Construction underway at General Giap’s last resting place

At Wednesday noon, Tuoi Tre correspondents arrived in the Vung Chua-Yen Island area, Quang Dong Commune, Quang Trach District, to record the preparations for the upcoming burial services to be conducted on October 13.

The burial location looks to the East Sea at an elevation of 100 meters above sea level. It faces the Yen Island, 500 meters from the shore, to the south, while bordering the Tho Mountain to the northwest.

There are hundreds of workers contributing to the huge project: some are building a path that will lead to the burial site, while others are leveling an area to set up a parking lot and erecting the area in which the tomb will rest.

Vo Quang Dat, chairman of the commune People’s Committee, said the terrain of the burial place is very good. “It is surrounded by the Rong Cap to the northeast and is shielded by Yen Island.”

Vo Minh Hoai, director of Truong Thinh Group Joint Stock Company, responsible for the construction of the road which will lead up to the site, said his workers are hurrying the construction of the path, which is about 2 km long.

“Currently, 50 percent of the work has been completed and we are trying our best to complete the entire road on October 12,” Hoai said, adding that his workers are working both daytime and nighttime.

A helicopter about to land on a section of completed road

A working group from the Defense Ministry lead by Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh, deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, came to Quang Binh on Wednesday to join the late General’s eldest son, Vo Dien Bien, and local authorities in their efforts to accelerate the construction of the burial site.  

Dau Minh Ngoc, chairman of Quang Trach District People’s Committee, said, “Many areas on National Highway 1 have yet to be cleaned up after being hit by a typhoon recently, but after hearing that the coffin of the late General will be carried through them, local authorities and residents are trying to clean them as quickly as possible.”

At Dong Hoi Airport, 60 km from the burial site, sanitation works and other preparations are being performed to welcome the coffin of the late General.

On the route that links the airport with the Quang Dong commune on National Highway 1, thousands of local residents have volunteered to clean the road.

Vo Hong Nam, the youngest son of the late General, said his father had selected the Vung Chua-Yen Island area as his last resting place in 2006.

The General had examined the area’s map and come there for sightseeing before he decided to select it, Nam said, adding that the deceased also signed a document to confirm his selection.

The Quang Dong Commune People’s Committee have asked residents to clean their houses and roads, and put out the national flag during the days of funerals for the late General.

The burial location seen from high above

Yen Island

Rong Cape

A 2-km road being built to link National Highway 1 to the site of burial

Officials from the Defense Ministry examine the progress of construction at the burial location