PANO - The pictorial book, entitled “I photographs General Vo Nguyen Giap” by former photo reporter Tran Hong of the People’s Army Newspaper (PAN) has been released by the Labour Publisher and Thai Ha Books Joint-Stock Company.

Reporter Senior Colonel Tran Hong is known widely for his photos of the war and pictorial books namely “Heroic Vietnamese Mothers”, and “General Vo Nguyen Giap-Simple Moments”.

He is a lucky reporter because since the 1970s he was given permission by legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap to take photos of him on any occasion, especially in his daily life.

The cover of the pictorial book

According to Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu in a piece of writing on PAN, the photos that Senior Colonel Tran Hong took have not only historical value, but also huge artistic value.

Meanwhile, General Vo Nguyen Giap used to comment that the photos taken by Tran Hong were like poems and music. Looking at them, viewers were moved with and could not forget sentiments, pain, and joy undergone by each character.  The General wished Tran Hong, a soldier and photojournalist, to have more valuable work.

With what he has done, reporter Tran Hong deserves the compliments from General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Though the title of the book is “I photographs General Vo Nguyen Giap”, Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu thought that the theme of the book is the people’s heart for General Vo Nguyen Giap. That is vividly captured in photos taken in Cao Bang, Dien Bien and Quang Binh provinces, at the General’s residence at 30 Hoang Dieu, and photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap with locals, friends from all over the world and an endless line of people paying homage to the General at his residence and his tomb in Vung Chua, Quang Binh province.

Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu also stressed that General Vo Nguyen Giap is a bright example of the revolutionary morality following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought of “Putting the common interest on top”. General Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam is compared with other talented generals in the world by the world’s historians and is highly spoken of for his great contributions to the nation.

Also according to Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu, General Vo Nguyen Giap is a role model for the Vietnam People’s Army’s nature of being born from the people, serving the people and addressed by the people as Uncle Ho’s Soldiers. Therefore, Lieutenant General Pham Hong Cu’s deepest impression while reading this pictorial book is that Vo Nguyen Giap is the General of the people.

Translated by Ngoc Bich