Berlin requiem commemorates fallen soldiers in Gac Ma battle
A requiem was held at Tu An pagoda in Germany’s Berlin capital on March 18 to commemorate 64 soldiers who laid down their lives to defend Gac Ma Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago 30 years ago.
Hanoi (VNA) – A requiem was held at Tu An pagoda in Germany’s Berlincapital on March 18 to commemorate 64 soldiers who laid down their lives todefend Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago30 years ago.
The event was chaired by Venerable Thich Tu Nhon – head ofTu An pagoda, attracting the attention of Buddhist dignitaries and followers,representatives from the Vietnamese war veterans’ association inBerlin-Brandenburg, and nearly 100 Vietnamese people living in Berlin and itssurrounding areas.
Participants offered incense and prayed for the fallensoldiers.
Venerable Thich Tu Nhon said that the requiem is organisedannually to show the Vietnamese community’s deep gratitude to the fallencombatants.
The Gac Ma battle took place on March 14, 1988.
Last year, a memorial site dedicated to the 64 martyrs wasinaugurated in Cam Hai Dong commune, Cam Lam district of the central provinceof Khanh Hoa.
The highlight of the site is a monument featuring the navalsoldiers holding hands in an “eternal circle” to safeguard the national flagsymbolising the national sovereignty on Gac Ma reef.
The work was built with money contributed by workers andpublic servants nationwide through trade union organisations under a programmelaunched by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour.-VNA
Nearly 200 war veterans who once stationed on Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago attended a ceremony held in central Da Nang city on March 14 to commemorate 64 soldiers who laid down their lives while defending the island on March 14, 1988.
Nearly 500 war veterans who struggled to defend Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago met in Hoa Vinh town, Dong Hoa district, the central province of Phu Yen, to recall the Gac Ma battle.
A requiem in commemoration of 64 soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend Vietnam’s Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef 30 years ago took place in the Czech Republic on March 14.
A requiem to commemorate Vietnamese soldiers who laid down their lives to defend national sovereignty was held at Khanh An pagoda in Thailand’s northeastern province of Udon Thani on March 18.
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Overview of the requiem (Source: VNA) 
