This is a Vietnamese revolutionary martyr biography poster titled “Tiểu sử Trần Văn Ơn” (“Biography of Trần Văn Ơn”). 

It is a state-sanctioned propaganda and commemorative poster, issued and approved by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and widely reproduced after 1954, with heavy circulation from the late 1950s through the 1960s. 

The poster commemorates Trần Văn Ơn, a South Vietnamese high-school student who was killed on 9 January 1950 during large-scale student demonstrations in Saigon opposing French colonial policies and the closure of schools.

The text describes the organisation of student protests involving Petrus Ký (now Lê Hồng Phong), Gia Long (now Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai), and other schools; the suppression of the demonstration by police and colonial forces; the use of armed African colonial troops; and the shooting of demonstrators after an order to open fire. 

Trần Văn Ơn is described as being shot while advancing with a written petition, dying later that evening at Chợ Rẫy Hospital. 

The poster concludes with an account of his funeral on 10 January 1950, portrayed as a mass public demonstration attended by hundreds of thousands. 

The narrative reflects the standardised revolutionary interpretation later adopted by the North Vietnamese state, in which Trần Văn Ơn was recognised as an early youth martyr. 

Posters of this type were produced for political education and public display in schools, youth organisations, and Party-affiliated institutions, rather than as private or school-made projects.

English translation.

On 9 January 1950, tens of thousands of students from Petrus Ký School (now Lê Hồng Phong), Gia Long School (now Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai), and other schools took to the streets and marched to the South Vietnamese Ministry of Education of the puppet Trần Văn Hữu government, demanding that schools be reopened and that freedom be restored to five students who had been arrested by the authorities.

In the days before that, the French colonialists had ordered the closure of schools, intimidated teachers, suppressed and arrested students, and imposed restrictions on pupils and students. The entire city of Saigon was seething.

The student demonstration, on its way to Thư Hiến Shrine to submit their demands, was violently suppressed by police forces. Some students were arrested and wounded. 

In front of Thư Hiến Shrine, the French deployed two companies and one battalion of African colonial troops to guard the area. The demonstration halted in front of the shrine to present its demands: to rescue the wounded, release those who had been arrested, and reopen the schools.

By 10 o’clock, people from all walks of life came to give support, increasing the crowd to as many as 15,000 people. Faced with the strength of the masses, the authorities were forced to invite a delegation of demonstrators, led by lawyer Nguyễn Hữu Thọ, to enter for negotiations, then treacherously arrested the delegation. 

The demonstrators surged forward in anger at this despicable act.

Trần Văn Ơn and six other male and female students broke through the police cordon and advanced toward the shrine to submit their demands. At 3:47 p.m., Bazin, the French Indochinese official commanding the suppression, gave the order to open fire. 

Three people were shot and fell. Trần Văn Ơn was wounded, one hand clutching his injury, the other gripping tightly the blood-soaked petition. The enemy arrested 500 people and seized the bodies of the dead in an attempt to conceal their crimes.

The crowd wrested Trần Văn Ơn from the police cordon and rushed him to Chợ Rẫy Hospital for emergency treatment, but it was too late. He sacrificed his life at 9 p.m. on 9 January 1950.

His funeral, too, became a silent demonstration. It was held on the morning of 10 January 1950, lasting from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Half a million people stood with bowed heads before the coffin of Trần Văn Ơn. All of Saigon seemed to hold its breath. And the flame of Trần Văn Ơn entered immortality.

—

Tran Van On was born on May 29, 1931 and died on January 9, 1950 as a student at Petrus Ky school was shot dead in the protests of Saigon students in early 1950 by the French authorities. His death resonated greatly, having a wide impact in the fighting movement of the Saigon people afterwards. He was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 2000.

Tran Van On was born in 1931 , in Phuoc Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province. His father is Mr. Tran Van Nghia is a low-level civil servant, his mother is Mrs. Huynh Thi Tu.

As a child, he attended primary school in My Tho town , then moved with his family to stay at 322/10, Verolun Street, Saigon. Most of his brothers and sisters participated in the revolutionary movement, including Ms. Tran Thi Le, who died in 1948.

In August 1945 , he passed the entrance exam to the first year of elementary school at Petrus Ky School . In the school year 1948 - 1949 , he finished his third year of high school, passed the French first level ( Brevet du 1er cycle ). By the school year 1949 - 1950 , when he was in the fourth year of elementary school, Tran Van On was specially promoted to the Board of Baccalaureate ( seconde class, equivalent to the current grade 10) of the school because he had a first-class degree. Tran Van On is considered to be a hard-working, respectful and polite student to his parents and teachers. Besides studying, he still enjoys social activities.

Since 1947, he participated in the school's patriotic student movement and joined the Vietnam-Southern Student Association. He is a secret member of the resistance group of inner-city resistance, and is responsible for propagating and mobilizing students in the school to participate in activities against the French colonialists and pro-French government. He was considered a pillar of Patriotic School's patriotic student movement.

Before the 9th anniversary of the uprising of Cochinchina (November 23, 1940 - November 23, 1949), the French authorities kidnapped some students of Petrus Ky School, and  10 other schools in Saigon on November 23, 1949. At this time, Tran Van On was preparing for the baccalaureate examination, but he still actively led the student group of Petrus Ky school to protest.

On January 9, 1950 , in Saigon , a large protest of more than 6000 students-teachers and school teachers erupted, asking Prime Minister Tran Van Huu to immediately release the arrested students. At 13:00 that day, Prime Minister Tran Van Huu's government mobilized a large police force to suppress the protest movement, bring water cannons and use batons to brutally beat protesters. This persecution led to the arrest of 150 people, beating 30 seriously injured on the spot . Not backing down in front of the enemy, Tran Van On and some of his friends stalked forward loudly denouncing their crimes, while protecting the children behind. According to the Ben Tre province page, while carrying Ta Thi Thau from Truong Gia Long he was knocked out by the police, Tran Van On was hit by a bullet in the abdomen. According to Le Trung Nghia on Tuoi Tre , Tran Van On was shot while supporting a student climbing a pile of firewood stacked close to a fence . Together with other victims, he was taken to Cho Ray Hospital for treatment, but due to his severe injury, he died at 15:30 pm that day . At that time, Tran Van On was less than 19 years old.

The news of Tran Van On's immediate loss caused a stir among Saigon students. Students were sent to protect Tran Van On's body at the hospital . This news also quickly became the focus and a series of major Saigon newspapers reported.

After struggling to get the consent of the authorities, the school's representative board and his family took his body back for three days at the farewell home of Thuan Kieu Street . They set up an altar, placed a priest and decided to organize a funeral for Tran Van On right in Petrus Ky school. All students of Pétrus Ký brought black tape to mourn him. From January 10 to 12, hundreds of organizations of all sexes: workers, academics, merchants, civil servants, artists, journalists, students ... visited, burned incense and laid wreaths. for him. In total there are over 300 wreaths, especially among those French wreaths bearing the words " Soldats démocrates " ( Democratic fighters ).

On January 12, 1950 , Tran Van On funeral was held, with the funeral director being Professor Luu Van Lang. Tens of thousands of people gathered at Truong Vinh Ky school. More than 300,000 Saigon people took to the streets to support. According to the General newspaper (dated January 14, 1950), in order to respond to the funeral of Tran Van On, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian and other private businesses were closed that day, and at the same time The car that took the people to the funeral did not take money, hundreds of cyclo drivers voluntarily carried more than 300 garlands. Two delegates from the Central and North students also boarded a plane to attend the funeral. After gathering at 7:30, the group began to depart, going through the streets of Saigon, to the farewell house of Thuan Kieu Street to receive his body. Students bring banners and pictures of Tran Van On. Leading the protest were intellectuals such as Luu Van Lang , lawyers Trinh Dinh Thao , Nguyen Huu Tho ..., and some French. 

An estimated 25,000 people went in the group, along with a lot of Saigon people on the two sides of the road to welcome. His coffin, after being removed from his house in goodbye, was taken to Cho Lon cemetery to be buried.

At Cho Lon Cemetery, many songs are read to commemorate Tran Van On. Among them, Eulogy of delegates of students, students have paragraph:

"              We will never forget January 9, the day that Don and his students, students were willing to give their blood and bones in exchange for the freedom of those imprisoned. The spirit of Tran Van On is immortal! " .      ”

Tran Van On's funeral is considered to have become a "demonstration of the forces of the Saigon patriots - Cholon", against the French colonial government.

In February 1950 , at the first National Congress of the Vietnam Youth Federation in Vietnam , it was decided to make January 9 every year a traditional day for Vietnamese students .

On January 11, 1979 , Prime Minister Pham Van Dong signed a decision to recognize martyrs for Tran Van On.

In March 2000 , Tran Van On was conferred the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

His name has been given to roads and schools in Ho Chi Minh City , Bien Hoa , Thanh Hoa and Dong Hoi . In addition, his name was also given to the Tran Van On Award, for professional and vocational students organized by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union .