Nearly 100 former war reporters of the Vietnam News Agency gathered at the agency’s headquarters in Hanoi on March 15 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their departure to the southern battlefield.

Leaders and former leaders of the state news agency, and representatives from editorial departments and functional units of the agency attended the gathering and congratulated the veteran journalists.

Addressing the meeting, VNA General Secretary Nguyen Duc Loi stressed that the war reporters, who were trained in a special course coded the GP10 have a special position in VNA history.

Reporters from the course, who were ready to face hardship, difficulties and even death to serve the fatherland, have set an example for today’s young VNA colleagues, Loi said.

40 years ago, on March 16, 1973 , more than 100 outstanding graduates from numerous universities, were selected under a directive by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister, and received training at the State-owned Vietnam News Agency to become battlefield reporters.

They were then dispatched to every battlefield in Vietnam and Cambodia. Their stories and photos covered in a true and vivid manner the fierce fight of the people and revolutionary armed forces to liberate the south and re-unify the country.

To mark the anniversary, a photo exhibition called “A time of war – a time of peace” opened at the VNA headquarters. The photos were taken by the GP10 course reporters from 1973 to 1975.-VNA