Vietnamese leaders and youngsters are carrying out activities to pay tribute to fallen war heroes to mark the 66th War Invalids and Martyrs Day today.
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| Young people in HCM City light candles in remembrance of War Invalids and Martyrs. |
Vietnamese leaders and youngsters are carrying out activities to pay tribute to fallen war heroes to mark the 66th War Invalids and Martyrs Day today.
A requiem for heroic martyrs who laid down their lives in the south took place in HCM City's outlying district of Cu Chi yesterday in memory of their sacrifice.
Present at the event were Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, representatives of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, and nearly 200 overseas Vietnamese (OV) students from the 2013 Vietnam Summer Camp.
Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister cum head of the Foreign Ministry's State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son said the event was a tribute by the Party, State and people to those who rendered their services to the nation.
It is also a chance for Vietnamese expatriates to learn about their glorious national history and express their gratitude to the fallen soldiers.
As part of the Vietnam Summer Camp programme, young OVs on Thursday and Friday offered incense at the President Ho Chi Minh monument and a historical-cultural site dedicated to the Hung Kings in District 9. They also toured the Reunification Palace and Cu Chi Tunnels, and met with their local peers.
Since early 2012, HCM City has built nearly 200 houses and repaired more than 650 for the families of those lost during the wars at a total cost of over VND16 billion (US$762,000), while presenting VND631 million ($30,000) to them. The city has also gathered the remains of 75 fallen soldiers.
HCM City will continue to hold vocational training, provide financial support and create jobs for invalids and the children of martyrs.
Later the same day, Deputy PM Nhan visited the families of war invalids and martyrs in the capital.
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan also offered incense at the Dong Loc relic site in the central province of Ha Tinh.
Vietnam News Agency staff posted around the country visited war martyrs' cemeteries and the families of fallen combatants.
The agency lost 260 reporters and technicians during the wars.
The same day, a requiem to commemorate war martyrs who laid down their lives to protect the ancient Quang Tri Citadel was held in the central province of the same name.
At the event, participants offered incense and released birds into the sky to wish for the martyrs' peace. On this occasion, lanterns will also be released on Thach Han River in memory of the fallen soldiers.
Quang Tri Citadel, built in 1824, was strongly defended by liberation soldiers in the war against the US in 1972. For 81 days, 328,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on the liberation troops.
Also yesterday, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee held a festival to remember people who rendered their services to the country in Dien Ban District, the central province of Quang Nam.
Quang Nam is home to thousands of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and hundreds of thousands of war invalids, martyrs and those who contributed to the national revolution.
On the occasion, the committee handed over 30 scholarships worth VND500,000 ($24) each to children of beneficiary families in the province. It also provided free check-ups and medicine for 500 local people.
