Gac Ma soldiers remembered in requiem in Quang Binh

WVR - On March 13, a requiem was held in the central province of Quang Binh in remembrance of the 64 soldiers who laid down their lives defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) 36 years ago.
Gac Ma soldiers remembered in requiem in Quang Binh
Gac Ma soldiers remembered in ceremony in Quang Binh: The ceremony to remember Gac Ma soldiers in Quang Binh. (Photo: VNA)

On March 14, 1988, 64 naval soldiers of Vietnam fell down while defending the national flag planted on Gac Ma Reef and affirming the country’s sea and island sovereignty.

Among the 64 martyrs, 13 were from Quang Binh. The memorial ceremony was dedicated to the Gac Ma Reef martyrs, at the same time, an opportunity to educate patriotic tradition for younger generations.

Their brave deaths were honoured with a monument named “Nhung nguoi nam lai phia chan troi” (Those who laid down their lives on the horizon) at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site.

The commemoration in March is a demonstration of Vietnamese people’s tradition of expressing gratitude to those who dedicate their lives to safeguard the country’s maritime sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also illustrates the nation’s thousands-of-years unanimity and resolve to safeguard the Fatherland.

Nowadays, the officers and soldiers performing duties on the islands, reefs, and platforms on the country’s territorial waters are following former generations’ example, ready to sacrifice their lives to firmly defend the maritime sovereignty and be trustworthy supports for people at sea.

On the occasion, on March 14 Quang Phuc ward in Ba Don town held a ceremony unveiling the street name plate for a street named after martyr hero Tran Van Phuong who died in the Gac Ma battle. This is a tribute to the son of the homeland who bravely sacrificed his life to protect the sovereignty of the sacred sea and islands of the Fatherland.

TIN LIÊN QUAN
Tet visit paid to officers and soldiers on DK1 platforms
Letters carry love from mainland to soldiers in Truong Sa
Virtual gathering connects Vietnamese 'blue beret' soldiers together before Tet
Binh Phuoc dispatches team to search for remains of Vietnamese soldiers, experts in Cambodia
Vietnamese and Algerian victims of 1974 plane crash remembered in Hanoi

(Source: WVR/VNA)