A solemn flag-raising ceremony was held at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi on Monday morning in celebration of Vietnam’s 79th National Day (September 2).

Many people and veterans gathered at the historic square to witness the flag-raising ceremony and visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on the morning.

Among them was Major General Huynh Dac Huong, 102 years old, who was brought to the square by his family members to attend the ceremonial grandeur.

He is the oldest-living general of the Vietnamese military and formerly served as head of the expert delegation, political commissar of the Vietnam Volunteer Army in Laos, and Deputy Minister of War Invalids and Social Affairs.

The ceremony began at 5:40 am with the door to the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum opening, followed quickly by the honor guard change.

At 5:55 am, to the accompaniment of military music, the honor guard marched from the corner of Hung Vuong Street and Le Hong Phong Street to Ba Dinh Square.

At 6:00 am, the national flag was raised in the autumn sun at historic Ba Dinh Square, where late President Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945.

The flag was slowly hoisted to the national anthem, reaching the top of the flagpole as the anthem concluded.

President Ho Chi Minh, born in 1890, was the founder of what is now the Communist Party of Vietnam.

He passed away at 9:47 am on September 2, 1969.

His body was embalmed with help from Soviet experts and is up for public viewing at selected times of the year for visitors to President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

The mausoleum, whose construction began on September 2, 1973, at the site where President Ho Chi Minh used to chair significant meetings at Ba Dinh Square, was officially inaugurated on August 29, 1975.

While the structure is located in Hanoi, its materials were collected across Vietnam as a symbolic gesture of national mourning and union.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!