Over two days, April 11 and 12, in the Phu Quoc special zone, An Giang province, Battalion 563 and Battalion 563b (Naval Region 5) organised visits and study activities for hundreds of new soldiers enlisted in 2026 at the Special National Relic Site of Phu Quoc Prison.
During the visit, officers and soldiers from the units offered incense in remembrance of fallen heroes and martyrs, expressing profound gratitude to previous generations who bravely sacrificed their lives for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.
As part of the programme, the new recruits were introduced to and learned about the formation and existence of the prison, the torture methods used by warders against communist prisoners, and the resilient and indomitable spirit of struggle of Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers.
The study visit to the Special National Relic Site of Phu Quoc Prison holds practical significance, contributing to the education of revolutionary traditions, strengthening political resolve, and raising awareness and responsibility among new recruits; thereby fostering their determination to strive, train, and be ready to accept and successfully complete assigned tasks.
Phu Quoc Prison was built by the U.S.-backed regime in 1967, covering an area of approximately 400 hectares with nearly 500 detention rooms. Not only a place of detention, it was also turned into a brutal instrument of repression, where barbaric torture methods were employed to break the will of steadfast communists. For this reason, Phu Quoc Prison has been referred to as a “hell on earth”.
During the war years, nearly 40,000 prisoners of war were detained at Phu Quoc Prison, most of them cadres, soldiers, and patriotic civilians. Thousands lost their lives there, while tens of thousands suffered lifelong injuries as a result of the enemy’s brutal torture.
