"South Vietnam Liberation Army Newspaper (1963-1975)": A precious scientific work

In the storm and inevitable development trend of the Southern revolution in general, and the armed forces liberating South Vietnam in particular, exactly 60 years ago, the Liberation Army Newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Military Commission and the Command of the armed forces liberating South Vietnam was born.

The Inevitability of History

Not everyone knows about that historical newspaper. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Liberation Army Newspaper (November 1, 1963 - November 1, 2023), Colonel, Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Son Dai introduced the book Liberation Army Newspaper of South Vietnam (1963-1975) , published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House.

In the early 60s of the 20th century, along with the consolidation of leadership and command of the Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam (LPF), the Military Commission and the Command of the LPF focused on propaganda and revolutionary mobilization. On March 25, 1963, Head of the Military Department of the South Tran Nam Trung signed a document agreeing on the policy of establishing the Liberation Army Newspaper. After a period of preparation, on November 1, 1963, the Liberation Army Newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Military Commission and the Command of the LPF, the voice of the LPF, was officially born, publishing the first issue with 4 A5 pages.

From its founding until the completion of its historic mission (October 15, 1975), the Liberation Army Newspaper published 338 issues. Although it only lasted for 12 years, it was also the most fierce period of our nation's resistance war against the US to save the country. The Liberation Army Newspaper, together with revolutionary media agencies such as the Liberation Radio Station, the Liberation Army Literature and Arts Magazine, the Southern Liberation Army Radio Program, etc., played an important role in the fight against the enemy's sinister plots, reflecting the fighting efforts of the army and people to unify the country and bring peace to the nation. What is special is that the Liberation Army Newspaper has been associated with the image of soldiers - war correspondents, conveying resounding victories and encouraging the spirit of the army and people.

An important part of revolutionary journalism

With a passion for restoring the appearance of the newspaper with an important historical role, Colonel, Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Son Dai spent 2 years collecting documents and meeting witnesses to create a book as a rare scientific work.

The 400-page book (16x24cm) is full of documents. With 108 issues in hand, author Ho Son Dai has faithfully and vividly reconstructed the formation and development process of the Liberation Army Newspaper. As the author of dozens of historical books, each book is a scientific research work, author Ho Son Dai has used a novel historical writing style such as skillfully arranging the 4 chapters of the work associated with 4 historical periods of the Southern battlefield at that time. Chapter 1 focuses on the period 1963-1965 associated with the "Special War"; chapter 2 is the period 1966-1968, highlighted by the Tet Offensive and Uprising; chapter 3, 1969-1972, recreates the period when the battlefield expanded to Cambodia; and finally chapter 4, 1973-1975 with the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising completely liberating the South and reunifying the country.

It is noteworthy that not only did Associate Professor Dr. Ho Son Dai recreate the historical role of the Liberation Army Newspaper, but he also portrayed the people who created it. In it, the author published valuable documents that even insiders rarely knew. For example, according to documents, there were a total of 64 people who worked directly at the Liberation Army Newspaper, but who they were and what they looked like now, almost no one remembers. Author Ho Son Dai painstakingly collected documents and artifacts, traveled all over the country to meet witnesses and from there obtained a list of all 64 people who worked at the Liberation Army Newspaper that year.

They were the editors-in-chief of the newspaper from the first issue such as Le Dinh Le (Tu Truc), then in turn Ho Van Sanh, Nguyen Viet Ta...; to the reporters and editors: Tran Nam Hung, Pham Phu Bang, Vu Tuat Viet, Tran Phan Chan, Mai Ba Thien, Dang Van Nhung...; or even the young reporters who had just graduated and went straight to the battlefield such as Vu Ngoc Xiem, Do Tat Thang, Nguyen Sung, Tran Dinh Ba, Nguyen Viet An, Vu Dinh Hung...; and there were those who remained forever on the battlefield such as the martyr journalists Pham Ngoc Chau, Than Trong Han... Each individual had their own characteristics and different expertise, but with their selfless and pure dedication, they contributed to building the tradition of the Hero newspaper.

For this reason, the publication of the Liberation Army Newspaper of South Vietnam (1963-1975) was evaluated as a valuable scientific work, not only to show gratitude to those who worked for the Liberation Army Newspaper but also to contribute to building the image of our country's revolutionary press, especially in the Southern battlefield, where the Fatherland's citadel was located.

TRAN BAO TRAN

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