The Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on July 26 held a ceremony at the Ben Duoc Monument for War Martyrs in Cu Chi District to mark the 66th anniversary of ‘War Invalids and Martyrs Day’.
Attending the ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, along with Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; Le Thanh Hai, Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee; Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the City People's Committee; Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chairwoman of the HCMC People’s Council; and Vo Thi Dung, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of HCMC.
In addition, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, war veterans, wounded and sick soldiers and families of martyrs who made contributions in wartime also participated in the ceremony.
Earlier, wreaths were laid at the martyrs' cemeteries in Thu Duc and Cu Chi Districts.
Speaking at the event, Tran Trung Dung, Director of the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said the ‘War Invalids and Martyrs Day’ on July 27 bears great social and political meaning. Vietnamese people must always keep in mind the great contributions of war martyrs during the period of national construction and defense.
Dung sai therefore, repaying gratitude to families of martyrs and wounded soldiers and those who made contributions in wartime is not only a responsibility but a national tradition of the Vietnamese people.
The City has actively supported martyrs and their families in many ways and since 2012 the City has built more than 200 gratitude houses and repaired nearly 700 houses for those in the social welfare bracket, spending VND16.5 billion (US$775,500) for the purpose and also giving bank account books worth VND630 million (US$ 29,610).
The City has also called for contributions up to VND13 billion (US$ 611,000) from individuals and organizations across the country for the Gratitude Fund as well as buried the remains of 75 martyrs.
In the martyrs' cemetery in Dien Ban District in the central province of Quang Nam on July 26, more than 5,000 candles were lit on graves of martyrs in a somber ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and representatives from many agencies and department, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and families of martyrs, sick and wounded soldiers and thousands of members of Youth Communist Union as well as residents.
On the same day, Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan laid wreaths at the legendary Dong Loc T-Junction, a national historical relic site in Can Loc District in the central province of Ha Tinh, while Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and leaders of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue laid flowers at the province’s Martyrs Cemetery.
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the Overseas Vietnamese Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-organized a requiem for war martyrs at Ben Duoc Monument to War Martyrs on July 26.
The People’s Committee in the central province of Quang Tri and the Association of Veterans who fought in the ancient Quang Tri Citadel and the Division No.325 Group, held a requiem for those who had sacrificed their lives in the Citadel in 1972.
At Doc Ba Dac Martyrs Cemetery in Tinh Bien District in the Mekong delta province of An Giang, leaders and Military Zone No.9 Command and the Army organized exhuming of 203 remains of martyrs who had died in wartime in the South west border war (Vietnam and Cambodia border).
| Le Thanh Hai, Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee on July 26 visited Heroic Mother Nguyen Thi Huu, 98, in District 11 and Bui Thi Me, 92, in District 1, whose husband and sons laid down their lives for the country. Hai expressed his happiness as the two mothers were healthy and in good care of family and local governments. He ordered party organizations and local administrators to look after Vietnamese heroic mothers, families of martyrs and families who greatly contributed in wartime as a good tradition of Vietnamese people. |
