From the early morning of April 7, people in Ho Chi Minh City passing through Bach Dang Wharf (District 1) witnessed 15 cannons lined up horizontally on the red carpet. This is the ceremonial artillery site, where 21 cannon shots will be fired to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification on April 30.

Speaking with Dan Tri reporter , Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan Son, Political Commissar of Brigade 96 (Artillery Corps) said that the Brigade was honored to be assigned the task of organizing the artillery position for the upcoming grand ceremony.

105mm ceremonial artillery array placed at Bach Dang wharf, Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Ngoc Tan).

The 96th Artillery Brigade has never fired a ceremonial cannon before, and the upcoming April 30th will be the first time. Previously, cannon firings to celebrate major holidays or heads of state in Hanoi were all performed by the 45th Artillery Brigade in the North.

"Although this is the first time receiving the mission, the officers and soldiers of the Brigade are still highly determined. We selected the team and started training right after Tet. Among the training members, there are 2 officers who participated in the ceremonial fireworks in the North, so they have experience," Lieutenant Colonel Son shared.

According to the Brigade's technical staff, this 105mm howitzer was originally a war trophy captured from the US army, managed by Military Region 7 and handed over to Brigade 96. The cannons are well preserved and are still combat-ready weapons.

The 96th Brigade's ceremonial artillery site will be permanently located at Bach Dang Wharf from now until the end of the April 30th celebration. The unit will assign people to guard the artillery 24/7 and will also practice with the artillery every day.

"We have three important milestones. Preliminary rehearsal on April 25, general rehearsal on April 27 and official rehearsal on April 30. In addition, we practice firing artillery with primer shells almost every day, the explosion will be quite loud," said a representative of Brigade 96.

The reason why artillery soldiers have to practice with explosive bullets is to evaluate the even and rhythmic resonance of the artillery sound on the background music of Tien Quan Ca.

Ho Chi Minh City residents admire the ceremonial artillery fire on the morning of April 7 (Photo: Ngoc Tan).

The 15 cannons will be divided into 5 platoons, each platoon will be responsible for 3 cannons. The ceremonial artillery is expected to fire 21 rounds of 3 shells each (because 3 cannons fire at the same time), the total number of shells used is 63 (the type of shells only contains explosives).

The most difficult part is to make sure that the three cannons fire evenly, the explosions must not be out of sync, and each burst must match the music of the National Anthem. The music will play for 54 seconds, and the artillery's job is to fire 21 volleys during this time, each volley must match the beat of the song.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Son, there are two variables to note. First, the National Anthem will be performed by a military band, not from a pre-recorded score, so the duration may be off by a few seconds. Second, the artillery site is 1.2km away from the Reunification Hall (where the ceremony is held), so there will be a delay in the sound of the artillery reaching there.

"The mission requires high precision, but the officers and soldiers are determined and confident in completing the mission. One soldier returned to his father's funeral the day before, and the next day he returned to the formation to bring the artillery back to Ho Chi Minh City," said a representative of Brigade 96.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-dan-dai-bac-105mm-chuan-bi-cho-dai-le-304-o-tphcm-20250407155550669.htm