Journey of empathy, journey of connecting people
We met Major Vo Duy Dong one morning in mid-May, at a small coffee shop. He arrived early, still in his simple military uniform, with his shoulder slung the familiar faded canvas bag that he always carried with him on his trips. On the table, before the coffee had time to cool, he opened the bag, took out a few documents, a notebook and his familiar camera. “If you need anything, just ask, I still have everything,” he smiled gently, his eyes still sharp as if looking through a lens.
Graduated from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University), with a burning dream of wearing the green uniform, in 2008 he decided to review and passed the exam to enter the Political Officer School. After 3 years with a good degree, after graduating he was assigned to work as Deputy Political Commissar of Company 4, Battalion 1, Regiment 1, Division 324 (Military Region 4).
Every day, while training and managing troops, he took the time in the evening to read newspapers and study writing styles from People's Army Newspaper, People's Newspaper, Military Zone 4 Newspaper, etc. He came up with the idea: "Our unit also has many examples of good people, good deeds, many good stories, why not try writing?" And then the first news lines were born, short and simple, but full of real emotions.
The author took a photo with Hero of the People's Armed Forces Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Thuoc, former Commander of Military Region 4.
When the first articles were published, joy ignited his passion. The more he wrote, the closer he felt to the soldiers, his comrades, his subordinates, and the people in the highlands where his unit was stationed. The pages written from the training ground, from the training grounds, from the marches suddenly became a bridge between him and his readers, between the army and the people.
With the trust of the leaders and the Editorial Board of Military Region 4 Newspaper, he was sent to study for a second degree in Journalism at the Academy of Journalism and Communication. During the months of training in a professional journalism environment, with field trips, he accumulated a lot of valuable experience. In 2019, Vo Duy Dong officially became a reporter for Military Region 4 Newspaper.
My favorite subject is writing about soldiers. Writing about them is also writing about myself, about my comrades, about the generations of fathers and brothers who lived, fought and sacrificed.
I share
When talking about military journalism, soldier Vo Duy Dong does not just talk about work. For him, it is a journey of going, witnessing, empathizing and recording with all honesty. There are images that have become works, there are stories that have never been published…
Take a photo with reporters of the Communist Party of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper.
It is an honor for the Party and State to entrust the Army with the responsibility of being the main force in preventing and fighting the epidemic. Propaganda workers like us also clearly define our tasks, regardless of danger. Wherever there are military activities, there we will follow closely and work.
- Major Vo Duy Dong
On the morning of October 11, 2020, while on a weekend vacation with his family in Vinh City, Comrade Vo Duy Dong suddenly received orders to leave. In just a short time, he was present at the Military Region 4 Command, with a working group marching to Thua Thien Hue to report on support for overcoming the consequences of floods.
That year's Rao Trang is a memory that will forever be anchored in him, like an indelible mark of his life as a journalist in a soldier's uniform. On the fateful night of October 12, 2020, when the whole country had not yet recovered from the bad news from the storm and flood in the central region, the news of the horrific landslide in Sub-region 67 (Phong Xuan commune, Phong Dien district, Thua Thien Hue) made the soldier's heart sink. Among the 13 officers and soldiers who died while conducting rescue operations, there were comrades, teammates, and even people who had accompanied him on previous missions. The news came in the middle of the night, but early the next morning, he and a special task force of the Ministry of National Defense marched to the landslide site.
It was a land he had passed through many times, but this time Rao Trang was different. When he arrived at the scene, the mountain was still not calm. Mud and dirt were flowing like a threat to sweep away the whole group. Rain splashed on their faces and on their lenses, but no one left their position. He recounted the moment he stepped into Sub-area 67, which used to be the rescue team's camp, now just a patch of land buried in mud and rocks. The strange silence in the middle of the vast forest no longer had human voices, no longer had warmth, only traces of sacrifice.
At that moment, none of us could say a word. It was a suffocating emptiness. The camera in my hand felt heavy as a rock. But I knew I had to record these things, so that those at the rear would know how our comrades had fallen on the road to save people.
Major Vo Duy Dong
He and his colleagues took photos and filmed footage of soldiers digging rocks and mud to search for their comrades, and of stretchers being brought out of the cold ground. But it wasn’t just the tragic images. What moved him most was the embrace of the people. “In those days, mothers and sisters in the Women’s Union of the village and hamlet carried baskets of green vegetables, tubers, meat and fish to the People’s Committee of the commune. They organized cooking groups themselves, cooking pots of rice and bowls of hot soup to bring to the soldiers and rescue forces. No one told anyone. No one boasted… They just said: ‘The soldiers are for the people, now the people are taking care of the soldiers’. I stood still for a long time, with the camera and video camera in my hand but couldn’t press a button. Because my heart was choking, he said.
Equally impressive was the image of the eight surviving members of the working group, who were heavily injured after the landslide but still resolutely refused to leave the scene. Despite having their wounds patched up and still being in pain, they stayed behind, working with the forces to search for their comrades. One of the officers in the group told me: “No one leaves when their comrades are still inside the mountain.” I will always remember that sentence!
Participate in the training course organized by Vietnam Defense Television in 2022.
He also remembers the image of troops following each other, walking in the rain, carrying mud, pushing carts, carrying stretchers, pushing rocks, clearing roads, regardless of danger to reach the landslide scene. “No one complained. Everyone just walked silently, like a pilgrimage into the heart of the earth,” he said.
Each of those images was recorded by him and his colleagues. Each moment became a part of the soldier’s vivid memories. The news, articles and films were broadcast in the news bulletins afterwards, making the whole country shed tears not only because of the loss, but also because of the deep love between the people and the army.
Photo of the working group of the Military Region 4 Command supporting people during the storm and flood in Quang Dien district, Thua Thien Hue province, now Hue city (The working group encountered an accident the next night and day, killing 13 comrades)
I go, record, and reconstruct not only to report, but also to tell future generations how those soldiers fell, and how the people lived and loved them. Working as a military journalist, there are moments that only happen once in a lifetime, never to be repeated. If at that moment I don’t press the shutter, don’t record, they will be lost forever.
Major Vo Duy Dong
Participate in the training course organized by Vietnam Defense Television in 2022.
“Choosing a good camera angle is like choosing a kind perspective. It is not always about focusing on the pain, but also on kindness, faith and hope.”
Major Vo Duy Dong
The author worked on a photo report of the sunrise on the sea.
Choose a good angle, choose a decent perspective
Not long after Rao Trang, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the entire Party, people and army entered an unprecedented war with an invisible enemy, Major Vo Duy Dong set out again. “It is an honor to be trusted by the Party and State to assign the important responsibility to the Army as the main force in preventing and fighting the epidemic. Those of us who work in propaganda also clearly define our tasks, regardless of the danger. Wherever there are activities of the army, there we will follow closely and work,” he shared.
From quarantine areas, field hospitals, border checkpoints to places where disinfectants are sprayed, groups of people from the southern provinces marching by motorbike back to their hometowns... every slice of life during the pandemic was persistently recorded by him and his teammates. Amidst the chaos of disinfectant smoke and the sound of ambulance engines, he still managed to press the shutter and record touching moments: a soldier hastily handing a lunch box to a person returning to his hometown; soldiers carrying necessities through the forest to supply isolated villages; lines of people stopping at checkpoints to receive support gifts... Each news and article posted promptly on the media not only spreads the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers in the heart of the epidemic, but also helps people to have more trust and unite with the soldiers to overcome the most difficult period.
Taking a photo with the character in the article "The Party flag and Uncle Ho's portrait in blood" by veteran Nguyen Trong Nghia.
For soldier-journalist Vo Duy Dong, it is not only a political mission but also the responsibility of a writer. And it was from those difficult days that he became more concerned with the historical values that the younger generation needs to be reminded of. “I always want to convey the spirit of patriotism, love for national history, gratitude towards the generations of fathers and brothers - those who sacrificed and contributed in the resistance wars to build and defend the country. One of the topics that I have been attached to for a long time is writing about historical witnesses, the veterans of the past. Meeting them, I get to hear, understand and deeply feel the battles, the comradeship, the affection between the army and the people... That is a great source of inspiration for me to continue writing”.
It was these trips and seemingly ordinary meetings that added to the vivid archive of documents he had accumulated over the years. Every time an old character introduced a new character, Vo Duy Dong would prepare his equipment and military uniform, set off, and continue his journey of recounting sacred things.
I know that the words I write are still modest, unable to fully express the sacrifices of previous generations. But for me, it is gratitude. The happiness of a writer like me is that simple.
Major Vo Duy Dong
From that source of living material, many influential articles were born. Such as the article “With comrades to the day of victory” – about Captain Nguyen Duy Dao and the doctors and nurses who fought and set up a surgical station right in front of the puppet Dong Du base to treat wounded soldiers during the Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975. The article “The relic of hero Nguyen Viet Sinh” is about the Truong Son liaison soldier who carried goods and led the troops across a distance almost equal to a circle of the earth without dropping a single command or letter. Then the article “The Commander’s wedding gift” is a touching story about the wedding curtain that Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen, Commander of Group 559, gave to his liaison soldier at a wedding in the middle of the Truong Son mountains and forests…
In 2022, Vo Duy Dong was assigned to the 337th Economic-Defense Group, holding the position of Propaganda Assistant - Political Department. The unit's military area stretches 127km along the border with Laos, many border areas are particularly difficult, the poverty rate is high, and backward customs still cling to the lives of ethnic minorities. In the role of a propagandist, he continues to accompany the unit's leaders and commanders to carry out many mass mobilization and propaganda activities, supporting people to stabilize their lives from livelihood models to housing programs, resettlement areas, and civil works.
The author (far left) and the group of authors won the Encouragement Prize of the 2021 Golden Hammer and Sickle Award.
With more than 20 years of service, Major Vo Duy Dong has won many high awards inside and outside the military: National Press Encouragement Award for Party Building (Golden Hammer and Sickle Award in 2020, 2021). Third Prize in the Writing Contest "Protecting the Party's Ideological Foundation in the New Situation" in 2023. Many excellent works won the press awards organized by the Military Region and Nghe An Province. But in his story, there is almost no room for glamor.
The trips continued. After the rainy season, the dry season came, when the unit had activities to help the people, he brought his camera, video camera and microphone with the soldiers. Vo Duy Dong's lens was present from the remote villages in the mountainous region of Huong Hoa such as Huong Viet, Huong Lap, Huong Linh communes where the 337th Economic-Defense Group was helping the people rebuild their houses after the floods, to supporting trees, seedlings, and implementing economic forest planting with native trees to help the people increase their livelihoods and escape poverty. There was no need for a grand background, just a tearful look from a soldier when greeting the villagers; a hand tightly holding hands with a local in the late afternoon; the smile of a disabled child when receiving a wheelchair from the soldiers... was enough for him to stop, turn on the camera, and press the shutter - not to take a picture, but to capture the moment.
“Choosing a good camera angle is like choosing a kind perspective. It’s not always about focusing on pain, but also on kindness, faith, and hope,” he once said when sharing with us.
Every year, he spends a considerable amount of time reviewing and re-classifying his personal archive of thousands of photos, hundreds of videos, handwritten articles that still smell of soil and smoke. There are photos that have never been published, but he still keeps them because they contain images of his comrades. There are manuscript pages that have never been submitted for publication, but he still flips through them to remember how he lived and wrote.
I asked him: working as a journalist in a military unit, in a remote area, do you feel disadvantaged? Dong just smiled: “I have the opportunity to witness and tell many stories that not everyone has the opportunity to. That’s a good thing!”
He said that a journalist wearing a soldier's uniform must first and foremost be a true soldier. Be there at the right time and place - not just to report, but to live, understand, and accompany the officers and soldiers. Only then will the writing be real, the photos come to life, and the stories touch the hearts of the readers.
After all these years of writing and holding a camera, and having held many positions, Vo Duy Dong still only considers himself a “storyteller with a lens and words”. The stories he tells, whether through photos, reports or short articles, are simple, unadorned, but always imbued with the spirit of a soldier and the love of people on the frontier.
Author and colleagues working during the Covid-19 pandemic
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh took a souvenir photo with the group of authors who won the 2020 Golden Hammer and Sickle Award for national journalism on Party building.
The author (far left) takes a photo with delegates at the award ceremony of the 3rd political essay contest to protect the Party's ideological foundation in 2023.
“I always want to convey the spirit of patriotism, love for national history, gratitude to generations of fathers and brothers - those who sacrificed and contributed in the resistance wars to build and defend the country. One of the topics I have been attached to for a long time is writing about historical witnesses, the veterans of the past. Meeting them, I get to hear, understand and deeply feel the battles, the comradeship, the affection between the army and the people... That is a great source of inspiration for me to continue writing.”
Major Vo Duy Dong
Publication date: 6/16/2025
Production organization: Thao Le
Performed by: Khanh Lan - Minh Phuong
Presented by: Hanh Vu
Photo: Character provided
Nhandan.vn
Source: https://nhandan.vn/special/luugiunhungkhoanhkhackhongcolanthu2/index.html
![[Video] Exhibition celebrating 100 years of Vietnamese Revolutionary Journalism](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/402x226/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/6/18/1ba7ffdc6eef4b1682a3768741aca732)
Comment (0)