On August 5, the People's Committee of Hiep Duc commune coordinated with the Military Command of Da Nang city to organize a workshop to verify information about 17 remains suspected to be mass graves of martyrs discovered and exhumed in the Doi Thi area, Hiep Duc commune.
At the conference, Mr. Vo Dinh The, who directly exhumed and buried 17 remains, said that in 1986, during the construction of a project near Hiep Duc District Military Command (old), a mass grave was discovered, inside there were 17 remains and many artifacts such as hammocks, rubber sandals, shoes and guns and some other military items.
He and the people brought the remains up to be buried in a nearby area. Later, when the local authorities leveled the ground for construction, he continued to bring the remains to be buried at the family cemetery in Thu Bon commune and regularly took care of the graves.
Witnesses, former military officers and local officials who worked at Hiep Duc through various periods have provided and compared a lot of information related to the location, time of discovery, characteristics of remains and artifacts.
Notably, Mr. Tran Phuoc Sao, former Battalion Commander of Battalion 15, Division 2, said that in the years 1969-1970, Division 2, Military Region 5 participated in many battles in the Doi Thi area; many officers and soldiers sacrificed but could not bring their bodies home.
Through comparison of historical data and witness accounts, it is initially determined that the 17 remains mentioned above are likely special forces soldiers of Division 2, Military Region 5 who sacrificed in combat in the Doi Thi area.
The workshop completed the entire content and program set out, initially clarifying many important information related to the collective tomb area and agreeing on the contents that need to be further verified in the coming time.
Speaking at the workshop, Colonel Do Nguyen Hoai - Member of the Standing Committee of the Military Party Committee, Deputy Political Commissar of the Da Nang City Military Command praised the Commune Military Command for being proactive and active in collecting and verifying information, coordinating with agencies, units and historical witnesses, contributing to clarifying information related to 17 remains suspected of being martyrs.
At the same time, he affirmed that the conference has achieved the set goals and requirements, providing more valuable information to serve the work of verifying and repatriating martyrs' remains.
Colonel Do Nguyen Hoai respectfully acknowledged the efforts and enthusiasm of historical witnesses, former officials through periods and related people, despite their old age and difficult travel conditions, they still actively participated and provided information, contributing to clarifying unclear issues about the tomb area.
Leaders of the City Military Command requested the Military Command of Hiep Duc commune to continue to coordinate with functional agencies, localities and historical witnesses to review, compare, and supplement sources of documents, gradually complete the information base, effectively serving the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains in the coming time.
