It has been 40 years since Vietnamese volunteer soldiers stood side by side with Cambodian people in the cause of fighting against Khmer Rouge and helping rebuild the country, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers received deep affection from the Cambodians. They were respectfully called the “Buddhist troops.”

After taking power in Cambodia in April, 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime committed barbaric crimes. Heartlessly, with utmost cruelty, it killed millions of Cambodians and many foreigners, including Vietnamese living in country’s border regions. Responding to Cambodian people’s cries for help, Vietnamese army not only pushed back the Khmer Rouge’s invasions of its territory, but also helped Cambodia escape by ousting the savage, genocidal on January 7, 1979. Over ten years of standing side by side with Cambodian people in the cause of fighting against Khmer Rouge and helping rebuild the country, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers received deep affection from the Cambodians. They were respectfully called the “Buddhist troops.” In 1989, having fulfilled their noble international mission, all the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers withdrew from Cambodia. In many cities and provinces in the land of Angkor, Vietnam-Cambodia friendship monuments stand as symbols for the gratitude of the two countries’ States, peoples and armies towards heroes, fallen Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for independence and freedom of the nations.-VNA