(VOVworld)- Quang Tri province attracts visitors not only because of its beautiful landscape and delicious food but also its historical relic sites. The visitors come to the province to express their gratitude and show their respect to fallen soldiers. Quang Tri citadel, Highway 9 Cemetery, and Truong Son National Martyrs’ Cemetery are the popular destinations. Dinh Thieu reports.

Truong Son National Martyrs

War veteran Pham Xuan Thanh of Lang Son province often visits his fallen comrades in Quang Tri province in July. Thanh was among the last people to leave Quang Tri province after the 81-day campaign to defend the citadel in 1972. Thanh says Quang Tri was the battlefield where many of his comrades died. When he visits his fallen comrades, Thanh often brings soil and water from his home village to sprinkle on the soldiers’ graves and into the Thach Han River. Thanh says by doing so, he brings the homeland to the war martyrs:“Today, I come here to visit my comrades and release flowers in memory of them. I’m very moved every time I come here. I always remember my comrades and local people who died in this river during the war. We are now the winners and we are grateful to the fallen people”.

In Quang Tri province, there are 72 cemeteries accommodating nearly 650,000 war martyrs. The National Highway 9 Cemetery and the National Truong Son Cemetery are located in this province. All communes in the province have martyrs’ cemeteries, some of them have as many as 4. Quang Tri citadel and the Thach Han River are considered an unmarked grave where thousands of young people fell during the war.

These days, war martyrs’ cemeteries in Quang Tri province receive a lot of visitors who come to pay their respects to fallen soldiers. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh burst into tears when she visited Truong Son cemetery and Quang Tri citadel for the first time: “I’m very moved and full of pity for the fallen soldiers. Their bravery is unimaginable. I’m very grateful to the fallen soldiers”.

Showing gratitude to fallen soldiers in Highway 9 National Cemetery

People in Quang Tri have two occasions for showing gratitude: at the full-moon day in the lunar July when they express their gratitude to their ancestors and on July 27^th, when they show their gratitude to fallen soldiers. In July Quang Tri also celebrates the Highway 9- Khe Sanh victory and the battle to defend Quang Tri citadel in July 1972. To mark the occasion, memorial and relic sites, and compassionate houses are upgraded and gifts are presented to social beneficiaries. This year Quang Tri province inaugurated the Cua Viet Victory Monument built with 30 billion VND donated by social organizations, businesses and private donors. In the “Sacred Homeland” program, commercial banks donated 100 billion VND to commemorative activities in Quang Tri province. Nguyen Duc Huong is Vice President of Lien Viet Post Bank’s Executive Committee: “We are thankful to the sacrifices of fallen soldiers. Whatever we do or how much we do, we can never repay to their and their families’ great sacrifice. We call on the younger generation to do their best to deserve our predecessors’ sacrifices”.