On June 1st, the Ho Chi Minh City Command informed about the survey of Le Thi Rieng Park to find the location of the mass grave of soldiers during Tet Mau Than 1968. Previously, on May 31st, a working delegation of the Ho Chi Minh City Command led by Major General Nguyen Thanh Trung, Political Commissar of the City Command, organized a field survey at Le Thi Rieng Park in Hoa Hung ward, Ho Chi Minh City. This activity aims to verify information related to the area suspected of having mass grave of martyrs during the resistance war. Participating in the working delegation were representatives of specialized agencies, historians, local leaders and many witnesses who used to live in the Do Thanh Cemetery area before.
Le Thi Rieng Park today is built on the old land of Do Thanh Cemetery, a large cemetery of Saigon before 1975. This area of about 8 hectares is surrounded by Cach Mang Thang Tam, Bac Hai and Truong Son streets. After half a century with many changes, this place has become a green space serving the community. However, in the memory of many people, this land still preserves traces associated with the fierce years of war. In the survey area, the working delegation organized incense offerings to commemorate heroic martyrs and compatriots who sacrificed.
The special feature of this survey is the direct participation of witnesses who used to live and witness the upheavals of the Do Thanh Cemetery area in the past. Witnesses including Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuoc, Mr. Phan Van Mua (born in 1962), Mr. Dinh (born in 1951) and Mr. Nguyen Van Nhieu (born in 1949) and the working delegation compared the current terrain with memories, historical documents and photos preserved over many years. According to witnesses, the area where the survey team is currently located used to belong to Do Thanh Cemetery, later often called Chi Hoa Cemetery, where mass burials are believed to have taken place during the war period, especially after the General Offensive and Uprising of Spring Mau Than 1968.
From the preserved documents, witnesses confirmed many terrain features and initially agreed on the assessment of the suspicious location recorded in the historical photo. Along with that, researchers and architects carefully analyzed each detail in the photo to compare with the actual terrain to find more grounds. Participating in the survey delegation, Comrade Tran Thanh Ngoc, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hoa Hung ward, provided more information related to the current situation of the area. At the same time, local representatives affirmed that they will continue to closely coordinate with functional agencies in the verification process.
Speaking at the survey, Major General Nguyen Thanh Trung emphasized that verifying locations suspected of having martyrs' remains is not only of historical significance but also reflects the morality of gratitude. Each source of documents and witness accounts is an important link contributing to clarifying the unfinished pages of history. This activity is part of the journey to repatriate martyrs' remains in Ho Chi Minh City. The traces left underground after more than half a century will continue to be sought after by functional agencies with a sense of responsibility and deep gratitude.
