National Assembly Standing Vice President Đỗ Văn Chiến (first from right) attended a memorial service and burial ceremony for the remains of 93 martyrs who fell in the fight to defend the northern border in Tuyên  Quang Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

TUYÊN QUANG — National Assembly Standing Vice President Đỗ Văn Chiến attended a memorial service and burial ceremony for the remains of 93 martyrs who fell in the fight to defend the northern border, held at Vị Xuyên National Martyrs’ Cemetery in Tuyên  Quang Province on Thursday.

The ceremony was organised by the provincial Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee, with the participation of representatives from the General Department of Politics of the Việt Nam People’s Army, Military Region 2, provincial leaders, armed forces, veterans, martyrs’ relatives and local residents.

Delegates offered incense, laid wreaths and observed a minute of silence in tribute to the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Delivering the eulogy, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tuyên Quang Province Phan Huy Ngọc said the ceremony reflected the nation’s tradition of gratitude to those who had sacrificed their lives for national independence and freedom.

More than 4,000 officers and soldiers laid down their lives on the northern border, particularly at the Vị Xuyên–Hà Tuyên front. In the latest search and recovery operation, competent forces found 93 sets of remains of fallen soldiers in Thanh Thủy and Minh Tân communes and Bình Thuận Ward, including 18 found individually and 75 in six mass graves.

After decades at the former battlefield, the remains have been brought to the cemetery for reburial, Ngọc said, stressing the province will continue working with relevant forces to recover and identify fallen soldiers and improve support for their families, ensuring that those who sacrificed for the country are not forgotten.

The ceremony reaffirmed the determination of the Party, State, military and locality to continue searching for, recovering and identifying those who laid down for the nation.

The day earlier, a similar ceremony was held in HCM City for the remains of 731 fallen soldiers recovered from Lê Thị Riêng Park under the 500-day-and-night campaign to accelerate the search, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains nationwide. — VNA/VNS