Foundation stone laid for memorial commemorating Spratly battle against China

The memorial, to be built in a 2.5ha site on Cam Ranh peninsular, will honor 64 naval personnel who died and 11 wounded on Gac Ma Island in the Spratly archipelago fighting Chinese forces.

The ceremony involved many central government leaders and local officials, including Dang Ngoc Tung, a member of the Central Party Committee and chairman of the Vietnam Confederation of Labor, Nguyen Huy Anh from the Government Office, Doan Dong Huynh from the Ministry of Information and Communication, and Le Thanh Quang, secretary of the Khanh Hoa provincial Party Committee.

Many mothers and relatives of the fallen also attended the ceremony.

The Vietnam Confederation of Labor, in coordination with Khanh Hoa provincial authorities, decided to build a memorial and received more than 100 designs from 25 individuals and organizations. Two designs were chosen, both depicting the Vietnamese fighters in a defensive circle.

Design for the memorial named "Khat vong" or "Aspiration"

Another design for the memorial

The memorial was in part funded by private donations, including VND505m raised by DTiNews readers -- editor-in-chief Pham Huy Hoan has presented at the ceremony to deliver the donation.

DtiNews editor-in-chief, Pham Huy Hoan (centre), hands over donations from readers to help build the memorial

Nguyen Thi Hang, the mother of a soldier who died in the battles, said, “My son was prepared to sacrifice his life for his country."