By 2:30 PM on July 6th, searches at the mass grave had discovered and collected 9 sets of martyrs' remains. Accompanying the remains were many artifacts left by the heroic martyrs such as: AK magazines, hand saws, soldier tank plates, clothes, hammocks, combs and personal papers...
Sharing about the arduous process of bringing the soldiers back to their motherland, Major General Tran Chi Tam, Deputy Political Commissar of Military Region 7, said that the repatriation work was deployed based on extremely thorough surveys and verifications. From June 14 to June 30, specialized forces coordinated to use radar to penetrate the land and analyze the stratigraphy in the area suspected of having grave trenches.
On June 23, we started excavating and surveying, opening a ditch about 3m wide, about 10m long and 3m deep. After digging, draining water and expanding both sides of the ditch, the search force discovered martyrs' remains lying stacked on top of each other. The burial ditch was later determined to be about 25m long and 3m wide," Major General Tran Chi Tam informed.
Also according to Major General Tran Chi Tam, among the remains found, some are relatively intact, some have decomposed a lot. Through reviewing, deciphering unit codes and comparing artifacts, initially it was determined that one remain is martyr Huynh Van Quen holding the position of Deputy Squad Leader, belonging to a unit of Long An, participating in the battle in the Chu Y bridge area during the General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than in 1968.
For some other paper artifacts found but the letters are blurred, functional forces are asking specialized agencies and museums to support restoration to serve the decoding and identification of martyrs.
The discovery of the burial trench and artifacts is a very important result, affirming that the survey direction of the Steering Committee is completely accurate. As soon as there was initial information, Military Region 7 coordinated with the Military Command of Tay Ninh province and related localities to review records, search for martyrs' hometowns and relatives.
Ho Chi Minh City determines that the discovery of this grave trench is only the beginning. Currently, functional forces are continuing to expand the search area to identify the remaining grave trenches, determined to fully repatriate the remains, and bring the heroic martyrs to their solemn resting place, in accordance with the sacred meaning of the 500-day and night campaign.
