On August 10, Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province said that it is urgently preparing to organize a thematic workshop to collect and verify information, determine the location of more than 300 martyrs who are believed to have sacrificed in the Tram Du area, also known as Tram 800 forest, belonging to Lung Lon hamlet, Kien Binh commune and Lang Com hamlet, Binh Giang commune (old Kien Giang province) now An Giang province.
Through reviewing and summarizing information, historical documents of the battlefield and opinions of veterans, the 515 Steering Committee of Military Region 9 has received many sources of information reflecting more than 300 officers and soldiers who sacrificed in the Tram Du area in the early days of March 1970. However, to date, there are still many unverified contents, the location of the original tomb map area and the burial place of the martyrs have not been accurately determined.
Related documents show that the forces participating in combat in this area included Battalion 3, Special Forces Brigade 429, Military Command of the Region and Air Defense Artillery Company 5 under Regiment 75 of the Southern Artillery. At the beginning of March 1970, units marched to the southwestern battlefield. At about 2:30 pm on March 3, 1970, when Battalion 3 and Company 5 were stationed in the melaleuca forest area, they were detected, bombed, and bombed by enemy aircraft, causing heavy casualties. On March 4, enemy forces continued to attack the area where the unit was stationed and the liaison station.
According to sources of data being verified, the battle took place from March 2 to March 6, 1970, the losses of units were very large, with more than 300 officers and soldiers sacrificed. Because the war has receded for more than half a century, the terrain and geography have changed a lot, and the archives are not complete, it is still difficult to accurately identify the list, location of sacrifice and initial burial place of the martyrs.
In order to urgently clarify the above information, Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province will preside over and coordinate with agencies of Military Region 9, Special Forces Corps, Traditional Liaison Committee of units that fought in Tram Du and relevant agencies and localities to organize a thematic workshop in mid-August 2026.
The conference focused on exploiting, decoding, and comparing historical documents, battlefield diaries and archival records; collecting witness opinions on unit codes, lists of martyrs, time of sacrifice, tomb maps, coordinates, and initial burial locations; and determining the former Tram Du place name corresponding to the current administrative boundaries.
The Provincial Steering Committee 515 also focuses on searching for veterans and witnesses who directly participated in combat, served in combat or were present in the Tram Du area during the war. For elderly witnesses who are far away and do not have the conditions to directly attend the conference, functional agencies will flexibly connect via telephone, online and appropriate forms to receive information.
After the workshop, based on sufficient information, the An Giang Provincial Military Command will direct the search and repatriation forces of martyrs' remains to coordinate with local authorities and witnesses to conduct surveys, zoning, and field exploration in the Tram Du area. When sufficient reliable grounds are identified, functional forces will organize excavation, search and repatriation of martyrs' remains according to regulations.
For all information related to the case of more than 300 martyrs believed to have sacrificed in the Tram Du area, please contact: Major Chau Hoang Nam, Head of Policy Department, Political Department, An Giang Provincial Military Command; phone number: 0823 525 858.
