General Secretary, President offers incense to martyrs at Le Thi Rieng Park

General Secretary, President To Lam offered incense in remembrance of fallen heroes and martyrs and inspected the search and repatriation of remains at Le Thi Rieng Park.

On the afternoon of 17/7, General Secretary, President To Lam, accompanied by former Party and State leaders, laid wreaths at the memorial stele for former General Secretary Tran Phu and the stele commemorating fallen heroes and martyrs within Le Thi Rieng Park in Hoa Hung ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

Following the incense offering ceremony, President To Lam visited the area where the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains is underway. He inspected the ongoing work and encouraged the task force.

General Secretary, President To Lam offers incense to fallen heroes and martyrs at Le Thi Rieng Park. Photo: Thanh Tung

The Ho Chi Minh City Command initiated the plan to search for martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park in late May. This action followed information provided by a research group led by architect Nguyen Xuan Thang, which indicated suspected mass grave sites within the park.

Authorities subsequently collected witness testimonies, organized seminars to cross-reference documents, and utilized ground-penetrating radar to confirm potential locations. From late June, a section of the park was fenced off, and exploratory excavations commenced at the identified areas.

Starting from 4/7, the city excavated a trench 20 m long, 5 m wide, and 2-3 m deep next to the park's traditional house. After nearly two weeks of intensive search efforts, the repatriation team discovered 93 martyrs' remains from this site.

A 20 m long trench next to the traditional house at Le Thi Rieng Park on the afternoon of 17/7, where the repatriation team found nearly 100 martyrs' remains after almost two weeks of searching. Photo: Dinh Van

Based on the burial methods, historical documents, and recovered artifacts, the Ho Chi Minh City Command believes many of the individuals may be Saigon commandos or infantry soldiers. These soldiers likely perished during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

Among the recovered remains, one case included identification papers bearing the name Huynh Van Quen. Initial verification indicates that martyr Quen belonged to Battalion one Long An. He participated in the battle at Y-bridge, located in the former districts 5 and 8 areas, during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

Authorities also collected dozens of artifacts from the site, including gold rings, ballpoint pens, AK rifle bullets, and sandals, which aid in identification and historical context.