many press documents preserved from the wartime, Mr. Nha wrote dozens of articles in many genres: Pen, report, handwriting... recreating portraits of martyrs and journalists, such as: Journalist Nguyen Van Duc (1917-19507), Remembering martyr Ho Chau, Pharateist - Martyr Nguyen Van Cong...
Moreover, he also collected articles from deceased teammates and personally completed the procedures to propose the Vietnam Journalists Association to award the Commemorative Medal for the Cause of Vietnamese Journalism to dozens of journalists... He even took on the task of finding relatives to award, as in the case of journalist Nguyen Van Duc. After many searches across the province without knowing Mr. Duc's relatives, Mr. Nha had to post information in the newspaper when Mr. Duc's son, who was living in Ho Chi Minh City, came back to receive the...
There are even cases where they are past retirement age, but are still willing to volunteer to contribute. In 1993, despite having retired for many years, when he learned that Kien Giang province had established Tho Chau commune (Phu Quoc district), Mr. Le Kim Trac (1929-2009), former Secretary of the newspaper's editors, Chien Thang, volunteered to help his family build an island.
We had to understand the context at that time to see that our hearts were not easy to have like Mr. Trac, Mr. Tran Lam - former Vice Chairman of Kien Giang Provincial Peoples Committee recalled.
In early May 1975, the Tho Chau archipelago experienced a massacre. Then the islands at the end of the West Sea of the Fatherland, 200 kilometers from the mainland, are like an empty number. Not only no electricity, no roads, no schools, no health stations... even animals close to humans such as dogs, cats, duck chickens or familiar sounds such as frog calls at night... are not available... - Mr. Nguyen Thai Hoc, Secretary and Chairman of the Provisional People's Committee of Tho Chau commune recalled the early days of the island's founding.
At old age, his health was eroded after 7 years of being held in prison by prisoners in Phu Loi, Con Dao, but like a child of the last generation, he tried to spend the rest of his life to offer the golden silk for life. When Tho Chau commune was officially established, on July 8, 1993, at the 1st Congress (term 1993-1995) Mr. Trac was elected as Party Cell Secretary. Because at this time the whole commune has only 4 party members, at the age of 64, Mr. Trac still boldly took on the additional position of Chairman of the Commune Fatherland Front Committee.
And not only has he completed his tasks well within his scope of responsibility, Mr. Trac has also "guaranteed" many things for the entire political system of the commune. With the journalists writing skills, he not only shelved the work of writing and completing many reports of the commune, but also carried the work of a newspaper to write local news to provide to media agencies inside and outside the province - Mr. Hoc recalled.
Having gone through a fierce war, going through years that seemed un overcome, the CTTNB reporters still kept a "fire" - a fiery fuel for their comrades, for the people, and for the revolutionary ideals. It is not only the pride of the previous generation of journalists, but also the fuel to ignite the passion for today's and future generations of journalists for enthusiasm and professional ethics.
