Major General Tran Chi Tam, Deputy Political Commissar of Military Region 7 and Head of Steering Committee 515, provided this information to VnExpress on the morning of 6/7 during the deployment of the search for martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park.

According to Major General Tam, in late June, specialist forces dug a trench measuring 3 m deep, 3 m wide, and 10 m long at a suspicious location near the traditional house in Le Thi Rieng Park. They identified unusual soil layers, then drained all the water to conduct a manual search. Initially, the unit found sets of remains stacked on top of each other, identifying 5 sets, with 3 being relatively intact while the others were severely decomposed.

The mass grave trench where seven martyrs' remains were discovered at Le Thi Rieng Park. *Photo: Thanh Tung*

Among these, one set of remains was identified through a wallet containing personal documents bearing the name Huynh Van Quen. After a period of verification and decoding unit designations, the military region confirmed this was a liberation soldier from Battalion 1 in Long An.

During the 1968 battle, this battalion fought at Chu Y Bridge. "It can be determined that soldier Quen sacrificed his life in this battle and was brought here for burial," Major General Tam stated. In early July, forces continued to discover two more sets of remains placed in canvas sheets (parachute fabric), with their identities currently being verified.

Major General Tran Chi Tam speaks about the search for martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park. *Photo: Dinh Van*

Beyond the soldiers' remains, the search unit also collected 3 ammunition boxes, numerous bullets, combs, and hand saws. With one set of remains, a faded deployment order for unit KB, a street-level platoon of the Southern Liberation Army, was found. Other documents had faded and lost their text, so authorities will soon enlist expert assistance for restoration.

The search plan was deployed by the Ho Chi Minh City Command since late May, after architect Nguyen Xuan Thang's research group provided information about suspected mass grave locations.

Authorities subsequently collected witness testimonies, organized workshops to cross-reference documents, and used ground-penetrating radar. From late June, a section of the park was fenced off, and exploratory digging began at the designated areas.

The search and repatriation of martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park is part of the "500-Day and Night Campaign," which runs from 15/3/2026 to 27/7/2027. The campaign aims to repatriate approximately 7,000 martyrs' remains, collect biological samples from 230,000 unidentified graves, and conduct DNA identification for about 18,000 samples.

Dinh Van