The story of two journalists who fell in Western Nghe An

Brave Editor-in-Chief

In a nearly 100-year-old wooden house in Lien Giap hamlet, Phong Thinh commune (Thanh Chuong), we heard Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nga (born in 1950), daughter of journalist and martyr Dang Loan, talk about her beloved father. That house is located in the middle of a garden full of fruit trees, where journalist Dang Loan spent many years of her life.

My father was born in 1917, in Van Ba ​​commune, Cat Ngan commune, now Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district. Born into a family with a rich revolutionary tradition, he soon joined the struggle, contributing to the liberation of his homeland. My father sacrificed his life in a fierce American bombing on May 23, 1965, and it was not until May 26 that his body was found and he was recognized as a martyr...

Ms. DANG THI HONG NGA

During his revolutionary career, journalist Dang Loan was assigned to be in charge of the Red Self-Defense Team of Cat Ngan commune (1944); during the general uprising to seize power (1945), he was the leader of the Red Self-Defense Team to protect the masses participating in demonstrations and organize the siege of the district office, along with revolutionary forces to fight to bring power to the people.

After the August Revolution, journalist Dang Loan continued to work as Secretary of the Youth Union for National Salvation, Captain of the Red Self-Defense Team, and then as an information and propaganda officer of Thanh Chuong district. After that, he was appointed as a Standing Member of the District Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda Department of Con Cuong district. From 1958 to 1960, he was a propaganda officer of Nghe An province, and was sent to study at university in Hanoi...

From 1961 to 1965, journalist Dang Loan was the Head of the Propaganda Department of the Nghe An Provincial Administrative Representative Board in the West and the Editor-in-Chief of the Western Nghe An Newspaper (later merged into the Nghe An Newspaper). The fierce bombing on May 23, 1965 took the lives of journalist Dang Loan and one of his comrades.

Later, Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nga was told by her father's friends and comrades at the Western Nghe An Newspaper about the memories of Editor-in-Chief Dang Loan and the moment of his sacrifice under the American bombs. At that time, the Western Nghe An Newspaper had only 6 staff members, responsible for ensuring the procedures for publishing the publication.

The US escalated the bombing of the North, the agency was ordered and organized to evacuate to a safe place, but Editor-in-Chief Dang Loan remained at the editorial office to conveniently receive the province's policies and update information on the production and fighting situation in the area. With the spirit of staying on the battlefield, journalist Dang Loan brought rice balls and rice packages to the base to learn about the war and typical examples.

From there, he published articles praising good fighters, groups and individuals who bravely and steadfastly stuck to the battlefield, shot down American planes; praising good production models, supporting the Southern battlefield.

On the morning of May 23, 1965, the sky over Nghia Dan seemed to be torn apart by the roar of dozens of American planes flying in from the sea. Groups of planes took turns swooping down, dropping bombs on targets such as Phu Quy Industrial Park, the Western Command Agency, Tay Hieu General Hospital, Factory 250B Phu Quy...

While at the editorial office, Editor-in-Chief Dang Loan assigned the liaison to collect documents, then he crossed the road full of bomb smoke and bomb craters to Tay Hieu Hospital. He and everyone tried to carry each patient to the shelter, then ran to Nghia Quang commune headquarters to call the militia to come down and rescue the 250B Mechanical Workshop that was burning fiercely.

Returning from the 250B Mechanical Workshop to the editorial office, at that moment, an American sewing machine dropped a bomb for the second time, one of which fell on the agency's thatched house and took the lives of Editor-in-Chief Dang Loan and his subordinate, journalist Tran Van Thong.

Journalist Tran Van Thong in memory of his relatives

On this occasion, we went up to Thai Hoa town to meet Mr. Tran Van Diu in Dong Tam 1 block (Hoa Hieu ward), the younger brother of journalist and martyr Tran Van Thong. Talking about his brother, Mr. Diu could not hold back his emotions: “Nearly 60 years have passed, but the image of Mr. Thong is still imprinted in my mind. Every time I think of him, my heart aches so much…”.

According to Mr. Diu, journalist Tran Van Thong was born in 1924, from Cam Thanh commune, Cam Xuyen district (Ha Tinh), the eldest brother in a large family. Before the revolution, his family was well-off, and Thong was sent to school by his parents, so he understood many things in life. Thanks to that, the student soon realized the injustices and injustices in society at that time.

Therefore, Tran Van Thong soon joined revolutionary activities, being present in the ranks of the forces fighting for power during the boiling days of the August Revolution (1945). During the years of resistance against the French, he joined the army and worked in the battlefield of Zone 5, contributing to the fight to liberate the country.

Leaving the army, he returned to work at Nghia Dan District Party Committee, after a while he became Chief of the District Party Committee Office and an officer of the Nghe An Provincial Administrative Representative Board in the West, participating in work at the Western Nghe An Newspaper. The US escalated its bombing of the North, the Phu Quy area was continuously bombed, the cadres and people here often faced hardship and danger.

“American bombs were a daily occurrence, almost everyone was familiar with life during wartime. But I can never forget the bomb that fell on Factory 250B and the Western Committee headquarters on Sunday morning, May 23, 1965, because it took the life of our eldest brother, he fell and left behind his elderly parents and three young children,” Mr. Tran Van Diu confided.

One day before the bombing, that is, on Saturday, Mr. Tran Van Thong returned home to visit (at this time the whole family had moved to Nghia Dan), and all the family members were happy. Although his office was located in Nghia Dan, not far from home, he was always busy with wartime work so he rarely had a chance to visit home.

Mr. Diu still remembers clearly the next morning, his mother boiled a pot of potatoes for the whole family to eat. While eating, his older brother told his three children to be good and listen to their grandparents and uncles. This time, their father would probably be away for a long time before returning (Mr. Thong's wife had passed away before). After eating, he told his parents that the war situation was getting more and more fierce, so on Sunday he still had to go to the combat duty office to report promptly, fully reflecting information on all fronts.

After his brother had been gone for a while, Mr. Diu suddenly heard the roar of dozens of planes circling the sky over Nghia Dan. Then a series of bombs exploded, shaking the ground. For nearly an hour, enemy planes took turns bombing the land of Nghia Quang commune. In the shelter, Mr. Diu and his family members prayed for his brother's safety.

By late afternoon, someone came to report that Mr. Thong had been buried by a bomb and was missing. Everyone was paralyzed. Mr. Diu followed his father to the headquarters of the Western Nghe An Newspaper. What came before his eyes was a scene of bomb craters, rocks and soil strewn about, and militia forces digging to find the missing people.

Mr. Diu and his father turned over every stone and dug every bomb crater but could not find his brother. The search lasted for several days but the body of journalist Tran Van Thong was still not found.

It was not until 2011, that is 46 years later, that a family in the area where the Western Nghe An Newspaper used to be located dug up the foundation of their house and discovered a set of remains and some personal belongings. Among them was a fountain pen engraved with the three words Tran Van Thong, so they were able to identify the remains as our brother Thong. We loved him very much…

MR. TRAN VAN DEU