PresidentTruong Tan Sang on April 26 presented the title “Hero of the People’sArmed Forces” to a collective of revolutionaries who were once detainedin the offshore Con Dao Prison in the southern province of BaRia-Vung Tau.

He also presented that title toPhan Trong Binh, former Vice Secretary of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincialParty Committee, and the posthumous title to relatives of Pham QuocSac, Nguyen Minh and Le Van Mot, who, together with Binh, were prominentfighters in the prison.

At the ceremony, Sang, other Partyand State leaders, and 350 former Con Dao prisoners from 35 cities andprovinces nationwide, recounted the staunch spirit that kept theimprisoned revolutionaries going through the brutal torture at Con Daoprison.

Built in 1862 by the French colonists, Con Dao Prisonwas turned into the largest “Hell on Earth” in Indochina as it iswhere some 20,000 imprisoned Vietnamese revolutionaries were tortured todeath for fighting against the French colonialists and Americanimperialists, from 1930 to 1975.

The prison’shistory is a heroic epic singing the praises of the patriotism, thededicated fighting spirit, and the endless loyalty of generations of therevolutionaries who were physically jailed only.

The prisonserved as a theory and practicality training school for such outstandingleaders of Vietnam as late President Ton Duc Thang, late PartyGeneral Secretary Le Duan, and late Party General Secretary Nguyen VanLinh.

On March 23, a certificate honouring the prison as aspecial national relic was handed over to the authorities of southern BaRia-Vung Tau province.

The title is a confirmation of thehistorical relic’s great value, contributing to educating youngergenerations on the nation’s heroic history.-VNA