Floating lanterns in Da Nang to commemorate the martyrs of the Gac Ma battle.

This morning (March 14th), in Da Nang City, veterans, former officers and soldiers of the 83rd Engineering Regiment (E83), Vietnam Navy, held a memorial ceremony for 64 martyrs who died in the battle to defend Gac Ma Island (Truong Sa Archipelago, Vietnam) 27 years ago.

At the memorial ceremony held at the foot of the pier of the Maritime Rescue Center 2 (Danang MRCC), Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Hoan, former Political Commissar of the 83rd Engineering Regiment, one of the units directly involved in the Gac Ma naval battle on March 14, 1988, fondly recalled the heroic memories of the past and read out the names of each soldier who sacrificed their lives in that battle.

Veterans, formerly officers and soldiers of the 83rd Engineering Regiment (E83), Vietnam Navy, organized a memorial ceremony for the 64 martyrs who died in the battle to defend Gac Ma Island 27 years ago.

Sixty-four candles, symbolizing the sixty-four souls of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Gac Ma battle in 1988, were lit.

Sixty-four candles, symbolizing the sixty-four souls of the heroic martyrs of Gac Ma, were lit, each person lighting incense sticks to commemorate their fallen comrades whose bodies became one with the vast ocean.

Deeply moved, Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Hoan said: "Because we don't have the opportunity to go to Truong Sa, every year on this day, our comrades, former fellow soldiers, and the Truong Sa soldiers' liaison committee gather here to commemorate our fallen comrades, release floating lanterns, and light candles in remembrance."

Earlier, on the morning of March 13th, at the East Sea Park on the Cam Ranh peninsula (Khanh Hoa province), the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province, and related agencies held a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Gac Ma Martyrs Memorial Area.

Releasing lanterns on the sea to commemorate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the battle to defend Gac Ma Island.

The event aims to pay tribute to and commemorate the heroic sacrifices of the soldiers in the cause of protecting the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland in the East Sea; and to continue contributing to educating the spirit of patriotism for future generations.

Simultaneously, a text message donation campaign was launched to contribute to the construction of a monument and to honor the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Gac Ma battle on March 14, 1988.

According to VTC News