Comrade Thai Ngo Duong: From a liaison boy to Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper

I met him in 2021, when he was 88 years old, his profile age was 89. In his life, he traveled to many places, was an officer in the military industry, a soldier participating in the fight against French colonialism, but by a strange twist of fate, he became a reporter. He is Thai Ngo Duong - one of the people who once held the position of Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper.

From a boy in the National Language propaganda class to a soldier in the military equipment industry

Mr. Thai Ngo Duong - former Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper. Photo: Dao Tuan

Born in 1933, in the poor countryside of Yen Son commune, Do Luong district, like many of his peers at that time, the boy Thai Ngo Duong followed his mother to the fields twice a day to catch crabs and fish. His father also escaped and worked in the Military Industry sector, but at that time, the salary and bonus were not worth much, working mainly on the spirit of dedication to the revolution.

At the age of 12, Thai Ngo Duong attended a course on the propagation of the national language of the Provincial Boy Scouts Association. The path to escape from poverty for this poor boy probably began here. After the course, Thai Ngo Duong joined the army, becoming a liaison officer for Battalion 274, Regiment 18, Inter-zone 4 stationed in Tuyen Hoa district, Quang Binh province.

Mr. Thai Ngo Duong said that during this period (1947-1949), in addition to doing communications work, he also had to participate in receiving and burying martyrs after battles with the enemy. For a young teenager, having to witness our soldiers sacrifice every day, their bodies wrapped in square cloth lined with palm leaves and then covered with dirt was too much, especially for a young boy. From Quang Binh, he asked to return to his hometown and his father asked him to work as a liaison officer at the Inter-Zone 4 Military Equipment Union. Every day, he cycled from Ro to Chua market (Thanh Chuong) and then around to Ba-ra (Do Luong) to deliver letters and newspapers. He said that at that time, because he was too small, he could not sit on the saddle like other people but had to put his feet on the frame to pedal, so traveling the long distance was very tiring.

In 1951, the Military Department of Inter-Zone 3 and 4 merged into one unit, with a number of surplus officers and employees, so he had to quit. Returning home, the young man passed the entrance exam to Do Luong Secondary School. To earn money for school, Thai Ngo Duong had to work for hire. The 17-year-old boy's "schedule" for a day was: During the day, he worked for hire, learned carpentry, and in the afternoon and evening from 5-9 p.m. he studied culture. Two years later, Duong finished 6th grade. At the same time, the locality recruited soldiers, so he registered to join the army. Duong "secretly" put rocks in his pants pockets to make up the weight, and luckily he was accepted.

Then, Thai Ngo Duong became a soldier, he was assigned to Training Regiment 44, Military Region 4. Joining the fierce atmosphere of fighting against French colonialism of the whole country, after completing training, Thai Ngo Duong and his teammates participated in fighting in the enemy's rear area, stretching from Ninh Binh to Nam Dinh. In 1954, Squad Leader Thai Ngo Duong led the squad to approach the French Lac Quan Post (Nam Dinh) to study the terrain and coordinates, on that basis, the squad used Mochie guns to destroy the enemy's artillery. Not allowing artillery from here to support our troops to capture Long Bien Hai Hau Post. The battle was victorious, on April 30, 1954, young Thai Ngo Duong was admitted to the Party.

In the following years, he worked in many positions in the army, from artillery gunner, to map assistant, then to cultural teacher of Regiment 44, Division 328 (Air Defense Command). In 1960, Thai Ngo Duong attended a professional course of the Ministry of Internal Trade and became a research officer of the Viet Bac Department of Commerce...

Fate of being a journalist...

Comrade Tran Huu Nghia - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper kindly asked about the health and sent New Year wishes for the Year of the Cat 2023 to Mr. Thai Ngo Duong's family. Photo: Dinh Tuyen

When he was a researcher at the Viet Bac Department of Commerce, during a business trip with the director of the department, he noticed that everywhere there were river blockages and market bans. Upon returning, Mr. Thai Ngo Duong wrote an article to contribute his opinion and published it in the Independent Vietnam Newspaper (a newspaper founded by President Ho Chi Minh). And after that, the commercial officer Thai Ngo Duong occasionally wrote articles to send to the newspaper. "At that time, comrade Lam Ngoc Thu - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Independent Vietnam Newspaper recognized that Thai Ngo Duong had a talent for journalism, so he suggested that the Organizing Committee of the Viet Bac Regional Party Committee let him work as a reporter for the newspaper" - Mr. Thai Ngo Duong shared about the turning point in his career as a journalist.

Regarding his relationship with Nghe An Newspaper, Mr. Thai Ngo Duong said that when he was working in Viet Bac, he occasionally attended meetings in Hanoi. During those times, he met Mr. Nguyen Huong - Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper. As fellow countrymen, they understood and loved each other, so Mr. Nguyen Huong repeatedly asked Mr. Thai Ngo Duong to return to his hometown to contribute to Nghe An Newspaper. So he returned to his hometown and became a member of Nghe An Newspaper.

When Nghe An Newspaper and Ha Tinh Newspaper merged into Nghe Tinh Newspaper (1976), Mr. Thai Ngo Duong held the role of Editorial Secretary and was then promoted to Deputy Editor-in-Chief. In 1991, when Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces separated to re-establish the province, he was assigned by the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee to be Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper. In 1994, he retired and returned to live a frugal life in Yen Trung hamlet (now Tan Trung Thinh hamlet), Yen Son commune, Do Luong district.

He once said that he was happy to be a part of Nghe An Newspaper. He has never stopped reading the newspaper for a single day, nor has he missed any article. He still remembers every face and every writer of the Party newspaper. He hopes that Nghe An Newspaper will continuously improve its quality, go deep into the lives of the masses, and pay attention to hot current issues with high combativeness. Besides, in the current trend, the Newspaper also needs to focus on comprehensive and profound innovation; articles do not need to be long, but rather need to be sharp. Only then will Nghe An Newspaper continue to promote its glorious tradition, meeting the expectations of the Provincial Party Committee and the general public.