A ceremony was organized in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam on Monday to commemorate 64 naval soldiers who laid down their lives protecting Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef in the country's Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago in 1988.

Held in Thien Cam Town, Cam Xuyen District, the event was attended by about 100 people who are relatives and comrades of the fallen heroes.

The participants recalled the historic moments and called out the names of the 64 soldiers who perished protecting Gac Ma Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa on March 14, 1988, when China used force to seize the reef.

Commemorative activities for the 64 Gac Ma heroes have been organized annually for many years to express the Vietnamese people’s deep gratitude for their sacrifice, Le Huu Thao, a Gac Ma veteran, said at the ceremony.

Following memorial rituals, the event sponsors presented gifts to family members of the fallen heroes and to veterans of the Gac Ma battle.

“I am proud to have a son who served and dedicated his life to protecting the fatherland, but I am also heartbroken,” Nguyen Thi Hang, mother of late soldier Hoang Anh Dong, said.

Dong enlisted in the army in 1987 and died a year later during the Gac Ma battle when he was just 22 years old.

On Sunday evening, family members of the martyrs and Gac Ma veterans released lanterns at a beach in Cam Nhuong Commune, Cam Xuyen District as part of the activities to commemorate the fallen combatants.

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