Where Is the Family of Martyr Nguyen Duy Kiem?!
(DTO) During the battle against U.S. gunboats on the Rach Ruong River on December 4, 1967, the Information and Press Subcommittee of Kien Phong Province (now Dong Thap Province) lost two journalists from the Co Giai Phong (Liberation Flag) newspaper, while another was captured. One of the fallen journalists was Nguyen Duy Kiem, a native of Ben Tre Province.
According to Vien Phuong (Huynh Ba Loc), the journalist who was captured, Nguyen Duy Kiem suffered a knee wound during the battle. U.S. troops took him aboard their vessel, where he later died, and his body was thrown into the Rach Ruong River.
At the end of 1964, the Provincial Propaganda and Training Department assigned three cadres to the Information and Press Subcommittee after they had completed English-language training designed to help them produce propaganda leaflets targeting U.S. soldiers.
The group included Pham Thanh Son and Vo Hoang Tam from Kien Phong Province, and Nguyen Duy Kiem from Ben Tre Province. For reasons that remain unclear, after completing the course, Nguyen Duy Kiem did not return to Ben Tre but was instead assigned to Kien Phong. A few months later, Pham Thanh Son and Vo Hoang Tam were transferred to the Political Office of the Kien Phong Provincial Military Command, while Nguyen Duy Kiem remained as a reporter for the Co Giai Phong (Liberation Flag) newspaper.
In his youth, Nguyen Duy Kiem was sturdily built, possessed a cheerful personality, and maintained a quick, dynamic working style. He easily blended in with everyone, earning the deep affection of his colleagues.
As a reporter, he often traveled alone by sampan to local communities, government offices, or military units in combat areas to gather material for news reports and feature stories. He possessed remarkable journalistic talent.
In mid-1967, during an assignment on Binh Thanh Islet, Nguyen Duy Kiem asked someone traveling to Ben Tre to bring his mother to visit him. All We knew was that Nguyen Duy Kiem’s mother, the second child in her family, lived near Ca Loc Bridge in Ben Tre Town.
After national liberation, in December 1975, I traveled to Ben Tre to look for Nguyen Duy Kiem's family. I searched house after house on both sides of Ca Loc Bridge, but no one knew where his family lived.
I also inquired at the ward People's Committee. The officials there were all young and had no information about his whereabouts.
Upon returning, I wrote a letter to the Dong Khoi Newspaper in Ben Tre, asking it to publish a notice in its missing persons column to locate Nguyen Duy Kiem’s family. The newspaper carried the notice in several consecutive issues, but there was no response.
I then wrote to the Ben Tre Provincial Service of War Invalids and Social Affairs, informing them of Nguyen Duy Kiem's sacrifice and requesting assistance in locating his relatives, yet the search yielded no results.
On one occasion while attending a conference in Hanoi, I met Mr. Phong, a native of Ben Tre. After hearing the story, he enthusiastically said, “I was the one who selected Nguyen Duy Kiem for the English-language training.”
He promised that once back in Ben Tre, he would search for Nguyen Duy Kiem's family and let me know. Yet the years passed, and I never heard from him again.
On behalf of the Dong Thap Provincial Propaganda and Training Department (formerly Kien Phong), I prepared the necessary documents requesting higher authorities to officially recognize him as a martyr and issue the "The Fatherland Acknowledges the Merit" Certificate. The certificate has since been kept at the Dong Thap Newspaper, awaiting the day when his family can finally be found and it can be presented to them.
Whenever I met acquaintance cadres from Ben Tre, I brought up the search for Nguyen Duy Kiem's family. Everyone promised to assist, but none provided any feedback.
In 2019, while receiving medical treatment at Thong Nhat Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City), I shared the story with Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, former Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee. He eagerly promised to ask provincial agencies to search for Nguyen Duy Kiem's family upon returning home. I sent him a photocopy of Nguyen Duy Kiem's "The Fatherland Acknowledges the Merit" Certificate. Sadly, I recently learned of his passing and never received any news.
More recently, Mr. Tran Tri Quang, currently Chairman of the Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee (encompassing the merged territories of Vinh Long, Ben Tre, and Tra Vinh), contacted me and expressed his commitment to locate Nguyen Duy Kiem's family. Once again, hope has been rekindled.
As this year's celebration of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day on June 21 brought together fellow journalists, I was deeply moved, remembering that I have still not found Nguyen Duy Kiem's family to hand over the "The Fatherland Acknowledges the Merit" Certificate.
Looking ahead to 2027, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the battle against U.S. gunboats, almost as much time has passed without an answer: Where is the family of Martyr Nguyen Duy Kiem?! What can the living say to the fallen, if we are still haunted by the question: Where is Nguyen Duy Kiem's family?!
By NGUYEN DAC HIEN
Translated by X.QUANG
