A journey of historical discovery through the eyes of witnesses

He is a famous historian with many valuable books such as: War Zone in the Southeast, The Resistance War 1945 - 1975 seen from the South, People's War against French Colonialism in the Southeast, Liberation Army Newspaper of South Vietnam; editor-in-chief: History of the Regional Command, Independence Palace, history and changes ... and co-authored with other authors: History of Saigon - Cho Lon - Gia Dinh Resistance War, History of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam ... Recently, the book Witness and History ( photo , published by the People's Army Publishing House, under the State's order program to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army) by Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Son Dai has just been introduced to readers.

Along the way of searching for historical documents of modern war, in addition to archival sources (written documents, artifacts, images, etc.), Ho Son Dai came into contact with many historical witnesses. Then one day, sitting down to review his notebook, he realized that he was in possession of a history book expressed through the lives of the witnesses, an "oral history". He combined the recorded documents into this book in chronological order of events, with 33 notes about 33 historical figures and concluded with an article about his friends at the Southern branch of the People's Army Newspaper. Except for the article about General Secretary Tran Phu and General Secretary Le Duan (mainly taken from archives), the other articles were written by him directly meeting with the people involved, interviewing and recording.

Among the more than 30 historical witnesses, there are special figures such as General Secretary Le Duan, the "architect" of the resistance war against the US, who was likened to a "200-candle lamp" by the people of the South. General Nguyen Chi Thanh, who was sent by the Party Central Committee to the Southern battlefield to hold the positions of Secretary of the Central Bureau, Secretary of the Military Commission of the Region, and Political Commissar of the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of the South, had important strategic instructions in building the main force, building on-site logistics... General Le Duc Anh, with many different positions both during the liberation war and the period of defending the Fatherland, had instructions that created a particularly outstanding mark...

In addition to the above-mentioned characters, there are many historical witnesses who are Party leaders, military commanders, and intellectuals whose portraits are created by the author, such as Tran Van Giau discussing Vietnam's tradition of fighting against foreign invaders; Tran Phu with the Party's military line; Nguyen Van Linh in Saigon in 1947 - 1948; Nguyen Binh with the resistance war against the French in the South; Huynh Van Mot with the "revolutionary militia divisions"; Pham Van Chieu with the resistance base in Gia Dinh; Nguyen Van Bua - a general of the East; Vo Van Kiet and ten lessons of fighting the Americans in Saigon - Gia Dinh; Nguyen Duc Hung writing the history of special forces; Le Binh: life is a "love song of the East"; Pham Thi Hue with the woodblock heritage ...

Following the flow of the book, we see the history of building and defending the Fatherland of the Vietnamese people in all areas of modern social life, where each person is a shining piece; although that piece is only partially shown in the book Witness and History , as Associate Professor, Dr. Ho Son Dai wrote: "Each person's life is a complete whole, the author only mentions a few aspects that have historical significance in that whole".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-hanh-trinh-kham-pha-lich-su-qua-loi-ke-cua-cac-nhan-chung-185250105184802972.htm