In the history of Vietnam's revolutionary press, many newspapers successfully fulfilled their missions of providing information, disseminating, shaping ideology, promoting culture, and educating people. At the same time, many have become historical witnesses and valuable journalistic heritage in their own right.
Extraordinary collection from Dien Bien Phu battlefield
Implementing the orders from the General Headquarters of the Dien Bien Phu campaign, PAN published and distributed 33 issues directly on the battlefield.
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Sr. Col. Nguyen Thanh Le introduces long-term conservation measures for artifacts from the collection of PAN’s 33 issues published on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. |
From a museological perspective, this collection should not be viewed simply as 33 individual newspaper issues, but rather as a unified documentary artifact. Its integrity is what gives the collection its exceptional value: all the issues share the same origin, were produced in the same wartime environment by the same editorial team, and together provide a continuous record of the Dien Bien Phu campaign.
The contents of the 33 issues present a comprehensive account of the campaign's military developments, atmosphere, and spiritual life. In addition to reports on battlefield operations, shifting tactical situations, and the gradual defeat of the enemy, the newspapers featured articles on logistics, civilian labor forces, transportation, military medicine, engineering, artillery, and infantry units.
Outstanding values supporting recognition as national treasure
If military directives reveal strategic determination and operational doctrine, if maps and battlefield models illustrate tactical deployments, and if memoirs preserve personal recollections, then PAN’s issues capture the campaign's spiritual pulse from within. This distinctive perspective is irreplaceable.
Regarding historical and military historical value, the collection constitutes an authentic body of primary source materials produced while the Dien Bien Phu campaign was still unfolding, rather than retrospective accounts written after the war. As such, it provides invaluable evidence for supplementing, cross-referencing, and verifying military documents, operational plans, memoirs, photographs, maps, campaign directives, and other archival records. The collection therefore represents an indispensable resource for studying the political and moral strength that underpinned victory in the Dien Bien Phu campaign.
Regarding journalistic, cultural, and educational value, the collection stands as compelling evidence of the frontline press model developed during Vietnam's resistance war. Rather than reporting from a safe distance, the newspaper operated in the trenches alongside the troops, sharing both the hardships and the triumphs of the campaign. These issues embody the defining values of Vietnam's military culture: patriotism, the determination to safeguard national independence, the spirit of sacrifice, close ties between the military and people, confidence in victory, and the nation's enduring aspiration for peace. When preserved, exhibited, and interpreted, the collection possesses profound educational value for students, young soldiers, and the public.
Regarding artistic value, the visual presentation of the 33 issues represents a distinctive form of wartime newspaper design. Their page layouts, headlines, illustrations, typography, and organization of information all reflect the characteristic aesthetic of Vietnam's revolutionary press under battlefield conditions.
These outstanding values provide a solid foundation for preparing a nomination dossier to have the collection of PAN’s 33 issues published on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield recognized as a national treasure. It is important to emphasize that the object of nomination is not an individual newspaper issue, but the complete collection of 33 original issues.
Preserving and promoting collection's enduring value
To safeguard and maximize the long-term value of the collection, the PAN has been implementing a range of coordinated preservation measures.
First, comprehensive documentation and the completion of scientific records. Each newspaper issue should be catalogued as an individual artifact, with detailed information including issue number, publication date, dimensions, number of pages, paper type, printing technique, conservation status, signs of deterioration, distinguishing characteristics, provenance, and both overall and detailed photographic documentation.
Second, strengthening preventive conservation. As paper artifacts that are now more than seventy years old, the newspapers remain vulnerable to deterioration, including acidification, brittleness, yellowing, ink flaking, torn edges, and damage caused by light, humidity, temperature fluctuations, and insect activity. It is therefore essential to maintain strict environmental controls within storage facilities, use acid-free archival boxes and interleaving materials, minimize direct handling, conduct regular condition assessments, and develop conservation treatment plans whenever necessary.
Third, creating a narrative-driven museum exhibition. Rather than simply displayed in glass cases, the collection should be presented through an immersive storytelling approach capable of engaging visitors both intellectually and emotionally. Original newspapers should be exhibited on a rotating basis in specialized display cases under low-light conditions with carefully controlled microclimates.
Fourth, expanding dissemination and education across multiple platforms. The collection has enormous potential as source material for infographics, podcasts, documentary videos, artifact-based storytelling, virtual exhibitions, and social media content. A thematic series entitled "One issue – One glimpse of Dien Bien Phu", introducing each newspaper issue, article, historical figure, and event, would transform the collection from a preserved historical artifact into a living educational resource capable of reaching broad audiences, particularly younger generations.
Recognition of the collection of PAN’s 33 issues published on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield as a national treasure would represent far more than an acknowledgment of an exceptional historical collection. It would demonstrate the present generation's commitment to preserving documentary heritage created amid the hardships of war and to safeguarding the military memory of Vietnam.
The collection deserves to be studied, protected, and honored through scientifically grounded, and responsible conservation practices. It is not merely the property of a newspaper or a museum; it is a shared property of memory belonging to the Vietnam People's Army, Vietnam's revolutionary press, and the Vietnamese nation as a whole.
By Senior Colonel Nguyen Thanh Le, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Military History Museum
Translated by Quynh Oanh