The story of a war correspondent's diary returning from "the other side"

Until now, Mr. Nghiem Sy Thai (born in 1942, from Duc Tho, Ha Tinh ), a veteran war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency, is still shocked and surprised to receive back his lost diary from the time he was a war correspondent at the Binh Tri Thien front during the war, which was returned by the US Embassy on April 18.

Relics return after nearly 60 years

In the house on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Da Lat City ( Lam Dong ), the former war correspondent recalled: In early April 2025, a friend who was a former lecturer at the University of General Sciences, where he studied, suddenly called to ask if he had lost any diaries during the war?

Former war correspondent Nghiem Si Thai (second from left) and other veterans and martyrs' relatives receive war souvenirs handed over by the US. (Photo: Hoang Tuyet/VNA News)

Mr. Thai was surprised because this happened so long ago and so few people knew about it. Then, he was overwhelmed with joy when he learned that the diary that recorded his time as a student and then as a war correspondent that had been lost that year had been found.

“The other side” picked up the diary and prepared to return it to him before the anniversary of April 30, 2025.

Recalling each memory, Mr. Nghiem Sy Thai recalled his youth, the days in the lecture hall of Literature class 3, Course 7, University of General Sciences.

Then on May 10, 1965, after graduating with special privileges, he and 12 other students in the course gathered for vocational training, preparing to support "battlefield B."

Students were given intensive training in news writing for 3 months, but Mr. Thai asked to study photography skills for 2 more months.

During the days in the "Fire and Smoke" battlefield, under the rain of bombs and bullets, the war reporter still kept the habit of recording everyday stories in a diary, and professional information in another notebook.

Around the end of 1968, Mr. Nghiem Sy Thai volunteered for the 935 Tri Thien peak campaign to have more information to write articles and take photos.

Before leaving, he went to find the Director of the Logistics Department of the Military Region, Vo Hap, and asked him to keep the diary for him, saying: "This time on the campaign, I don't know if I will live or die, I need you to keep it for me so that other journalists and writers have material to write articles..."

However, when he returned, the area where the base camp was located had been flattened by American bombs, all the documents of the Logistics Department contained in the safe were lost, and the assistant of the Director (who kept the diary at that time) had also died. “It was a pity, but what could we do, it was war…”- he consoled himself.

After receiving information about his lost diary, former war correspondent Nghiem Sy Thai eagerly awaited news every day. Afterwards, officers from the Lam Dong Provincial Military Command came to his house to confirm the relevant information.

On April 17, 2025, the unit arranged a car to take Mr. Thai to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the Conference on handing over war relics provided by the United States (the Conference was organized by the Steering Committee 515 of Military Region 7 in coordination with the Office of the US Defense Attaché in Hanoi).

The relics returned by the US side this time include many valuable documents such as certificates of merit, war diaries and notebooks of veterans Ho Van Rang, Nghiem Sy Thai, Vuong Van Le and martyrs Nguyen Thi Ro, Duong Thi, Nguyen Phuoc Chinh, Nguyen Van Dao, Nguyen Thi Men, Duong Ngoc Buu and Le Tan Duc.

Journalist Nghiem Sy Thai shares his feelings when receiving back his diary that had been lost for nearly 60 years. (Photo: Hoang Tuyet/ VNA News)

During that solemn ceremony, Mr. Thai emotionally shared: “I really didn’t think I would ever see that book again. Today, that precious keepsake has returned to me like a pearl returning to the city. To me, it is not just a keepsake but a part of my memory, a part of my flesh and blood that has returned.”

He expressed his gratitude to the organizations that have been the bridge between the two countries and peoples: “I personally and those who received the relics would like to sincerely thank the Vietnam-US diplomatic organizations for becoming bridges of friendship. These relics not only have historical value but also are a testament to the friendship between the two countries after the war. They also contain humanity and hope for a more connected future between Vietnam and the United States.”

The fierce years return from the diary

The diary is like a soul mate returning after nearly 60 years, so every day Mr. Thai spends time reviewing his student days, the days when he used his notebook and camera to rush around the "smoke and fire of Binh Tri Thien" to get hundreds of news, articles, and photos from the heroic and tragic battlefield of that day.

In the diary, there is a passage: “July 19 - Met 5 soldiers in a hut along the road to Quang Tri, all of them had just suffered from malaria, so pitiful. Gave them some cigarettes and some salt. They were extremely happy because these things cannot be found here. The life of the people here is also very hard. The main food is wild vegetables cooked with a little salt, the salt smells bad and the vegetables taste like vegetables cooked for pigs at home, so hard to swallow.

February 4 - Walking all day, we only saw leeches. The leeches here were like extremely dangerous enemies. Whenever we stopped, they would rush forward in swarms as dense as a field of sprouting rice. At first, we stopped to catch them. Then, we were too tired to look anymore, so we ran to the resting place and pulled up our pants to strip them. One of them bit a vein, and blood flowed profusely, as if it had been hit by a piece of bomb.

March 21 - Today, crossing Route 9 took 4 hours. The couriers crossed this road easily, but we had a hard time. The difficult part was not carrying 30kg when crossing the road, but sitting on a boat to cross the Ba Long River at night.

On the other side, everyone was tired and wanted to rest. The liaison officer was afraid of the danger, but no matter how much he urged them, no one wanted to continue. They had to take the whole group to an abandoned village of ethnic minorities who had left long ago... A moment later, the enemy fired artillery straight into the village. The whole group ran down to the stream and hid under the rocks. Luckily, no one was injured..."

Mr. Nghiem Sy Thai (right, front) on the Binh Tri Thien battlefield in 1965-1970. (Photo: VNA)

The last page of the diary is dated the second day of Tet 1967, but it is unknown whether the original was damaged or the copying process caused the words to be lost or blurred, making it very difficult to read (Mr. Thai's diary is considered a copy, because the original is kept by the US Government).

However, Mr. Thai recalled that the content was about the Tet atmosphere of people right on the border area of ​​the two sides in Co Bi village, Phong An commune.

When the reporter from the North came to take pictures, the people were very happy. One auntie even ran after him and called him to stop so she could admire the “outsider” for a bit. Then she gave the young reporter a can of condensed milk - a special thing in this war zone; others gave him banh tet and gio to bring to the war zone.

Only then can we see the affection of the people in the bombed-out areas, despite the hardships and difficulties, facing life and death every day, still showing love for the revolutionary cadres and reporters.

During the years of working under bombs and bullets, with death always near, Mr. Nghiem Sy Thai and his colleagues at the Liberation News Agency remained on the battlefield, excellently completing their information tasks, contributing thousands of articles to the news flow during the resistance war.

He has held positions such as Head of the Thua Thien-Hue Liberation News Agency Branch and Head of the Vietnam News Agency Branch in Lam Dong.

Thanks to his brave spirit and solid expertise, he recorded many valuable historical photos from the Binh Tri Thien battlefield.

Many photos were later published, causing a stir in public opinion at home and abroad, such as the photo series and article "Liberation troops shot down a UH1H combat helicopter and captured 3 American pilots in the A Luoi area."

There were photos that made a delegation from the United States fly to Vietnam to meet and interview him as a historical witness, someone who kept honest and humane images of the war./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/chuyen-ve-cuon-nhat-ky-phong-vien-chien-truong-tro-ve-tu-phia-ben-kia-post1034261.vnp