Ho Chi Minh City receives US university records identifying possible 1968 martyr burial sites

Major General Nguyen Thanh Trung, political commissar of the Ho Chi Minh City High Command, announced the information at the city's regular socio-economic press briefing on Thursday.

According to Trung, the records related to potential burial sites of Vietnamese soldiers are highly valuable because they provide important clues for identifying fallen soldiers and supporting historical research.

The U.S. side has also returned several personal belongings of fallen soldiers. The city's 515 Steering Committee, which oversees the search, recovery, and identification of war martyrs' remains, plans to hand them over to the martyrs' families before July 27.

Regarding the ongoing search at Le Thi Rieng Park, Trung said the operation is being carried out systematically, prioritizing easier excavation areas first while applying scientific methods and advanced technology.

Authorities have recovered 16 sets of remains so far, including eight accompanied by personal effects and documents that may assist with identification.

Excavation has been conducted through two burial layers at the park.

The first is believed to contain mainly soldiers from regular military units that fought during the Tet General Offensive and Uprising, while the second is believed to contain members of the Saigon Special Forces.

To facilitate excavation and unit identification, the Ho Chi Minh City High Command proposed changing the recovery method to excavate each burial layer separately. 

Depending on the condition of the remains, different recovery techniques are being used.

The command is also working with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology to collect DNA samples for cross-checking and identification.

The Ho Chi Minh City High Command is also cooperating with universities to continue searching for additional martyr burial trenches within Le Thi Rieng Park.

Trung said Ho Chi Minh City is the first locality in Vietnam to apply advanced scientific technologies to the search for war martyrs' remains.

Since 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City High Command has partnered with the University of Science under the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City to use ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity surveys during search operations.

In the coming period, the command will advise the city's 515 Steering Committee to review historical records related to other wartime battles and continue searches at additional locations.

A specialized research team comprising scientists and experts will also be established to further research and expand the historical databases.

Trung added that, besides Le Thi Rieng Park, authorities are accelerating the search for war martyrs' remains at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, where soldiers are believed to have been buried following battles on the first and second days of the 1968 Lunar New Year offensive.

He said the command has received more than 50 phone calls and text messages containing relevant information from people in various localities across Vietnam.