Vietnam marks 'historic, golden' Dien Bien Phu victory
War veterans, communist leaders and diplomats gathered in Vietnam's Dien Bien Phu town Wednesday for an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's seminal victory over French colonial forces.
The bloody, 56-day battle in this remote, northwestern valley ended on May 7, 1954, precipitating both the collapse of France's colonial empire and Vietnam's emergence as an independent nation.
"Dien Bien Phu was a victory for all the people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia," as it ended French dominance in Indochina, said President Truong Tan Sang at a colourful ceremony featuring marching bands, flower-bedecked military floats and regiments of goose-stepping soldiers.
During the battle, artillery boomed across the valley and there was hand-to-hand fighting. Dien Bien Phu and its surrounding hills were filled with the rotting corpses of soldiers from both sides.
"Everyday, I would climb to the top of the hill to assess the situation. At night, I approached French lines to figure out their military position, how they had deployed their troops," veteran Hoang Rong Binh, 83, told AFP.
Binh worked in a three-man team as a reconnaissance soldier and said life was "very hard" during the battle. "I am very emotional today," he said, wearing his full dress uniform at the 60th anniversary event, which was attended by France's ambassador to Hanoi.
"We had to find where the enemy was to take each base... When the French parachuted in supplies we had to find them first."
Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh told AFP the victory was "an historic, golden turning point," for Vietnam.
"It was a victory that helped end colonialism and brought Vietnam her independence," he said after visiting the largest cemetery for Vietnamese soldiers who died in the battle.
After the Vietnamese official event, French Ambassador Jean Noel Poirier laid flowers at a memorial for the French soldiers who died at Dien Bien Phu and led a minute's silence.
"We are here to honour the dead from both sides," he told AFP.
"It is very important to remember and to honour the heroism of our soldiers who were given a very difficult mission... which they carried out with much courage and bravery," he added.
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