📝 OP-ED: 35 years after Gac Ma battle: fallen soldiers still live in generations' mind

Hanoi (VNA) – This day exactly 35 years ago (March 14, 1988), 64 soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Navy laid down their lives defending national sovereignty in Truong Sa.

Thirty-five years have elapsed, and waves could have swept away all the traces, but they have surely failed to erase in the mind of the Vietnamese people the image of the brave men whose sacrifice has erected a monument of immortality with their patriotism.

 

Their combatant spirit has gone down to the national history as a milestone in the mind and heart of current and future generations of the Vietnamese.

The 64 laid down their lives in the unfair battle to safeguard Gac Ma, Co Lin, and Len Dao in Vietnam’s Truong Sa.

The image of the soldiers standing imposingly to form a circle protecting the national flag on Gac Ma still lives on, reminding the younger generations to always stay resolved to defend every inch of land and sea for which ancestors shed blood to protect.

National sovereignty supreme, inviolable

National sovereignty is supreme and inviolable. Generations of Vietnamese people have exerted huge efforts and sacrificed blood to establish national sovereignty and safeguard the sacred national territory, seas and islands of the Motherland.

 

Hundreds of years ago, Vietnamese sailed through various hardships and risked their lives at the vast sea for national sovereignty, as mirrored in folk verses about the soldiers who were sent to Hoang Sa under royal orders.
     
It is admirable and heart-melting to learn that before pulling up the anchor, each of the soldier equipped himself with a mat, seven rattan ropes and seven bamboo poles in preparation for their possible death. In case they died, their comrades would wrap the dead in the mats, attach bamboo tags bearing the dead’s names and home villages, and release them into the sea with the hope that the bodies will be lucky enough to reach the shore.

Many of the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa Flotilla’s commanders and its members were honoured with royal titles for their sacrifice.

Staying resolved to sacrifice blood for nation’s sacred seas, islands

The extraordinary courage and boundless determination of ancestors have been inherited by next generations, including the 64 soldiers who fell down in the rain of bullets.

The March 14, 1988, battle was unfair. Poorly armed and without trenches but patriotism and determination, the officers and soldiers on Ships HQ 604, HQ 605 and HQ 505 and forces on Gac Ma, Co Lin and Len Dao displayed their strong will, bravery and determination in defending national sovereignty over seas and islands.

 

Colonel Vu Huy Le, a Hero of the People’s Armed Forces, former Captain of HQ 505, still remembers the battle on Gac Ma, Co Lin and Len Dao 35 years ago.

In face of the psychological intimidation through overwhelming military strength, Vietnamese soldiers remained brave, resilient and undaunted to protect the national flag and islands.

After failing in the attempt, the enemy fired guns and cannons mounted on its warships on the Vietnamese ships, causing HQ 604 to catch fire and sink quickly. On Gac Ma, Vietnamese officers and soldiers held hands to form a circle to protect the national flag and the island.

“Don’t step back. Let our blood paint the national flag and the glorious tradition of the force," the words by Martyr Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong, deputy commander of the Gac Ma Island, at that moment reflected not only their heroism spirit but also the position of the authentic owners of the seas and islands under any circumstances.

The officers and soldiers of the Navy fought until their last breath to defend the country’s sacred seas and islands.

The Gac Ma battle has fully and clearly demonstrated the firmness and loyalty of revolutionary soldiers - eminent sons of the nation who were willing to sacrifice their lives and not to step back in defending the country’s seas and islands with their blood.

The 64 put aside their dreams and devoted their youth to protecting border markers. Their blood dissolved in the sea and their bones soaked into the islands, but their names remained forever in the mind of the current and future generations.

“Nobody is forgotten and nobody is allowed to forget,” Gac Ma veterans have always reminded themselves and their comrades.

These days, the memorial site dedicated to the Gac Ma soldiers erected in Cam Hai Dong commune, Cam Lam district, Khanh Hoa province, is welcoming delegations from all over the country who come to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.

Looking towards the sea from here, Vietnamese people express their gratitude to the brave men who sacrificed their youth and lives for the defence of the nation’s sacred sea and island sovereignty./.