Celeste Ryan Blyden, former board president for the Society of Adventist Communicators, presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to Don Roth at the society’s awards banquet October 17 in Newport Beach, California. [photo: Gerry Chudleigh]

A former correspondent for the Seventh-day Adventist Church during the Vietnam War and retired communications leader received a Lifetime Achievement Award last week.

Don Roth, reporter, author and former associate secretary for the Adventist world church, accepted the award during the annual Society of Adventist Communicators convention held October 15 to 17 in Newport Beach, California.

During his nearly 60 years of professional experience, Roth significantly contributed to reporting church news, both for the denomination and in the public press, conference organizers said.

“I was totally surprised at the award, and appreciated the recognition,” Roth said.

During the Vietnam War, Roth was the primary source of Adventist news in the region, church leaders said. Roth covered events ranging from a visit of the Loma Linda University heart surgery team to the end of church work in Vietnam and eventual evacuation of personnel.

Roth’s personal relationship with United States news agencies stationed in Saigon provided him access to evacuation procedures when South Vietnam fell to Hanoi in April 1975. Roth personally helped 36 individuals safely retreat to Guam.

Much of Roth’s legacy as an Adventist communicator is the record of actions, events, news, and human-interest stories published in the journals and newsletters he edited, church communicators said.

The Adventist Periodical Index lists more than 420 articles published under his byline, primarily in the Adventist Review.

Roth has written or coauthored four books including a story of a Borneo witch doctor who converted to Christianity called “Mundahoi,” and an autobiography “Called to Serve.”