The People’s Committee of Ben Tre province held a ceremony in Thanh Phu district’s Thanh Hai commune on October 17 to kick off construction on a cemetery park marking the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh Trail on Sea (Oct. 23, 1961).

During the ceremony, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong, four sacred stones taken from Thanh Hai commune, the first place to receive weapons from the north during the war, Hai Phong city where “no-number” ships departed, the Truong Son Martyrs’ Cemetery, and the Truong Sa ( Spratly) Archipelago, were laid on a high platform over looking the sea.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy PM Trong recalled the first “no-number” ship which sailed from the south to the north to ask for weapons and instructions from the Party Central Committee as early as in 1946. The ship was commanded by a woman, Nguyen Thi Dinh, who later became Vice State President of Vietnam.

During the 1961-1970 period, dozens of “no-number” vessels carrying thousands of tonnes of weapons from the north sailed along a secret sea route dubbed the Ho Chi Minh Trail on Sea and anchored at Thanh Phong wharf in Thanh Hai commune in support for the southern battlefields.

Covering 635 ha in Thanh Hai commune, the Ho Chi Minh Trail on Sea Cemetery Park has a total investment capital of 1.5 trillion VND (over 75 million USD), of which 30 percent will be sourced from the State budget and the remaining will come from donations./.