Skyline Leader and the Journey to Restore Memory Connection

More than just a photo

“Skyline” means “horizon”, currently has more than a dozen members who are young people from many localities and professions. The youngest was born in 2004, the oldest was born in 1985. Over the past year, the group has restored, sharpened, colored and improved the quality of many portraits of heroes and martyrs that have been stained by time, and handed them over to the martyrs’ relatives.

According to Mr. Trung, when the group was first established, the members intended to name it something related to photos or photo restoration work.

However, the members all hope to not only stop at the story of photo restoration but also aim for further things, contributing more meaningful things.

Opening the file containing the original photo files that needed to be restored, Skyline team leader Phung Quang Trung (born in 1996, from Hai Duong) said that most of the photos were taken decades ago, the watermark was blurred, the color faded and the image was out of focus; some portraits were pencil sketches.

During the process of restoring the photos of martyrs that had lost their lines and details, the group members had to call and discuss with the martyrs' families.   Describe and send photos of martyrs' relatives for comparison. Difficult and time-consuming to restore.   especially the eyes.

“During the process, the group contacted and collected a number of artifacts such as pith helmets, military uniforms, etc. and took photos to combine into the restored photo, because there were details and angles in the original photo that could no longer be seen. This will help the restored photo not only be vivid but also ensure authenticity, true to that period,” said Mr. Trung.

Mr. Phung Quang Trung and his colleagues restored the photo. Photo: NVCC

Mr. Trung and the members always encourage each other, saying: “For us, it is just a photo, but for the martyrs’ families, it is the most precious thing, the only keepsake of the youth of the son, father, grandfather…” Therefore, the group needs to make efforts to restore more and more photos.

Mr. Trung confided that one of the pressures of the group as more and more people know about it is that there are many messages and phone calls contacting the group. The time to take photos is mainly at night, so there are long periods of working through the night.

Secretary of the Central Youth Union, President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union Nguyen Tuong Lam presented the 2024 National Volunteer Award to Mr. Phung Quang Trung in a series of activities on National Volunteer Day 2024.

Journey of gratitude, building bridges

To date, the number of portraits restored and donated by Skyline has reached thousands. Following the image of “heroes forever in their twenties”, the group has visited many sacred places and visited the homes of martyrs’ relatives on the S-shaped strip of land.

“For the members of the group, restoring and presenting photos of heroic martyrs has become a mission, trying to do more each year, more effectively than the previous year. During the martyrs' tribute ceremonies, when the national anthem was played, my hand was placed on my chest, I could not hold back my emotions and saw that patriotism always has many ways of expression,” said Mr. Trung.

Mr. Trung and the members still had the same emotions when they were present in Dien Bien Phu on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Victory and presented 30 portraits of the People's Armed Forces Heroes (LLVTND) in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign to the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum; presented 100 portraits of martyrs in Hai Duong on the occasion of April 30; presented photos of 13 Youth Volunteers and a living witness at the "fire coordinates" of Truong Bon (Nghe An), portraits of 10 Youth Volunteers at Dong Loc T-junction (Ha Tinh)...

According to Mr. Trung, each restored photo is carefully wrapped and covered with a solemn national flag to be given to the martyrs’ relatives. The restoration of the martyrs’ photos is completely free of charge, the group members spend most of their time and a small amount of money to print and organize the trip to hand out the photos.

There were trips that traveled thousands of kilometers, such as to Con Dao (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) to present portraits of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau; or to Ho Chi Minh City to present portraits of 65 Heroes and Martyrs of Saigon Special Forces, including Captain Nguyen Van Lem (alias Bay Lop) reconstructed from film footage of his execution by the enemy in Saigon.

Through such trips, the Skyline boys feel more clearly the loss and sacrifice of the nation, the heavy emotional wounds of the martyrs’ relatives, the figures and weary eyes of the heroic Vietnamese mothers. In particular, they have the opportunity to meet heroes, witnesses of a time of bombs and bullets to admire and be proud of the resilient and courageous will of their fathers and grandfathers.

Mr. Trung was excited that on the occasion of Dien Bien Phu, he visited the "bomb disposal king" of the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Nguyen Tien Thu - one of 32 People's Armed Forces Heroes whose portraits were displayed at the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum.

Skyline Group organized a reunion dinner and presented a reconstructed portrait of a martyr. Photo: NVCC

Along with the journey of giving meaningful photos, Mr. Trung directed Skyline to carry out many gratitude activities, giving photos, gifts, lighting candles in gratitude. In particular, "meal with mother" is an activity in which the group and union members, local youth go to the market, cook and gather to eat a meal with Vietnamese heroic mothers, families of martyrs...

Not only stopping at restoring images of martyrs, heroic Vietnamese mothers, historical photos... Skyline also expanded to carry out many charity activities, photo restoration projects towards the community, such as: "Photographs overcome storms" program with the donation of 34 restored photos and mobilized more than 100 million VND to support and share with people in the flood-affected area in Lang Nu (Lao Cai).

In the coming time, Mr. Trung and Skyline aim to expand their scope of operations nationwide; at the same time, build a database of images and information about martyrs to serve the community, educate patriotism and social responsibility.

Mr. Trung excitedly said that at the beginning of the new year 2025, the Skyline group received good news. During the journey to pay tribute to the heroic martyrs of Ha Tinh province (December 2024), the Skyline group restored a photo of martyr Pham Ngoc Quyen and gave it to the martyr's mother, Ms. Phan Thi Dung. From the images and stories on the journey, they contributed a small part to spreading and changing the house for Ms. Phan Thi Dung.
Photo: NVCC

Skyline Group presents portraits and support to flood victims in Lang Nu.
Photo: NVCC

“The war is long gone, but there is still much to be done, including things that today’s youth can contribute, to continue the mission of spreading the value of peace and the sacrifices and contributions of previous generations for an independent and unified Vietnam. I and many members of the group feel happy to do something useful, to show gratitude and continue to make efforts to restore more photos and more meaningful work,” Trung expressed.

“I feel very honored and lucky to receive the 2024 National Volunteer Award presented by the Central Youth Union. The award is for an individual, but for me, it is a recognition of the efforts and dedication of all group members on the journey of gratitude, connecting the present and the past through photo restoration and volunteer activities. These are valuable encouragements for me and the Skyline group to try harder,” said Mr. Phung Quang Trung - Head of the Skyline group.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thu-linh-skyline-va-hanh-trinh-phuc-dung-ket-noi-ky-uc-post1706151.tpo