50 years ago, at 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, the liberation flag flew over the roof of the Independence Palace, the Ho Chi Minh Campaign was completely victorious, the resistance war against American imperialism ended, creating the premise for the country's unification. In the long march to protect national independence, each Vietnamese citizen contributed in different ways to the resistance.

Although not directly holding guns, journalists and war correspondents also overcame hardships, determined to stand side by side with people in the countryside to boost production, serve the fight and join the troops on the battlefield.

Journalist Dinh Quang Thanh and journalist Tran Mai Huong are two of those journalists and war correspondents. They marched together, crossed passes, waded through streams, crossed forests, and overcame dangers to record moments of battle.

Saigon youth running after Liberation Army tanks attacking Independence Palace, Saigon, 1975. Author: Journalist Dinh Quang Thanh

Journalist and war correspondent Dinh Quang Thanh and journalist Tran Mai Huong are veteran photographers of the Vietnam News Agency, members of the spearhead team that followed the army to liberate Saigon.

His photos are extremely authentic, have invaluable historical value, live forever with time, become sources of information providing information about life, production, fighting, and above all, about the people's determination for peace, independence, and freedom.

Saigon, April 30, 1975: Liberation Army tanks entering the Independence Palace. Photo: Journalist Tran Mai Huong

Journalist Dinh Quang Thanh was born in 1935 in Hanoi. During his career, he devoted himself, was devoted, and passionate about photography, and made many great contributions.

He was honored to receive noble awards: Third-class Anti-American Resistance Medal; Third-class Labor Medal; State Prize for Literature and Arts in 2022 and many commemorative medals and certificates of merit from ministries and branches in the fields of culture, journalism and domestic and international photography awards.

He has many outstanding works, of which the group of works (5 photos) "The enemy destroys us, we keep going" won the State Prize in 2022, which are outstanding, valuable, and unique works.

Precious photos of journalist Dinh Quang Thanh. (photo TD)

Journalist Tran Mai Huong was born in 1951 in Hai Duong, a reporter and former General Director of Vietnam News Agency. During the fierce war years, he worked in Ha Tay and was present at the battlefields of Quang Tri and Vinh Linh. In early 1975, when he heard the news of the liberation of Buon Ma Thuot, he returned to the battlefield, wrote articles, took photos and promptly reported the situation.

In particular, on April 30, 1975, he took historic photos when our tanks entered the Independence Palace. His photos and special moments became symbols of victory day.

In order to make national historical photos more accessible to the public and of national value, on April 29, 2025, amidst the joyful, bustling, and jubilant atmosphere of the whole country celebrating the reunification day, the National Archives Center III organized the reception of valuable photos from journalists. This is a very meaningful activity, contributing to enriching perspectives on the resistance war through documents and archives.

Journalist Dinh Quang Thanh shares about the birth of these historically significant photos. (photo TD)

Representatives of National Archives Center III would like to thank the journalists who preserved these photos and sent them to and preserved them at National Archives Center III, an archival agency with the function of storing and preserving all documents produced and formed by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In the coming time, the Center will continue to carry out activities to effectively promote the value of archival documents to serve the cause of national construction. At the same time, the Center also hopes that journalists Dinh Quang Thanh and Tran Mai Huong will continue to send documents and images about their lives and careers to be preserved at the Center so that the document collection will be more complete and rich.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/nha-bao-dinh-quang-thanh-va-nha-bao-tran-mai-huong-trao-tang-nhung-tam-anh-quy-post547110.html