The story of the first Northern journalist present at the Independence Palace

Back to the old front

In the spring of 1975, I was a military reporter for the Propaganda Department of the General Department of Politics, with news and photos published on the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). After Tet, I received orders to prepare to go to the Quang Tri - Thua Thien Hue front. For me, this was a familiar front; in 1972, we had been here for months during the fiercest war.

Talking about Quang Tri, I can never forget the memories at the Citadel.

That year, the Quang Tri front witnessed the great sacrifices of many cadres and soldiers: Vu Trung Thuong, Nguyen Nhu Hoat, Mai Ngoc Thoang... As a poet wrote: "If all of you returned/Our division would have become several divisions".

On the trenches, we met young battalion and regimental commanders, some under 30 years old, and soldiers who had just graduated from 7th and 10th grade, among them many were university students. They were lively and cheerful, rarely thinking about family, ego, or their own lives. They were energetic and intelligent in fighting. Some had only been trained for a few dozen days before going into battle.

Recalling the memories of the Quang Tri front, we were eager to set off. We were exchanged and seen off by the VNA Editorial Board. Having worked in the military department for a long time, the news agency still considered its reporters as family.

In early March, news of victory from the Central Highlands battlefield and the battle to liberate Buon Ma Thuot town cheered the rear. In mid-March, we left Hanoi. Hoang Thiem and I were assigned to go together to Quang Tri.

We were in the same study group at school, and understood each other like brothers. When I joined the army, I was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, Hoang Thiem was a warrant officer. Thiem was older, and at work we discussed every small issue in detail, such as where to go, which unit to follow, and how to coordinate with the VNA staff to send documents to Hanoi to ensure the fastest and safest way possible...

Timeless experience, the characteristic of the profession is fast, timely, accurate information. Writing but not quickly sending it to the editorial office for the Editorial Board to exploit and process is considered a waste of effort. Competition in journalism today is the same, how to bring information to readers as soon as possible.

At dawn on March 26, 1975, we entered Hue with a group of VNA reporters. I remember clearly the whole night of March 25, crossing the My Chanh River and running into Hue. After days of arduous marching, we were out of breath.

In the first hours of Hue’s liberation, we captured historical photos on the streets amid the sound of bullets and cannons. Every time I look at the photo of the female guerrillas and soldiers holding high the liberation flag on the vehicle entering Ngo Mon, I still feel proud.

Historic moments

On the morning of March 29, we arrived in Da Nang. Lam Hong Long, Tran Mai Huong and Hoang Thiem crossed Hai Van Pass on a Honda motorbike. Along the way, occasional bursts of gunfire from the remnants of the old regime’s soldiers echoed across the mountainside. On the morning of March 29, it was drizzling in Da Nang. When we arrived, infantry and tanks from the 2nd Corps and armed forces from Military Region 5 were already in the city, occupying Da Nang airport.

Nearly a month later, Hoang Thiem and I were again ordered to actively search and contact the 2nd Army Corps to advance towards Saigon. We, the frontline reporters, were always favored and helped by the officers and soldiers. On the afternoon of April 28, we found the headquarters of the Northeast wing. Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu, who was then the Director of the Cultural Department, in charge of political work, instructed us to find a way to contact the 2nd Army Corps.

On the afternoon of April 29, Senior Lieutenant General Le Kha Phieu, then the Political Commissar of the 2nd Corps, had a liaison officer take us to the attack point of the 304th Division, which was coordinating with the 203rd Tank Brigade.

At dawn on April 30, after passing the Nuoc Trong base, we followed the tanks of Battalion 1, Brigade 203 and started along Highway 15, crossing the Dong Nai River Highway bridge, heading straight towards the inner city.

At 11:24 on April 30, 1975, we arrived in front of the Independence Palace.

In those moments, I captured historical photos: The surrendering cabinet of Mr. Duong Van Minh was walking down the steps under the supervision of officers and soldiers of Division 304, Brigade 203; The image of Deputy Commander of Regiment 66, Brigade 204, Pham Xuan The, majestic, tall, strict but very tolerant; The portrait of Captain Bui Quang Than, jumping from tank 843 to the top floor of the Independence Palace, hanging the national flag, a joyful smile of victory on his face still blackened by gunpowder smoke. I also recorded the witnesses of the tank 390 event with the presence of French female journalist Francois De Muyndo in those historical moments.

Thanks to the police driver Vo Cu Long of the Republic of Vietnam government, we quickly arrived at the General Staff of the Republic of Vietnam, Tan Son Nhat airport. Right at the airport, I took a photo of female commando Nguyen Trung Kien (aka Ms. Nhip) leading the tank to capture Tan Son Nhat.

That afternoon, I decided to use the 6-engine Zep and encouraged Vo Cu Long, an officer of the old regime, the head of a car that guided important people of the Saigon government at that time, to make a contribution to the revolution and take me and Hoang Thiem back to Da Nang. Long drove alone from the night of May 30th to the early morning of May 2nd (only stopping for a few hours on the way) to take us back to Da Nang.

That very afternoon, Mr. Thiem was the first to take the plane to Hanoi with the documents. On May 3, Nhan Dan and Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspapers published the first images of the historic moment on April 30, 1975.

Ngoc Dan