Navy and representatives of
the public and private sectors lay wreaths at the new statue honoring
King Rama VI.
Patcharapol Panrak
Military, government and local residents marked the 88th
anniversary of the death of HM King Vajiravudh, who donated the land on
which the Sattahip Naval Base was eventually built.
Adm. Chainarong Charoenrak presided over the Nov. 25 ceremony at the
newly constructed King Rama VI monument on Sukhumvit Road’s
sixth-kilometer marker. Navy and representatives of the public and
private sectors laid wreaths at the statue, honoring the monarch
credited with building up Thai nationalism.
In addition to creating the rank of general in the Thai military, Rama
VI set aside royal land in 1925 to construct the navy’s new headquarters
in 1922.
Naval commanders last year decided that the king, who died Nov. 25,
1925, did not get enough recognition for his contribution to the navy
and Sattahip area and pushed for the construction of a permanent
monument and decreed that King Rama VI would be honored on the
anniversary of his death each year.
