A ceremony in tribute to war heroes, heroic Vietnamese mothers and thosewho rendered their services to the revolutionary war took place in thecentral province of Quang Tri on July 18, ahead of the War Invalids andMartyrs’ Day (July 27).

Quang Tri suffered hugelosses during the war, the pinnacle of which was the final strategicoffensive – the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign 1975 that led to theliberation of the southern region and national reunification, Politburomember and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission forPopularisation and Education Dinh The Huynh said in his speech.

Before and after the Tet Offensive 1968, Quang Tri soldiers and peopleunyieldingly fought and defeated the most powerful American army unitson the Route 9 battlefield, leading to the epic Khe Sanh – Huong Hoavictory that ruined the US’s civil war strategy, forcing it to sit downfor negotiations at the Paris Conference.

Huynhrecalled that the Quang Tri liberation campaign and heroic struggle todefend Quang Tri ancient citadel throughout 81 days and nights in 1972,together with the victories on other battlefields, paved the way for the1975 General Offensive and Uprising that liberated the south andreunified the entire country.

The ceremony startedwith a performance demonstrating how Vietnamese soldiers crossed ThachHan river to march toward Quang Tri ancient citadel amid avalanches offires.

On the occasion, commercial joint stockbanks donated 100 billion VND (4.76 million USD) to local authoritiesfor the construction of houses, health care and educationalfacilities.-VNA