The person who recorded the historic radio broadcast in Saigon at noon on April 30, 1975

49 years ago, Dr. Nguyen Nha recorded the entire Saigon Radio program, including President Duong Van Minh's surrender declaration.

At noon on April 30, 1975, the liberation army tanks crashed into the gate of the Independence Palace. Present in the army column advancing to the headquarters of the Republic of Vietnam government, Political Commissar of the 203rd Tank Brigade Bui Van Tung thought that the government of Duong Van Minh needed to declare surrender soon to stabilize the situation. Therefore, he, along with President Duong Van Minh, Prime Minister Vu Van Mau, Architect Nguyen Huu Thai (first President of the Saigon Student Association 1963-1964), Professor Huynh Van Tong, West German journalist Borries Gallasch... went to the radio station located nearly two kilometers from the Independence Palace.

Dr. Nguyen Nha at his home, April 2024. Photo: Le Tuyet

At that time, teacher Nha, 36 years old, and his family were taking shelter in a classroom of Thien Phuoc Private School (now Hai Ba Trung Secondary School) in the grounds of Tan Dinh Church, District 3, about two kilometers from the radio station. Mr. Nha said that at that time, the war situation was almost settled, but fighting was still taking place in some places in Saigon, making people afraid to go out.

Having majored in history and currently the head of the educational research department at Thu Duc Model School under the former Saigon Pedagogical University, Mr. Nha has a habit of recording special radio programs for documentation. He always carries a Hitachi single-tap cassette player, measuring 40 x 30 cm, with him to update the war situation.

When the liberation army delegation and President Duong Van Minh arrived at Saigon Radio Station, located at 3 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1 (now the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh City People's Radio Station), the voice of architect Nguyen Huu Thai - the program host - rang out, Mr. Nha pressed the record button on the cassette player, the old Cherry tape played with a crackle, recording the entire program.

"From the moment the announcer's voice sounded, I thought this was a special program, unique in history, that needed to be recorded," Dr. Nha said. However, after the voice of architect Nguyen Huu Thai, no words from General Minh were heard. Instead, many people chimed in with "an appeal or a talk", "is it live broadcast or not", "is there any paper, is there a lesson yet?"... Nearly two minutes of discussion mixed with the sound of chairs being pulled out echoed live on the radio.

According to architect Nguyen Huu Thai, when he arrived at the station while the students were looking for technical staff to broadcast, a liberation army officer prepared Duong Van Minh's surrender. Due to lack of recording equipment, journalist Duc lent the machine to record General Minh's surrender and the acceptance of surrender by Political Commissar Bui Van Tung. When Saigon Radio broadcast General Duong Van Minh's surrender, the clock was 1:20 p.m.

"I, Duong Van Minh, President of the Saigon government, call on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam to lay down their weapons and unconditionally surrender to the Liberation Army of South Vietnam. I declare that the Saigon government from the central to the local levels must be completely dissolved. From the central to the local levels, it must be handed over to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam," General Minh's voice resounded over the airwaves when the discussions ended.

"In the spirit of national reconciliation and harmony, I, Professor Vu Van Mau, Prime Minister, call on all classes of people to happily celebrate the nation's day of peace and return to normal activities. Employees of administrative agencies return to their old positions under the guidance of the Revolutionary government."

To the words of Political Commissar Bui Van Tung: "We, representing the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, solemnly declare that Saigon city has been completely liberated, accepting the unconditional surrender of General Duong Van Minh, President of the Saigon government."

The program paused for a few minutes, interspersed with requests for "order" and gossip...

Photo of Mr. Duong Van Minh (sitting in black shirt) reading the surrender statement at the Saigon Radio studio on the afternoon of April 30, 1975, taken by journalist Ky Nhan

After hearing three consecutive voices on the radio, Mr. Nha's mood was confused because he did not know what would happen to his life, his job and his family. In 1954, when he was 15 years old, his family evacuated from Ninh Binh to the South. In Saigon, he went to school and followed his father's career as a teacher. His wife was a pharmacist and had her own pharmacy. The extended family of more than 20 people, young and old, all had stable jobs and studies.

"We are just ordinary people, so we cannot help but worry when the government is handed over to another party," Mr. Nha said. Despite his confusion, he continued to record and listen to the next developments on the radio.

For nearly 25 minutes, the announcements were broadcast over and over again, interspersed with reformed opera music, revolutionary songs, and people discussing... Calls for workers to return to factories, students to return to school, and people from offices to go to work as usual to prepare for May 1st, were heard in turn.

Those who spoke in the radio program included journalist Ky Nhan (author of the photo of Mr. Duong Van Minh reading the surrender statement), radio station employee Tran Van Bang, artist Huu Duc, Professor Huynh Van Tong, power plant worker Nguyen Van Quang...

For him, the familiar voices had a positive impact on the psychology of him and his relatives, as well as the panicked Saigon people at that time. "We gradually calmed down," Dr. Nguyen Nha said. The next day, he followed the call for him, his wife and relatives to return to work. "We couldn't work right away, but it felt safe," he said.

Dr. Nguyen Nha with a tape recording of a radio program broadcast in Saigon at noon on April 30, 1975. Photo courtesy

After the Thu Duc Model High School was reorganized, he moved up to teach at the college level, edited the History - Geography magazine of Saigon Pedagogical University and followed the path of researching history, sovereignty over islands, and culinary culture. He carefully preserved the tape recording of the special radio broadcast. Nearly 30 years later, he published it, copied it, and gave it to many organizations and individuals, including Architect Nguyen Huu Thai - a witness of the radio broadcast, the National Archives Center, the US Library of Congress...

According to information from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Radio Station (where the radio program was broadcast on the afternoon of April 30, 1975, when it was Saigon Radio Station), the entire content of the broadcast when President Duong Van Minh read the surrender declaration is not in the archives. The audio tape recorded by Dr. Nguyen Nha is considered the only published version of this historic radio program after 49 years.

"When I recorded it, I thought it was simply for my own records, but when it was published, I realized I was the only one doing it," Mr. Nha said. Now, at the age of over 80, whenever he mentions the tape, he says it's a happy thing because it helps clarify some issues at an important moment in the country. The tape is a document that helps people know what happened, who was present, as well as many contents related to that historic radio broadcast.

Le Tuyet - Vnexpress.net

Source: https://vnexpress.net/nguoi-ghi-lai-buoi-banh-thanh-lich-su-o-sai-gon-trua-4-30-1975-4738353.html