Comrade Phan Văn Đáng was born in “a sacred land with many brilliant people” in Vĩnh Long province. His hometown used to be the center of the Đông Du movement, the Cochinchina uprising, so when he was 12 years old, he became a messenger who distributed leaflets among revolutionary youth organizations. He was arrested in 1940 and was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in Côn Đảo until the success of the August Revolution when he returned and actively participated in building local revolutionary government.

Photo: Portrait of Comrade Phan Văn Đáng

During the resistance war against the French, his revolutionary career was associated with the South. At the 3rd National Party Congress, he was elected a member of the Party Central Committee; he later worked at the Central Bureau of the Southern Department holding the position of Permanent Deputy Secretary (1960 - 1975).

Photo: Comrade Phan Văn Đáng (second person as seen from the right) attended the first Central Bureau of the Southern Department, October 10, 1961

Comrade Phan Văn Đáng and members of the Central Bureau of the Southern Department

The leaders of the the Central Bureau of the Southern Department (Comrade Phan Văn Đáng, the first person as seen from the right) at the base area of Central Bureau

Participating in leading the Southern revolution against the US, he successfully completed the important task expected by the Party and people; In particular, he completed the task in the role of an envoy from the South to the North to consult President Hồ Chí Minh and the Party Central Committee on the launching of Đồng Khởi movement in the South.

Photo: Đồng Khởi movement played an important role in the revolutionary struggle in the South during the anti-American period
Source: VNA

The wife and daughter of Comrade Phan Văn Đáng at the base of the Central Bureau of the Southern Department, 1972

During the anti-American resistance war, although he was very busy, he still showed his passion for photography and filming. “Mr Hai (Comrade Phan Văn Đáng) was very passionate about photography. Wherever he went, he took his camera with him. In the evening, he himself filmed, projected photos… Later when he left the war zone and returned to the city, he kept 3 boxes of photos as treasures.”
(Comrade Phan Thành Trường (Ba Đời) a batman of Comrade Phan Văn Đáng)