A ceremony to commemorate the fallen soldiers in the historic Gac Ma Island naval fight on the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago off Khanh Hoa Province in Central Viet Nam on 14 March 1988 took place in Da Nang on Sunday.

The annual event was co-organised by the Naval Engineer Brigade No 83, along with the Da Nang Liaison Committee for the Truong Sa Archipelago’s ex-soldiers who joined the army between 1984 and 1988.

Officers and men from the Da Nang Liaison Committee created a replica of the ship HQ 604 on which ancestral tablets of the 64 fallen soldiers were placed in order to pay tribute to their fallen comrades

Attending the memorial ceremony were dozens of Truong Sa veterans, representatives of the Naval Engineer Brigade No 83 and the martyrs' relatives in Da Nang. Immediately after the flag-raising ceremony, the attendees observed a one-minute silence to pay their respect to the martyrs.

The ancestral tablets of the 64 fallen soldiers

Veteran Tran Van Tien was moved whilst commemorating his teammates in the Gac Ma naval fight

Col Hoang Duy Lap, former commander of the Naval Engineer Brigade No 83, along with dozens of Truong Sa veterans, representatives of the Naval Engineer Brigade No 83 and the martyrs' relatives in Da Nang made incense offerings to the fallen soldiers. Mr Lap recalled his unforgettable memories of this historical battle, and expressed profound gratitude to the soldiers who laid down their lives for Viet Nam’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty.

10 out of the 64 Vietnamese naval soldiers onboard the boat HQ 604 who were responsible for building and protecting Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Gac Ma, Co Lin and Len Dao islands in March 1988 came from Da Nang. However, 9 of them laid down their lives in the Gac Ma battle, and only late Duong Van Dung survived. He and another 8 soldiers from other Vietnamese localities were arrested and imprisoned for around 4 years by the Chinese military. In 1991, Mr Dung was released and earned a living as a manual worker. In February 2017, he passed away at his home in Cam Le District at the age of 51.

Many relatives of the martyrs were very moved whilst commemorating their beloved ones

Major Nguyen Thi Bich Lac, the wife of martyr Tran Van Phong sang a song highlighting Truong Sa to commemorate her beloved husband and his fallen teammates

The Da Nang Liaison Committee for the Truong Sa Archipelago’s ex-soldiers who joined the army between 1984 and 1988 has always given practical support to the families of the martyrs

The participants floated fresh flower garlands on the waters in commemoration of the fallen soldiers

By XUAN SON- Translated by A.T