A ceremony took place at the Gac Ma memorial site in Cam Lam district, the central province of Khanh Hoa, on March 14 to commemorate the 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy who fell down defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa, and mark the 36th anniversary of their battle (March 14, 1988 – 2024).
At the ceremony commemorating the 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy who fell down defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa. (Photo: VNA)
Khanh Hoa (VNA) – A ceremony took place at the Gac Ma memorial site in Cam Lam district, the central province of Khanh Hoa, on March 14 to commemorate the 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy who fell down defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa, and mark the 36th anniversary of their battle (March 14, 1988 – 2024).
At the event, the provincial administration and labour federation, representatives from military units stationed in Naval Zone 4, veterans, and families of the martyrs paid tribute to and laid wreaths in memory of the group.
Colonel Pham Van Tho, Political Commissar of Brigade 146 – the navy unit in charge of Truong Sa island district, affirmed this is a special occasion for instilling pride and the tradition of defending maritime sovereignty passed down by previous generations to officers and soldiers serving in the unit.
He said the young generation always remembers and highly values the contributions by the martyrs, and is determined to safeguard the country’s sovereignty over its sea and islands.
Veteran Le Van Thoa, who participated in the Gac Ma battle, expressed his hope that current and future generations will continue to uphold the noble tradition of the nation and be ready to defend the sovereignty of their homeland.
On March 14, 1988, 64 naval soldiers of Vietnam fell down while defending the national flag planted on Gac Ma and affirming the country’s sea and island sovereignty. 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 memorial site.
Between 2017 and now, more than 600,000 people have visited the site./.
This day exactly 35 years ago, 64 soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Navy laid down their lives defending national sovereignty in Truong Sa. Thirty-five years have elapsed, and waves could have swept away all the traces, but they have surely failed to erase in the mind of the Vietnamese people the image of the brave men whose sacrifice has erected a monument of immortality with their patriotism.
The Vietnamese Association in Thailand’s Udon Thani province on March 14 held a ceremony to commemorate 64 naval officers and soldiers who laid down their lives while defending Gac Ma Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa in 1988 as well as heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the Fatherland and those who died of natural disasters and pandemics.
A requiem was held on March 14 at Phat Tich pagoda in Vientiane in remembrance of the 64 soldiers who laid down their lives defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) in 1988.
36 years have passed since the heroic battle to safeguard the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago (March 14, 1988-2024), and the courageous sacrifice of 64 Vietnamese navy soldiers in the Gac Ma Battle will forever be remembered in the hearts of Vietnamese people. The event was also a reminder for generations to firmly safeguard the national sovereignty over seas and islands.
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At the ceremony commemorating the 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy who fell down defending Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa. (Photo: VNA) 
