Former President Truong Tan Sang (L) and former war prisoners paid tribute to fallen soldiers in Phu Quoc martyrs' cemetery. (Photo: VNA)
Kien Giang (VNA) – More than 1,500 former prisoners detained by the French and US during wartime at Phu Quoc prison, including former President Truong Tan Sang, gathered on April 6 to recall their shared memories of the heroic past.
The get-together took place at the old prison, which has become a national historical relic site in An Thoi town, on Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang.
During the wars of resistance against French colonialists and US imperialists, about 40,000 Vietnamese revolutionaries were detained and tortured in the Phu Quoc prison, of whom some 4,000 lost their lives there. The survivors were released after the 1973 signing of the Paris Peace Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam, which ruled the return of all prisoners of war.
Deputy Chairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee Mai Van Huynh stressed the revolutionaries at Phu Quoc prison are a good example to educate the younger generation about patriotism.
Before their gathering, participants visited the local martyrs' cemetery, paying tribute to fallen soldiers.-VNA
VNA