Discovery of 29 sets of war martyrs’ remains at Ho Chi Minh City park may be linked to special forces, Long An battalion

Biet Dong Sai Gon was a special force unit of the Vietnam People's Army that operated during the Vietnam War.

Formed in the 1960s, this unit was known for its guerrilla tactics and urban warfare, particularly during the 1968 Tet General Offensive and Uprising.

The assessment was announced on Saturday morning during a site visit by General Nguyen Trong Nghia, a Politburo member and director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army, who paid tribute to the fallen and inspected the ongoing recovery operation.

Joining the visit were Ho Chi Minh City vice-chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong, who also heads the city's Steering Committee 515 on the search and identification of war martyrs, and Lieutenant General Tran Vinh Ngoc, Political Commissar of Military Region 7.

According to Major General Nguyen Thanh Trung, Political Commissar of the Ho Chi Minh City High Command and Standing deputy head of the city's Steering Committee 515, search teams have recovered the remains of 29 martyrs to date.

Personal belongings were found alongside 13 sets of remains, providing valuable clues for identification.

One of the most significant discoveries concerns the second set of remains, which was found with identification bearing the name Huynh Van Quen.

Through historical verification and analysis, authorities determined that he served with Unit 962, identified as Team 2 of the first battalion - Long An.

Historical records indicate that the battalion took part in the battle on Y Bridge on January 19, 1968, during the first phase of the 1968 Tet General Offensive and Uprising.

Excavation has revealed two distinct burial layers at the site.

Artifacts recovered from the upper layer primarily belonged to Liberation Army forces, particularly frontline units involved in the initial fighting of the offensive.

The second layer contains a different collection of military artifacts, leading researchers to believe it may contain the remains of fallen soldiers from Biet Dong Sai Gon, who participated in attacks on key targets.

Based on these findings, the Ho Chi Minh City High Command plans to expand the first excavation trench by some 50 meters in length, three meters in width, and 3.5 meters in depth.

Two more burial trenches to be excavated

Major General Trung said soldiers would continue to search for war martyrs’ remains at two additional burial trenches believed to be located parallel to the first.

Recovery teams plan to excavate the site layer by layer to preserve evidence and maximize the chances of identifying individual remains.

He said that remains that can be clearly separated will be placed in individual coffins, while remains that cannot be distinguished will be respectfully preserved together.

DNA testing has already begun for the remains believed to be those of Huynh Van Quen.

Officials have visited his family members in Vam Co Commune in neighboring Tay Ninh Province, to verify information and collect DNA samples for comparison.

Laboratory analysis of the remains is expected to be completed within some three weeks.

The Ho Chi Minh City High Command has also proposed expanding DNA collection to family members of soldiers from the first battalion, particularly those who served between 1965 and 1968.

Officials hope that building a larger reference database will improve the chances of identifying additional remains recovered from the site.