Exchange "Dien Bien Memories" - memories of war journalism.

Journalist and war writer Duong Thi Xuan Quy: Dedication in life and work

Journalist and writer Duong Thi Xuan Quy, who was then a reporter for the Vietnam Women's Newspaper (from 1961 to 1968), entered the Quang Nam - Inter-zone 5 battlefield in July 1968, where her husband, poet Bui Minh Quoc, had also entered a year earlier. At that time, her daughter was only sixteen months old, so Xuan Quy left her with her grandmother to raise in the evacuation area.

Entering the battlefield as a reporter for the Liberation Literature Magazine of the Central Central Region (Zone 5). And on the night of March 8, 1969, during a fierce sweep by the enemy, she sacrificed her life in Thi Thai village, Quang Nam province.

In the memoirs of Bui Minh Quoc - her husband: "With a rickety bicycle, Quy often visited the villages of the North, from Thai Binh, Hai Hung, Thanh Hoa, Nghe Tinh to the villages on the outskirts of Hanoi. Quy went there not just like a journalist with a notebook and pen in hand, meeting this person and that person, asking questions and taking notes, then leaving.

No, Quy went there as a person looking for people, living the life of a farmer with muddy hands and feet, sharing the joys and sorrows of a production team leader, a technical officer, a commune secretary, and a cooperative director. When she was six months pregnant with Ly, Quy still traveled to Quang Nap (Thai Binh) to get documents and go planting rice with the female members of the cooperative.

On the battlefield, she still maintained that daring spirit, always asking to go to the deep areas - the plains where the fierce fighting was taking place so that she could live and understand how the soldiers and people fought, the crimes of the invading enemy... In those days, when she received the news that her superiors agreed to let her go, she was very happy and wrote in her diary: "December 15, 1968... Strange, knowing it was very dangerous but ready to rush in, even if it meant sacrificing. Everyone in life dies... Worry, I worry. But I am determined and I think like this: Even if I die, it will be like everyone else who has died. Thinking like that, I am not afraid anymore".

Journalist Nguyen Khac Tiep: “Writing at night with a portable pocket lamp”

Journalist, Colonel Nguyen Khac Tiep, former reporter for the frontline editorial office of the People's Army Newspaper at the Dien Bien Phu front (1953-1954) recounted the story of his time working: “A reporter works independently, taking care of everything by himself. Knowing the direction of the unit, the name of the commanding officer, the contact code, just go find it. The more units and soldiers you can get to, the better; rarely eating two meals in one kitchen, sleeping twice in one place. Writing quickly, concisely, often writing at night with a portable pocket lamp, an ink bottle or an old syringe…”.

Colonel and journalist Nguyen Khac Tiep also said: “There will never be a second time doing journalism like at the Dien Bien Phu front. In the world of journalism, there is no newspaper on the battlefield like our Dien Bien Phu…”.

Ask teammates for good information

Gathering information for war correspondents is a series of thrilling, difficult and creative stories. Recalling the working scene during the years of fighting against the US, in addition to traveling long distances and overcoming bombs and bullets to get to the scene, reporters at that time had to rely on the soldiers to collect information. With long series of articles, it is the resonance and contribution of many collaborators to exploit and collect information sources.

Also during the war, there were series of articles published in dozens of issues, printed as they were written... Journalist Nguyen Manh Hung, a war correspondent during the years of fighting against the US, recalled: "The conditions for collecting information during the war were extremely difficult, so many articles had to have information contributed from many sources and many people. Reporters were present at a corner of the battle combined with reporters at the battle or campaign command post. In addition, information was also combined from the General Headquarters, the Operations Department, foreign press..."

In those days, reporters were always in high fighting spirit, always looking for ways to access information to have valuable articles... and there, there could be pages of writing, news exchanged with blood, with the sacrifice of comrades.

According to Congluan.vn