Since the first layers of soil in the campaign to repatriate martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park (HCMC) were opened, this quiet park corner has become a familiar destination for Ms. Ngo Thi Kim Cuc. Preparing a decent meal to offer to the soldiers has become a daily, silent but persistent task. Whether HCMC is scorching hot in the scorching sun at noon or suddenly it rains heavily, people still see the figure of that woman carefully covering the meal tray, timidly walking towards the common altar.
Just like that, regularly every early morning when the city has not yet woken up, Ms. Cuc has been diligently by the fire. Washing rice herself, simmering porridge, cooking the simplest dishes, she carefully takes them to the park when the smoke and mist are still hanging. Placing a steaming tray of rice on the table, she lingers to sift each bowl of rice, pick up each chopstick of food as if taking care of meals for her own flesh and blood relatives who have returned from afar. Under that deep earth, they have been lying there for nearly 60 years, cold and nameless, understanding that feeling, her tray of rice seems to want to fill the cold of time.
Looking at the thin incense smoke rolling away, she teared up: "I don't seek fame or fortune, I only do it with my heart. As long as the excavation work continues, I will bring rice". Her charitable footsteps have been imprinted for the past 6 years in many different localities. For her, the simplest but most heartbreaking reason to stick with this work is: The martyrs have been on the battlefield for decades, now, they must be very eager for a reunion meal, warm and cozy like in their hometown.
At noon, the corner of the park welcomed more sincere hearts. Ms. Nguyen Thuy Khanh Van (resident of Cau Ong Lanh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) quietly brought cakes, fruits, and incense and candles to offer to the soldiers. Growing up in a family with revolutionary traditions, her father was a soldier from the North who came to the South to fight, she deeply understood the pain of separation and loss of war. Arranging offerings herself, she choked up and shared: "My biggest wish at this time is for the spirits of the soldiers to enjoy a little sincerity, and then return to their families and homeland soon".
Those tearful meals not only warmed the hearts of people under the graves, but also held back travelers passing by. Silent for a long time in front of the common incense bowl, Mr. Truong Van Hoi (resident of Lam Dong province) clasped his hands respectfully. The man born in 1968 - right in the fierce year when the blood of so many soldiers was shed on this land, could not hide his emotion: "THINKING about the fact that you have been lying here for nearly 60 years and have never been called by your proper name, I am really heartbroken".
As for Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dat (resident of Cu Chi), today's meal seems to be the meal she offered to her own biological brother. Lost in the crowd of people coming to pay respects, Mrs. Dat carefully pressed a death certificate that was stained with yellow on her chest. Nearly 60 years of searching for her biological brother in vain, as soon as she heard the news, she rushed here, her eyes painfully looking towards the dug pits. "I keep hoping and praying urgently that my brother is also lying somewhere under this layer of soil. I just hope that this gathering will find and bring him up, so that the family can welcome him home after so many years of separation," Mrs. Dat choked up.
These days, the 500-day and night campaign to repatriate martyrs' remains is still being urgently carried out by the Repatriation Team (Ho Chi Minh City Command). As of the end of July 24, 2026, the force has brought 101 sets of single martyrs' remains and 5 sets of collective martyrs' remains out of the cold soil.
Every day that passes, decent vegetarian offering trays are set up again. Each incense stick lit at Le Thi Rieng Park not only wraps up the hearts of the city's people, but also ignites a flame of hope for a not-too-distant day, the children of the Fatherland will return to their loved ones.
