Residents prepare white flowers to bid farewell to martyrs at Le Thi Rieng Park

Ahead of the reburial of 731 martyrs' remains recently gathered from Le Thi Rieng Park, residents across wards prepared white flowers and chose spots along the procession route to pay their respects.

On the afternoon of 13/10, Truong Trung Thanh, 30, from neighborhood 16, Tam Binh ward, visited a shop to buy ten branches of white flowers. "I bought them for my mother and neighbors to stand along the road tomorrow morning and bid farewell to the martyrs from Le Thi Rieng Park," Thanh said.

His group plans to take a bus to the area near the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs' Cemetery in Long Binh ward to await the motorcade.

Thanh shared that many residents and veterans in the neighborhood had followed the process of searching for remains at Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park since mid-6. His maternal grandmother was an artist-soldier, and his maternal grandfather (deceased) received the Anti-American Resistance Order. Having lived with his grandmother since childhood, he often heard stories about the soldiers' sacrifices.

"Gathering and reburying these martyrs at the cemetery after many years underground is how the younger generation expresses its gratitude," Thanh stated.

Residents bring flowers to Le Thi Rieng Park, Hoa Hung ward, on the afternoon of 13/10. Photo: Ngoc Ngan

After over three months of searching, 731 martyrs' remains from Le Thi Rieng Park will be honored and interred at the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs' Cemetery. According to the plan, the motorcade will depart at 8h30 on 14/10, starting from Le Thi Rieng Park and proceeding along Truong Son street, Cach Mang Thang 8 street, Dan Chu roundabout, Dien Bien Phu street, Hang Xanh roundabout, Sai Gon Bridge, Vo Nguyen Giap street, Ha Noi Highway, before arriving at the cemetery.

The city has called upon residents to hold white flowers and stand along the procession route to bid farewell to these heroic martyrs on their final journey to their resting place.

The appeal garnered tens of thousands of interactions on social media platforms. From the afternoon of 13/10, many residents brought flowers to Le Thi Rieng Park, lighting incense to commemorate the martyrs. Some brought trays of food for offerings. In addition to Ho Chi Minh City residents, many people from Ha Noi, Nghe An, and other northern provinces also traveled to pay their respects.

Numerous locations along the route from Le Thi Rieng Park to the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs' Cemetery also organized free distribution of white flowers. The owner of a coffee shop on Quoc Huong street (An Khanh ward) stated that he had prepared 100 flower branches to give to passersby, arranging to gather near the base of Sai Gon Bridge and Thao Dien Metro station.

In Xuan Hoa ward, Bao Tram, Deputy Secretary of the Ward Youth Union, confirmed that 900 white flower branches had been prepared. Since early 10, local authorities have posted the route map on social media to help residents choose their positions. Around 8h30 on 14/10, youth volunteers will be present at six points along Dien Bien Phu street to support the public. The number of registered participants has reached thousands.

"We hope to contribute a small gesture to support the community. We wish everyone to have a flower branch in hand when the motorcade passes," Tram expressed.

Among those preparing for the farewell ceremony, Thai Duy, 34, invited four colleagues to participate after reading information on social media. The group arranged to meet on Cach Mang Thang 8 street, Hoa Hung ward, with one person assigned to buy flowers. Duy mentioned taking the morning off work, while his colleagues tried to arrange their schedules or swap shifts to be present on time.

"To accompany and bid farewell to them on their final journey is the most meaningful thing we can do right now," Duy said.

Previously, the search lasting over three months at Le Thi Rieng Park uncovered 731 martyrs' remains in two mass graves. All biological samples have been digitized and sent to the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Ha Noi for DNA testing, to be cross-referenced with samples provided by relatives to identify the martyrs.