The story of the person who marched to the Independence Palace in the past

He was one of the witnesses present in the liberation army that attacked the Independence Palace, arrested the President of the Republic of Vietnam at that time, Duong Van Minh, and all key figures of the cabinet of the Republic of Vietnam on the morning of April 30, 1975.

Receiving reporters at his home in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, Colonel Phung Ba Dam emotionally recalled the historic moment of the nation: “At that time, I was a young officer, only 26 years old, holding the rank of Lieutenant, belonging to the 66th Infantry Regiment, Division 304, Army Corps 2. On the morning of April 30, 1975, I, along with the officers and soldiers of the 66th Regiment and the 203rd Armored Brigade, Army Corps 2, entered the Independence Palace, arrested President Duong Van Minh and the entire cabinet of the Saigon government. I still remember every moment of the heroic history of the nation, of which I was honored to be a witness...” .

On April 27, 1975, after completing the mission of liberating the Nuoc Trong base, the 2nd Corps Command established a strong force to raid deep into the Southeast of Saigon city, capturing the radio station, the Navy base and the Independence Palace. Lieutenant Phung Ba Dam, then the Chief of the cadre subcommittee of Regiment 66, was assigned to accompany Captain Pham Xuan The, Deputy Commander of Regiment 66 and a number of comrades to the forward command post.

On April 30, 1975, when entering the Independence Palace, at the stairs, the soldiers met a tall man wearing a short-sleeved military uniform. He introduced himself as Brigadier General Nguyen Huu Hanh - assistant to President Duong Van Minh. He reported that "the entire Saigon government cabinet was waiting for the commander in the meeting room" and invited the "commander" to the meeting room.

“According to Nguyen Huu Hanh, when we arrived at the meeting room, we saw people sitting in a large room, the atmosphere was gloomy and quiet. Seeing us, without anyone telling them, they all stood up to welcome us. At that time, a tall, muscular man, wearing a moss-colored military uniform and glasses, stepped forward. Brigadier General Nguyen Huu Hanh pointed to that person and introduced, “Reporting to the commander, this is Mr. Duong Van Minh, the President”; then Brigadier General Nguyen Huu Hanh pointed to a short, small man with a high forehead, wearing glasses, wearing a black suit and introduced, “This is Mr. Vu Van Mau, Prime Minister of the Saigon government”. After that, Mau bowed slightly to greet us,” Colonel Phung Ba Dam recalled.

Colonel Phung Ba Dam recounted the historic moment on the morning of April 30, 1975 to reporters of the Journalist & Public Opinion Newspaper.

According to Colonel Phung Ba Dam: “Next, Duong Van Minh took another step forward: “Reporting to the commander, we know that the liberation army is attacking the inner city, we are waiting for the liberation army to hand over”. Mr. The declared: “You have lost, you have been taken prisoner. You must surrender unconditionally. You have nothing to hand over”. The whole room was silent. With Mr. The's firm and decisive declaration, Duong Van Minh changed from being proactive to being passive, bowing his head and waiting” .

Faced with the rapid and fierce battle situation, in order to reduce the loss of blood and bones of our compatriots, Captain Pham Xuan The and his comrades agreed to request Duong Van Minh to declare surrender immediately; however, at that time, the line from the Independence Palace to the Saigon radio station was not available, so it was decided to bring Duong Van Minh to the Saigon radio station as soon as possible. Captain Pham Xuan The said loudly: "You must immediately go to the Saigon radio station to declare unconditional surrender."

Duong Van Minh sat down on the chair, sighed and said: "Please, Commander, let us declare surrender at the Independence Palace. It is not safe to go out into the streets." Captain Pham Xuan The said: "Saigon has been liberated, we guarantee your safety." After that, the Prime Minister of the Saigon government, Vu Van Mau, had a small talk with President Duong Van Minh, then stood up and said: "We will obey your orders, Commander."

Showing reporters faded but vivid black and white photos, capturing the moment when President of the Republic of Vietnam Duong Van Minh was led by liberation soldiers to the radio station to declare unconditional surrender to the representative of the Southern liberation army, Colonel Phung Ba Dam continued to recall: “When we led Duong Van Minh and Vu Van Mau out of the meeting room, the Saigon government officials in the room were bustling and talking. Duong Van Minh bowed his head and walked down the stairs, he pointed to the left and said to Mr. The: “Please get in the car”. Mr. The said: “We already have a car”. Duong Van Minh had to follow us to the Jeep driven by Dao Ngoc Van. Mr. The and Duong Van Minh sat in the front seat. I sat in the back with Vu Van Mau and Mr. Nguyen Van Nhu, soldiers Bang Nguyen That, Nguyen Huy Hoang. Because we did not know the way to the Saigon radio station, Duong Van Minh showed us the way.

Preparing to record Duong Van Minh's unconditional surrender declaration (Photo provided by the character. In the photo, Lieutenant Phung Ba Dam is 6th from left).

Upon arrival, Truong Quang Sieu, Battalion Commander of Battalion 8, and Hoang Trong Tinh, Battalion 8's political commissar, excitedly ran out to welcome us. Sieu reported to The: "Battalion 8 has completed the mission of capturing Saigon Radio Station." After that, they and we led Duong Van Minh up to the 2nd floor into the recording room.

When we arrived, all the station staff had fled. Mr. Tinh asked the old guard to go find them. While waiting, we took the opportunity to discuss the content of Duong Van Minh's surrender declaration. Each of us had a different opinion, Mr. The was the one who wrote it. While we were drafting, a tall soldier wearing a hard hat walked in and asked: "Where are you from, which unit?"

Mr. The replied: "I am Pham Xuan The, Deputy of Dong Son Group" (Dong Son was the nickname of Regiment 66 during the war). This comrade introduced himself: "I am Bui Tung, Lieutenant Colonel, Political Commissar of Brigade 203. I thought you were from the Corps so I did not participate. I went to the Palace and knew that Duong Van Minh had gone to the Radio Station, so I came here immediately". "Luckily, now we can do it together", Mr. The said. Mr. Bui Tung and we continued to draft the content of the surrender declaration for Duong Van Minh to read. Duong Van Minh struggled for a long time and could not read because Mr. The's handwriting was difficult to read, then he suggested: "Commander, please read it again for me to copy". Mr. The read it for Duong Van Minh to copy.

When Dinh Thai Quang turned on the tape recorder to record, the tape got tangled. I found a briefcase with some tapes in it and gave them to him to record. But at that moment, a German journalist lent us his tape recorder, then he installed the tape himself and turned on the tape recorder to record President Duong Van Minh's declaration of unconditional surrender.

We discussed that we should have a declaration accepting the surrender and suggested that Lieutenant Colonel Bui Tung, the highest commander here, whose hometown is in the South, read it appropriately. Mr. Tung agreed and then read loudly: “We - representatives of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, solemnly declare that Saigon city has been completely liberated. Accept the unconditional surrender of General Duong Van Minh, President of the Saigon government.”

A moment later, we and the radio staff checked the technical equipment and then turned on the transmitter to broadcast the surrender declaration of the Saigon government. The watch in my hand now showed 11:30. We were nervous, emotional, and silently listened to each sentence, each word transmitted on the radio waves for the people of the whole country and the world to witness the important historical moment of our nation .

Colonel Phung Ba Dam shared: “For generations, our nation has had a tradition of ardent patriotism, a spirit of great solidarity, and profound humanity… That is the internal strength, along with the valuable help of peace-loving people around the world, that has helped us achieve great victories. Today's generation has access to more advanced scientific knowledge, I have great confidence in the younger generation to continue to inherit and promote the traditions of their predecessors to continue to build and protect a more beautiful and developed Fatherland. On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, I would like to express my gratitude to the heroic martyrs and comrades who have contributed their efforts to the cause of national liberation” .

N. Huong

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chuyen-ke-cua-nguoi-tien-ve-dinh-doc-lap-nam-xua-post244141.html