The Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Ho Chi Minh City, in coordination with the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, organized the ceremony.
Among those attending was Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon, Vice Supreme Patriarch of the Patronage Council and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), Head of the VBS Monastic Affairs Committee; Major General Tran Chi Tam, Deputy Political Commissar of Military Region 7 and Head of the Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery and Identification of Martyrs' Remains in Military Region 7.
Representing Ho Chi Minh City were Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee; Ms. Truong Thanh Nga, Deputy Head of the city's Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee; and Mr. Nguyen Duy Tan, Deputy Director of the city's Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs.
Over the past two weeks, the Ho Chi Minh City High Command has been working to locate mass graves believed to contain the remains of martyrs and patriotic civilians who died during the Tet Offensive of 1968. The search was launched after archival photographs surfaced showing burial activities at the former Chi Hoa–Cho Quan Cemetery, now Le Thi Rieng Park.
Following a public appeal issued by the Ho Chi Minh City High Command, numerous witnesses have come forward with information to assist authorities in identifying the locations of the graves and supporting future recovery efforts.
Among the attendees was veteran Phan Xuan Hoai, who served on the fierce Binh Tri Thien battlefield during the war. Reflecting on those years, he remembered many comrades who sacrificed their lives for the nation's independence and freedom. He also shared that his family is still searching for the remains of a relative who never returned home.
Offering incense in memory of the fallen, the veteran said that the ceremony reflected Vietnam's tradition of honoring those who sacrificed for the nation and served as a reminder for future generations to remember their contributions.
He also expressed gratitude for the efforts of government agencies, the military, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and local residents in organizing the memorial service, while voicing hope that the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains would continue so that they could eventually be reunited with their families and ancestral homelands.
