At the end of January 1954, Company 677 was deployed on Ta Leng hill, about 2,000m from the enemy's A1 base as the crow flies. The company's mission was to shoot down enemy aircraft, protect the 75mm artillery position at the foot of the hill and the defense line of Regiment 174 and Regiment 98.

On the trench axis down to the military area, there is a “club tunnel” which is a place for cultural activities of the soldiers. The company directed the establishment of a news team consisting of comrades in the platoon with a cultural level and good writing ability, led by comrade Nguyen Xuan Mai. The members of the team dug a tunnel on the hillside with a roof and camouflage. One wall of the tunnel was smoothed, covered with paper as a background, then information was posted for the soldiers to read.

Colonel Nguyen Xuan Mai recounted the days of transmitting news to soldiers on the People's Army Newspaper.

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Mai was a liaison soldier, every morning he brought the Company's report to the Battalion, so he was often in contact with the People's Army Newspaper published at the Dien Bien Phu Front. He took the opportunity to copy good, concise information about the combat achievements and brave fighting examples of his fellow units and paste it on the tunnel wall. Next, to prepare for the new offensive, the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command ordered the units to quickly dig trenches, build attack positions, and surround the enemy. Company 677 had the task of sticking close to the 174th Regiment's combat line, preparing to attack the A1 stronghold. Because this time they were close to the enemy, it was impossible to put information on the tunnel wall, so the news team carried out "hand-to-hand reporting". One day, after copying the essay "Tonight Uncle Ho did not sleep" by authors Phu Bang and Tran Cu published in the People's Army Newspaper, comrade Xuan Mai quickly mobilized to disseminate it to his comrades.

The following days, the battle was fierce, with many difficulties. The heavy rains made the trenches stagnant and muddy. The soldiers had to wade in the mud, their clothes soaked. Enemy bombs and bullets continued to rain down on the trenches day and night. At this time, General Vo Nguyen Giap sent a letter of encouragement to the soldiers. The Company's "hand-to-hand newspaper" team went to the trenches and read the General's letter of encouragement to the soldiers. At this time, the People's Army Newspaper published the poem "The sound of cuckoos on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield" by author Hoang Cam. Comrade Xuan Mai was assigned to copy this poem and make many more copies for the soldiers to memorize.

During the extremely arduous days of fighting, General Vo Nguyen Giap's letter of encouragement and the poem "The sound of hoes on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield" were spread throughout the unit, encouraging the soldiers' spirit. In the following days, the war developed rapidly and was extremely fierce. The news team closely followed the situation, updated information on the People's Army Newspaper, and promptly disseminated it to the comrades, contributing to strongly encouraging the soldiers' will to "fight and win" until the day of total victory.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/chao-mung-ky-niem-75-nam-ngay-thanh-lap-bao-quan-doi-nhan-dan/to-bao-dong-vien-bo-doi-xung-tran-885675