Candle lighting commemorates fallen soldiers in Dien Bien Phu battle

At the ceremony, over 150 youths also laid a wreath at the monument and offered incenses at all tombs in the cemetery.

Delegates pay tribute to martyrs.

The activity showed the profound gratitude of Vietnamese people in general and Dien Bien youths in particular for the soldiers who laid down their lives for national independence and freedom.

War Cemetery A1, built in 1958, houses 644 martyr tombs, only four of which were engraved with the full names of the martyrs: To Vinh Dien, Be Van Dan, Phan Dinh Giot and Tran Can.

Also on May 6 evening, the provincial People’s Committee organized an art program at Square May 7.

Youths light candles at all tombs.

The program attracted the participation of nearly 100 artists who performed songs and dances praising the Party, the late President Ho Chi Minh and the sacrifice of fallen soldiers.

The battle in Dien Bien occurred between March and May 1954 under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap. The victory led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords in which France agreed to withdraw its forces from its colonies in Indochina.

The Dien Bien Phu Victory on May 7, 1954 is considered a glorious “golden milestone” in the Vietnamese nation’s history of fighting foreign aggressors for national independence. It marked the complete collapse of old colonialism all over the world, paving the way for the movement of rising up to struggle for national liberation in colonial countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Source: VNA