Incense offerings commemorate Hanoi victims in US’s 1972 airstrike hinh anh 1The delegation commemorates victims in US’s 1972 airstrike in Kham Thien street on December 26, 2017 (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - A delegation of Hanoi officials led by Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai laid wreaths at the B52 victory monument at Hanoi’s Kham Thien street on December 26 to commemorate those who lost their lives during the US airstrike in December 1972.

The US waged a bombing campaign in the north of Vietnam in late 1972, and the peak of this campaign was the blitz by B52 aircraft in Hanoi from December 18-29. 

On the night of December 26, 1972, Hanoi’s densely-populated residential areas, including Kham Thien street, the workers’ living quarter in An Duong street and even Bach Mai hospital, were relentlessly attacked by many B52s.

As many as 278 people, including 91 women, 40 elderly and 55 children, were killed and 178 children became orphans during the air raid.

In remembrance of the victims, a memorial was erected at house 51 on Kham Thien street. In the December 26 bombing, House 51 was destroyed and none of the seven people living in it survived.

The same day, representatives from the Hanoi chapter of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, local citizens, students and pupils also laid wreaths and offered incense in commemoration of the victims of the airstrike.-VNA
VNA