US President Joe Biden laying a wreath at the John Sidney McCain III memorial sculpture in Trúc Bạch Lake, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội during his visit on September 2023. AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI The Tây Hồ District People's Council (Hà Nội) has agreed to renovate the memorial of the late famed senator, John McCain, at Trúc Bạch Lake.

The council reviewed a proposal from the district's People's Committee to invest in several projects, including the refurbishment of the senator's memorial sculpture in the heart of Hà Nội.

According to the Tây Hồ District People's Committee, the renovation of the memorial sculpture aims to preserve the historical and cultural values of the 1967 event.

It is planned that the memorial sculpture will be moved further back, closer to the Trúc Bạch Lake railings, to create a larger space to be used as a space for events.

The original design will be kept but enlarged to fit better with the new location, and the material will be changed to solid stone. The pedestal of the relief will be recreated to include somewhere for placing commemorative flowers.

Furthermore, the surrounding area will be repaved to create a separate space between the sculpture area and the renovated sidewalk. Trees and planters in the vicinity will be rearranged and information boards and lighting systems will be added.

The total estimated investment for this project is VNĐ1.9 trillion (US$79.7 million), funded by the Tây Hồ District budget.

On October 26, 1967, a US Air Force A-4E aircraft was shot down by a Vietnamese army's missile while bombing the Yên Phụ Power Plant. The aircraft fell precisely on the target it intended to bomb and the pilot, John McCain, whose father and grandfather were both US Navy admirals, was captured by local militia.

Later, John McCain, who died in 2018, was elected as a US Senator and ran for US President twice. — VNS