Thai recalled that in early April, a friend who is a former lecturer at the University of Hanoi, where he once studied unexpectedly called and asked if he had ever lost a diary during the war. His joy was immense upon learning that the long-lost diary, which recorded his student years and time as a war reporter, had been found just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the south and national reunification (April 30).

He said on May 10, 1965, after graduation, he and 12 fellow students began intensive training in preparation for supporting the southern battlefield. They underwent a three-month crash course in news writing, while Thai received an additional two months of photography training.

During the fierce days on the Binh Tri Thien battlefield, amid relentless bombings and gunfire, the war reporter kept a habit of recording everyday moments in his personal diary, while professional notes were kept in a separate notebook.

In late 1968, Thai volunteered to join the high-intensity 935 campaign in Tri Thien to gather more materials for writing and photography. Before heading to the battlefield, he asked an officer of the Logistics Department of Military Region 4 to keep his diary, saying that it would provide materials for other journalists and writers. However, when he returned, the area where the logistics base hut had been located was flattened by US bombs, and all the documents stored in metal cabinets at the Logistics Department were lost.

Thai received his diary at a ceremony for handing over war keepsakes, organised by the Steering Committee 515 of Military Region 7 in collaboration with the US Defense Attaché Office in Hanoi in HCM City on April 18.

At the event. the US side returned several valuable war memorabilia during this event, including commendations, battlefield diaries, and notebooks of veterans, and martyrs.

Thai shared emotionally that to him, this was not just a piece of memorabilia, but a fragment of memory and a part of his very flesh and blood that had come home.

He expressed his gratitude to organisations that acted as bridges of friendship between the two countries, saying that these war keepsakes not only hold historical value but also serve as evidence for post-war bilateral friendship.

They also embody compassion and hope for a closer future relationship between Vietnam and the US, he added.

US veteran returns war diary to Vietnamese martyr’s family

US veteran Peter Mathews and his spouse arrived in Ky Xuan commune, Ky Anh district, the central province of Ha Tinh, on March 5 to hand over martyr Cao Xuan Tuat’s diary that he has kept for the past 56 years to his family.