Candle lighting ceremony commemorating heroic martyrs held in HCMC, provinces

The live link-up program to express deepest gratitude to martyrs for their great contributions to the noble goal of achieving independence and freedom for Vietnam was held in Ho Chi Minh City and localities, including Quang Tri, Da Nang, Dak Lak, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai, Long An, and Dong Thap, by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee in coordination with the Party Committee, the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the city on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification.

Attending the incense offering and candle lighting ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City were Standing Deputy Chief of the Office of the Party Central Committee, Lam Phuong Thanh; Standing Vice Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Nguyen Thanh Nghi; Vice Secretary of the Party Committee cum Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the city, Nguyen Phuoc Loc; Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, Nguyen Manh Cuong; and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), Bui Quang Huy, along with members of the Traditional Club of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and 2,000 youth union members.

Delegates offered incense and flowers and observed a minute of silence to commemorate heroes and fallen soldiers who sacrificed themselves for the independence and freedom of the nation. Thousands of candles were lit on martyrs' graves in the cemetery, which covers an area of nearly 30 hectares and is the resting place of more than 14,000 fallen soldiers.

According to First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Bui Quang Huy, during this time, young people throughout the country also participated in meaningful activities, such as paying visits to war veterans and Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, repairing charity houses, cleaning up martyrs' cemeteries, temples, and monuments, and more.

On the same day, a ceremony was held at the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs’ Cemetery to grant the "To Quoc ghi cong" (The Fatherland Acknowledges the Merit) certificates to five martyrs of the city’s Le Thi Rieng Female Special Forces Battalion, namely Le Thi Hai, Le Van Tu, Le Thi Sau, Le Van Bo, and Ly Giao Duyen. The five martyrs have no surviving relatives; therefore, their “Fatherland Acknowledges the Merit” certificates are respectfully placed at the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs’ Cemetery.

Images of young people throughout the country participating in meaningful activities: