This morning, the National Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery, and Identification of Martyrs' Remains held a ceremony to initiate the mission at Le Thi Rieng Park in Hoa Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.
Since early morning, security forces were deployed to maintain order and manage traffic around Le Thi Rieng Park. Entrances to the ceremony site, the mortuary area, and DNA sampling stations were strictly controlled to facilitate both the launch ceremony and subsequent recovery operations.
Many local residents watched from outside the park, expressing deep emotion as the search and recovery mission officially commenced. Personnel involved in the operation worked with urgency, ensuring each stage of the process was conducted with solemnity and meticulous care.
According to the schedule, delegates began the proceedings at 7:00 a.m. by laying flowers and offering incense at the monument of the late General Secretary Tran Phu and the memorial stele for heroic martyrs within Le Thi Rieng Park. Following this, the official ceremony took place at the courtyard in front of the Traditional House of Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park.
Starting at 8:00 a.m., delegates moved to the site of the mass grave to perform recovery rituals in accordance with the regulations and guidelines of the General Department of Politics under the Ministry of National Defense. Once the ceremony concluded, functional forces continued their mission at the site.
The effort to locate and recover the remains of these soldiers, who sacrificed their lives during the General Offensive and Uprising of Mau Than Spring 1968, reflects the nation's gratitude and commitment to honoring those who served. The mission also serves to accelerate the "500-Day-and-Night Campaign to search for, recover, and identify martyrs' remains with insufficient information" across Ho Chi Minh City.
Previously, based on the conclusions reached by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra at a seminar verifying information regarding martyrs and gravesites at the former Chi Hoa - Cho Quan Cemetery (now Le Thi Rieng Park), the Steering Committee 515 of Ho Chi Minh City issued a plan to organize the search and recovery mission at the park.
