Meeting journalist Thai Duy again, hearing very new stories

On July 5, 2019, Mrs. Phan Thi Quyen, wife of the heroic martyr Nguyen Van Troi, passed away. This marked the 55th anniversary of Troi's sacrifice, and I conceived the idea of ​​visiting journalist Thai Duy - Tran Dinh Van (real name Tran Duy Tan), who has helped us understand the sacrifice and noble qualities of young people through literature and journalism. His work , "Living Like Him," is a bedside guide. Like "The Nation Rises Up , " "Hon Dat," "A Story Written in the Hospital , " "Mother Bay's Family," "The Mother with a Gun," etc., "Living Like Him" ​​is like a call to arms, urging generations to go to war to drive out the enemy and liberate their homeland. At 94 years old, journalist Thai Duy is still very sharp-minded, open, and approachable. He said that in his 70 years as a journalist, he has only held one "position" : reporter, and only at a newspaper of the National Liberation Front. Now, with a pension of 7.6 million dong a month, and his wife having passed away, he's managing on his own. His old workplace still gives him copies of the Dai Doan Ket newspaper, and if he craves Tuoi Tre or Thanh Nien, he borrows them from the newsstand at the end of the street. He confided:

Journalist Thai Duy in the liberated zone of South Vietnam, July 10, 1965

"In 1964, I was a reporter for the Liberation Newspaper, the organ of the National Liberation Front Committee of South Vietnam, with its editorial office in Tay Ninh. After Nguyen Van Troi's death, the Saigon regime's press reported extensively on the event. At that time, I was working in Long An , only 30 kilometers from Saigon. Through this, we learned more about the failed battle at Cong Ly Bridge, the objective of which was to eliminate the US Secretary of Defense; the heroic spirit of Nguyen Van Troi; and the noble actions of the Caracas guerrillas of the Venezuelan National Liberation Front, who kidnapped US Lieutenant Colonel Smolen to ransom Troi... Afterwards, the US betrayed and cowardly executed Troi at 10:50 AM on October 15, 1964, at Chi Hoa Prison, Saigon."
As a war correspondent, upon hearing the story, he and his colleagues felt they had to do something to honor the bravery of Nguyen Van Troi. Later, he learned that Phan Thi Quyen, the wife of martyr Nguyen Van Troi, had been brought to the base of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam by Saigon commandos and attended the Congress of Heroes and Emulation Fighters of South Vietnam. He approached her and initially wrote an article titled: "The Last Meetings of Ms. Quyen and Mr. Troi," published in the Liberation Newspaper. However, he received instructions to compile a book about Troi, so he decided to go to Cu Chi to meet with comrades who had worked and been imprisoned with Troi to gather more information... After completing the book, titled "The Last Meetings," he had it sent to Hanoi ...

Journalist Thai Duy recalled: " Later I learned that the comrades in the Politburo and the Secretariat were very interested in the book. Prime Minister Pham Van Dong renamed the book 'Living Like Him'. In the preface, President Ho Chi Minh wrote, 'For the Fatherland, for the people, martyr Nguyen Van Troi bravely fought to his last breath. The indomitable spirit of hero Troi is a shining revolutionary example for all patriots, especially young people, to learn from... Just about a month after it was sent, we in the battlefield heard 'Living Like Him' read aloud on the Voice of Vietnam radio waves ..."

In 1966, journalist Thai Duy was transferred to work in the North. He met Ms. Quyen a few more times. As for Mr. Troi, one day after liberation, on May 1, 1975, journalist and writer Thai Duy visited and paid respects at Mr. Troi's grave in his maternal hometown...

Journalist Thai Duy visited his hometown on June 7, 2023.

***

When filmmaker Mai Chi Vu conveyed the crew's request to invite journalist Thai Duy back to Viet Bac, first to visit his homeland and family, and then to return to the old revolutionary base, he was very excited. He smiled happily. At the same age as the revolutionary press (born in 1925), Thai Duy should rightfully be called the secretary of the nation's long marches.

He said: Although he worked with Nam Cao in the National Salvation Literature and Arts movement, he was his student, learning observation and writing from Nam Cao. Therefore, place names like Chòi hamlet, Roòng Khoa, Gốc Xộp, the banyan tree hill, Tỉn Keo, Khuôn Tát, Lũng Lô, Cò Nòi, Gió Pass, Giàng Pass… are unforgettable memories for him.

He recounted: "Following the resistance movement and President Ho Chi Minh, whatever task I was assigned, I did it well. When going on field trips, before an event, writing articles, essays, political commentary, or news reports, the author had to decide for themselves which genre was most effective."
His birth name, used for biographical information and news reports, was Tran Duy Tan. His pen names were Thai Duy for political commentary and Tran Dinh Van for literature… He said he was dedicated to writing and accompanied the soldiers through the resistance wars, in the most dangerous places… When talking with journalist Tran Lan Phuong – former Editor-in-Chief of Bac Can Newspaper, daughter of Mr. Tran Dinh Khoa, younger brother of Mr. Thai Duy, she recounted: After graduating from Hanoi University of Literature, she went to 8 Tran Hung Dao Street to meet him. He told her she should pursue journalism; to serve the place where she was sent to study, which was her hometown of Bac Thai. And what should she cultivate? Honesty and courage – qualities always needed in journalism.

***

In 2020, I participated in the Organizing Committee of the National Congress honoring outstanding journalists. Journalist Thai Duy - Tran Dinh Van was one of the eight prominent journalists invited to be honored. At that time, Comrade Vo Van Thuong, Head of the Propaganda Department, reminded the Vietnam Journalists Association's Press Museum to try to document, through moving images, the contributions to the profession and the country of these giants of journalism, as materials for traditional education. These past few days, post-production work on the film about journalist Thai Duy has been underway as it is a publication celebrating the 98th anniversary of Vietnam's Revolutionary Press Day on June 21st.

Phan Huu Minh

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/gap-lai-nha-bao-thai-duy-duoc-nghe-nhung-cau-chuyen-con-rat-moi-post251088.html