Military officials commemorate fallen soldiers in Gac Ma battle
Delegations of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and the Naval Region 4 High Command on March 14 commemorated the 64 naval officers and soldiers who laid down their lives defending Gac Ma Reef in the country’s sea and island area of Truong Sa 35 years ago.
The incense offering ceremony at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site on March 14 (Photo: VNA)
Khanh Hoa (VNA) – Delegationsof the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and the Naval Region 4 HighCommand on March 14 commemorated the 64 naval officers and soldiers who laiddown their lives defending Gac Ma Reef in the country’s sea and island area of TruongSa 35 years ago.
The incense offering ceremony tookplace at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site in Cam Hai Dong commune of Cam Lamdistrict, the central province of Khanh Hoa.
The delegations were led by Lt. Gen.Nguyen Trong Binh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’sArmy; and Rear Admiral Ngo Van Thuan, Political Commissar of Naval Region 4.
The commemoration ceremony at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site on March 14 (Photo: VNA)
On this occasion, the CentralMilitary Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Party Committeeand High Command of the Vietnam People’s Navy also offered incense incommemoration of the fallen soldiers.
On March 14, 1988, 64 naval soldiers ofVietnam fell down while standing in a circle defending the national flag plantedon Gac Ma Reef and affirming the country’s sea and island sovereignty.
Their brave deaths were honoured witha monument named “Nhung nguoi nam lai phia chan troi” (Those who laid down theirlives on the horizon) at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site./.
A ceremony was held in the central city of Da Nang on March 12 to commemorate 64 naval officers and soldiers who bravely sacrificed their lives 35 years ago while defending the Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) on March 14, 1988.
Thirty five years ago, 64 naval engineers and soldiers bravely sacrificed their lives in a battle to protect the Gac Ma, Co Lin, and Len Dao Reefs in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago. The soldiers and their sacrifice have remained in the hearts of Vietnamese people.
This day exactly 35 years ago (March 14, 1988), 64 soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Navy laid down their lives defending national sovereignty in Truong Sa.
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The incense offering ceremony at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site on March 14 (Photo: VNA) 
The commemoration ceremony at the Gac Ma soldier memorial site on March 14 (Photo: VNA) 
