The cover of Thông Tấn Xã Giải Phóng Anh Hùng (The Heroic Liberation News Agency). — Photo courtesy of Vietnam News Agency Publishing House

HÀ NỘI — A special publication has been released by Vietnam News Agency Publishing House commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Liberation News Agency (October 12, 1960 – October 12, 2020).

Entitled Thông Tấn Xã Giải Phóng Anh Hùng (The Heroic Liberation News Agency), the book's release coincides with the agency being honoured with the title Hero of the Armed Forces for its outstanding achievements during the anti-American resistance war.

Chronologically ordered, the information, articles and photos in the 264-page book will take readers on a journey back in time to the days of the agencies establishment.

It also reviews historical moments during the resistance war against America, including the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) Campaign and the historic Hồ Chí Minh Campaign in 1975, reflected through the lenses and pens of the Liberation News Agency journalists and reporters.

“The book has been released as a mark of gratitude like burning incense by present VNA officials to pay tribute to journalists and martyrs who sacrificed themselves to enrich the glorious history of the nation and contribute to the proud tradition of the national news agency,” writes the editor in then prologue.

“The title ‘Hero of the People’s Armed Forces’ recently awarded by State President Nguyễn Phú Trọng and sixteen golden words presented by the Central Office for South Việt Nam – Cần Cù, Dũng Cảm, Tự Lực Cánh Sinh, Khắc Phục Khó Khăn, Hoàn Thành Nhiệm Vụ (industriousness, bravery, self-reliance, overcoming difficulties and completing missions) – during the most brutal days of the war have always reminded us that the journalists of the Liberation News Agency and present Vietnam News Agency have always maintained their creativity, perseverance and determination to overcome all difficulties to contribute to the glorious traditions of the agency."

The Heroic Liberation News Agency is divided into four parts.

The first chapter features stories about the establishment and development of the Liberation News Agency from 1960 to 1976, illustrated with archive photos taken by former agency journalists. The highlight of the chapter is a part dedicated to photos that reveal the working conditions of journalists who captured historic moments of the nation during the brutal resistance war.

The second chapter – Tiếp Bước Truyền Thống Anh Hùng (Continuing Heroic Tradition) – features the next development phase of the agency during the Renewal and Integration periods after the Liberation News Agency and VNA merged, from 1976 to present days.

Memoirs about unforgettable days reporting from the battlefields by veteran journalists, like former General Director of VNA Đỗ Phượng, former General Director of VNA Trần Mai Hương, and former Deputy Director of Liberation News Agency Đỗ Văn Ba, are included in the third part of the book.

The last part of The Heroic Liberation News Agency is a tribute to former journalists of the Liberation News Agency who passed away while on duty.

“Over 240 reporters, editors, technicians and telegraphers of the Liberation News Agency died while on communication missions or in direct combat. The Fatherland has always honoured those journalists – martyrs who scarified their blood and bones for an endless flow of news, regardless of the circumstances,” it reads. — VNS