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The ceremony was held by the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam in coordination with the Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee.
The memorial site is to pay tribute to 64 naval soldiers, who bravely sacrificed themselves in the battle to defend Gac Ma island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on March 14, 1988.
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| The highlight of the site is the monument “For Those Staying There Forever” imaging 9 naval soldiers holding hands in an “eternal circle” to safeguard the national flag post symbolizing national sovereignty over Gac Ma island. |
The project will also be a destination for people, particularly young generations to learn about the glorious history of the nation, contributing to promoting patriotism and national unity in the country building and protecting national independence and scared sovereignty over the seas and islands.
The master design of the project was selected from over 100 entries to a competition for the Gac Ma soldiers’ memorial design, which had been held earlier.
The two designs, namely “Journey of Aspirations (Hànhtrìnhkhátvọng)” by a group of architects at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture, and the " For Those Staying There Forever” (Nhữngngười ở lạiphíachântrời)" by Ly Thi Lieu at Oanh Vu Fine Art Photography Co., Ltd, Ho Chi Minh City were selected and combined into the master design of the project.
The work on the memorial site was started in March 2015, on an area of 25,000m² and at a total cost of over 150 billion VND for the first phase.
The highlight of the site is the monument “For Those Staying There Forever” imaging 9 naval soldiers holding hands in an “eternal circle” to safeguard the national flag post symbolizing national sovereignty over Gac Ma island.
The monument building led by sculptor Lam Quang Noi was made from nearly 300 tons of granite, of which one solid block, weighing 14 tons, was used to sculpture the naval soldiers.
The construction was funded by businesses and organizations in a mobilization entitled "Hoang Sa - Truong Sa" launched by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor from March 2014.
On the occasion, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor also received 20 billion VND from trade union chapters across the country for the second phase construction of the memorial site and another site to commemorate other Hoang Sa soldiers on Ly Son island, Quang Ngai province.
