Today is the 80th anniversary of a well known Shortwave broadcaster: The Voice of Vietnam.

My 1980s QSL for the Voice of Vietnam

The Voice of Vietnam started broadcasting on September 7th, 1945 from Hanoi in what was then called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The station was established shortly after the August Revolution of 1945 at the end of World War II. The communist-led Việt Minh sought indepence and defeated the French in 1954.

The Voice of Vietnam was one of my first real DX QSLs when I started the hobby in 1979. I received a reply in 3 months. The 10040 kHz they were broadcasting on just outside the formal 31m band made that they suffered less from interference. With the formal QSL leaflet came a more friendly postcard.

Grettings from the Voice of Vietnam, card issued in 1980

In yesterday’s English broadcast the Voice of the Vietnam spent some time on military parades celebrating the August Revolution. But there was also a special topic on the history of the Voice of Vietnam: