On Sunday, the Da Nang Liaison Board of Truong Sa Soldiers held a ceremony in the Nai Nam Village Communal House in Hoa Cuong Bac Ward, Hai Chau District, to commemorate 64 martyrs who laid down their lives in the Gac Ma Island battle against the Chinese in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on 14 March 1988.

War veterans who used to be stationed on the Truong Sa offering incense to commemorate 64 martyrs who laid down their lives in the Gac Ma Island battle.

Head of the Liaison Board Nguyen Van Tan said that among the 64 fallen soldiers in the Gac Ma battle, nine were from Da Nang and one from neighbouring Quang Nam Province.

In Da Nang, seven fallen soldier in Da Nang came from Hoa Cuong Ward, currently known as Hoa Cuong Bac Ward and Hoa Cuong Nam Ward, Hai Chau District.

Mr. Tan said that a memorial stele inscribed with the names of fallen soldiers in the Gac Ma battle from Da Nang and Quang Nam Province is built in the Nai Nam Village Communal House in order to express the gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives to protect the sovereignty of the fatherland. 

Truong Sa archipelago's ex-soldiers and war veterans make donations to hold a ceremony for their fallen comrades in March every year, he added.

During the ceremony, war veterans who used to be stationed on the Truong Sa and families of the martyrs spent a minute of silence to commemorate the fallen soldiers. They also offered incense and then released rafts with flowers on Han River in memory of the combatants.

Also at the ceremony, leaders of Da Nang-based Dong A University presented ten gift packages, worth VND1 million (42.24 USD) each, to the families of the fallen soldiers in Quang Nam and Da Nang.

Families of the martyrs offering incense

War veterans who used to be stationed on the Truong Sa and families of the martyrs spending a minute of silence to commemorate the fallen soldiers

Reporting by TRI DUNG - Translating by M.DUNG