A ceremony to commemorate the martyrs who laid down their lives in the Gac Ma Island battle in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on 14 March 1988 recently took place in Da Nang.  The battle claimed the lives of 64 Vietnamese naval soldiers, 9 of whom were from Da Nang.

The event was jointly organised by the city’s Liaison Committee for the Truong Sa Archipelago’s ex-soldiers who joined the army between 1984 and 1988, the city-based Engineering Brigade 83 of the Viet Nam People’s Navy, and the Zone II Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

The commemoration ceremony for the Truong Sa martyrs

At the event, witnesses who fought in the battle recalled their unforgettable memories of this historical event.  The young Vietnamese soldiers all showed extraordinarily courage and unyielding determination to protect the Gac Ma Island.  In an effort to counter the enemy’s attack, they formed a circle, which was respectfully named “The Immortal Circle”, in order to safeguard the national flag in the centre. 

Officers and men from the local army forces, war-veterans, and ex-servicemen who once served on the archipelago offered incense and floated candle-lit flower garlands on the waters off the Son Tra peninsula in commemoration of the deceased.