Phung Quang Trung (far right) and the Skyline group visited the family of a fallen soldier to present a reconstructed portrait of one of the 64 martyrs who sacrificed their lives on Gac Ma Island to protect the sacred independence and sovereignty of the Fatherland. (Photo: VNA)
From 2021 to the present, Phung Quang Trung ( Hai Duong ) and his group of young people have restored thousands of portraits of martyrs in Hai Duong and many other provinces and cities using the Skyline photo restoration method.
This activity is entirely non-profit, stemming from a heartfelt gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives and blood for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.
The journey to restore over 6,000 photographs.
Born in 1996, Trung loves photography and photo editing. In 2021, during the COVID-19 quarantine, he happened to learn about the plight of a family of a fallen soldier in Nghe An who had been longing for years to have a photograph of their son to honor their memory.
Trung decided to learn photo restoration techniques to give to his family. This first photo marked the beginning of a meaningful journey.
When Trung shared his idea and the process of restoring and distributing photos of fallen soldiers to the online photo editing community on social media, the story quickly spread and attracted the attention of many people.
Messages from the families of fallen soldiers from all over the country kept pouring in. Many young people with the same passion also wanted to join hands and contribute.
Trung founded the Skyline group, bringing together like-minded individuals and guiding them from technical skills to conveying the "soul" in each photograph.
The Skyline group presents reconstructed portraits of fallen soldiers to their families in Ha Tinh province. (Photo: VNA)
As the team leader, Trung is very meticulous in selecting members. “For me, all team members must share the same vision and pursue the noble ideal of honoring the fallen soldiers to the very end, ensuring that the finished photos are soulful and evoke a sense of closeness and affection in the families of the martyrs. Some members didn't have much knowledge in this field when they first joined, but thanks to their determination, they overcame difficulties and gained more experience and knowledge.”
After receiving information about fallen soldiers, Skyline compiled it, entered it into the data management system, and then assigned tasks to everyone. Trung personally handled the most difficult photos.
Over three years, the group has restored approximately 6,000 photos of fallen soldiers, a number far exceeding initial expectations. "Each case is a special story, and every story is moving," Trung shared.
To date, the furthest the team has reached on their project journey is Con Dao Island, where they brought a portrait of the heroine Vo Thi Sau to Hang Duong Cemetery.
When the group brought the portrait of Ms. Sáu to her grave, many local people attended the ceremony, deeply moved. Currently, that photograph is displayed in the heroine's memorial house, a special honor for the group.
During that special journey of gratitude, there is a story that Phung Quang Trung can never forget. One night in late October 2024, while driving the group back from Lao Cai after completing a project to support flood victims in Nu village, Trung received a special message. It was a message from a representative of a martyr's family in Bac Giang, earnestly asking for help for a Vietnamese Heroic Mother who was critically ill.
On her sickbed, the mother repeatedly called out the name of her deceased son. Contacting Trung, the family earnestly hoped to receive a photo of mother and son reunited to give to his mother.
Despite being exhausted after the long journey, Trung couldn't refuse his family's request. He stayed up all night, working hard to finish the photo and send it to his family immediately.
Phung Quang Trung (top row, far right) and the Skyline group visited the family and presented Heroic Vietnamese Mother Nguyen Thi Ngach with a photograph depicting a family reunion meal with her two sons. (Photo: VNA)
Not long after, Trung received news: The photograph, like a miracle, helped his mother gradually recover, eat, talk, and walk again. Hearing this news, all of Trung's weariness vanished, and he suddenly realized that what he had just done was not simply a photograph, but a source of life for his mother, a fallen soldier. This past Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake), the family celebrated his mother's 100th birthday.
Witnessing the joy of the martyrs' relatives upon receiving the photos, Trung deeply understood the meaning of the work he was doing. "Many people were moved, saying that for their families, the photo was a priceless gift. And for me, being able to give that gift was a great happiness," Trung shared.
Igniting the spirit of volunteerism
Besides the cases selected by the Skyline team through "chance encounters," Phung Quang Trung and his associates also collaborate with agencies and organizations in many provinces and cities such as Hai Duong, Hanoi, Phu Yen, Nghe An, Ha Tinh... on a number of large-scale projects.
In 2024, the Hai Duong Provincial Youth Union, in collaboration with Skyline, organized the programs "Hai Duong - The Day of Return" and "Thanh Mien - The Day of Return," restoring 220 photographs of fallen soldiers and handing them over to their families.
Recalling this project, Trung couldn't hide his emotion: "The most difficult thing for us was that in some cases, there were no photographic documents at all. The team could only rely on the age of the fallen soldier when he enlisted and descriptions from relatives to create sketches and edit them to be as close as possible to the family's imagination."
This connection not only helps the team implement the project more quickly and efficiently, but also allows many meaningful gifts to be given to the families of fallen soldiers. "This is a huge source of encouragement for the team. We are not alone on this journey," Trung confided.
Looking back over the past three years, Trung feels fortunate to have the support of his family, the love of the community, and the companionship of his colleagues. However, the biggest concern for Trung and his team currently remains resources.
Currently, in addition to their non-profit photo restoration project, the group still accepts photo restoration requests to generate income to cover costs. Collaborating with other organizations is also a way for the group to contribute to larger-scale projects. Trung affirmed: "We always uphold the motto: focus on quality, not quantity. We put a lot of heart and soul into each photo."
Trung shared that, having pursued this work for over three years, he and his team have received thousands of messages from families of fallen soldiers across the country. The nation has millions of fallen soldiers, and many families still need help.
Trung and Skyline's journey continues, and it's heartening to see that this work is now receiving more and more support from the community and society.
Having recently added qualified personnel, the team has been actively researching and applying artificial intelligence to improve the quality of photo restoration. "AI helps us improve accuracy and optimize the process, but dedication and passion remain the most important factors," Trung shared.
Phung Quang Trung is one of 10 outstanding individuals awarded the National Volunteer Award in 2024. (Photo: VNA)
Phung Quang Trung is one of the 10 individuals who won the National Volunteer Award in 2024 and is currently one of the 19 nominees for the Outstanding Young Vietnamese Face Award in 2024 by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.
Some of the major projects that Trung and the Skyline team have completed include: Restoring and donating over 500 photos of martyrs on July 27, 2022 and July 27, 2023; Restoring and donating a photo of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau at Hang Duong Cemetery, Con Dao (Ba Ria-Vung Tau); Restoring and donating photos of 10 female youth volunteers who sacrificed their lives at Dong Loc Crossroads, Ha Tinh and 13 martyrs at Truong Bon, Nghe An; Collaborating in restoring 65 photos of heroic martyrs of the Saigon Commando Unit, currently displayed at the Saigon-Gia Dinh Commando Unit Museum; Assisting in restoring photos and finding the real-life model of the boy Luom in the work "Luom" by poet To Huu; Collaborating with the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum to restore 30 portraits of Heroes of the People's Armed Forces to donate to the museum...
In particular, the group also completed a major project after two years of planning: restoring the portraits of 64 officers and soldiers who bravely sacrificed their lives at Gac Ma Island, visiting some families, and sending all the memorial photos to the families of the martyrs.
Through the project "Bringing Our Heroes Home," the group has provided free and prioritized the reconstruction of nearly 50 cases of fallen soldiers' remains being returned to their hometowns across the country.
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