Sacred prayer ceremony at the Vietnam - Laos International Martyrs Cemetery

On the evening of July 20, 2019, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province coordinated with the People's Committee of Anh Son district to hold a memorial service for heroic martyrs at the Vietnam - Laos International Cemetery. This is an activity to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day.

Thousands of candles, flowers and incense sticks were offered by Buddhists and people from all over the country to express their gratitude and appreciation to the heroes and martyrs. Photo: Duc Anh

Attending the event were Comrade Uong Chu Luu - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac - Standing Member of the Executive Council, Head of the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Permanent Deputy Head of the Executive Committee of the Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province, and other monks and nuns.

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Cao Thi Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Council; Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province; Tran Van Mao - Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; representatives of provincial departments and branches, Anh Son district and a large number of people in the region and neighboring areas.

Comrade Uong Chu Luu - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly offered incense at the Vietnam - Laos International Martyrs' Cemetery Memorial. Photo: Duc Anh

The Vietnam-Laos International Martyrs Cemetery is home to the graves of more than 11,000 officers, volunteer soldiers and military experts who died on the battlefields of Laos. Of these, about 6,900 graves have unknown names and hometowns, and 570 graves have names but unknown hometowns.

Comrade Uong Chu Luu - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly and representatives of provincial departments and branches attended the memorial service for heroes and martyrs. Photo: Duc Anh

The ceremony took place with traditional rituals including: offering incense and flowers to the Memorial; and a prayer ceremony. Also here, the delegates performed the incense offering ceremony to pay homage to the spirit of President Ho Chi Minh, heroes and martyrs; commemorated and prayed for the souls of heroes and martyrs who heroically sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the nation, for the noble international duty to be liberated...

At the memorial service, thousands of candles, flowers and incense sticks were offered by Buddhists and people from all over the country to express gratitude and repay kindness, demonstrating the Vietnamese people's morality of "When drinking water, remember its source".

Venerable monks, nuns, and Buddhists pray for the souls of heroes and martyrs. Photo: Thanh Mai

Coming to the ceremony, the delegates expressed their deep gratitude for the dedication and sacrifice of the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their blood for the noble cause of national and international liberation; pledging before the souls of the martyrs to care for and implement policies for wounded soldiers, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, martyrs' families and families with meritorious services to the revolution.

The 2019 memorial service for heroic martyrs at the Vietnam-Laos international cemetery was held from July 19-21, 2019.