Nguyễn Thị Lệ, wife of martyr Huỳnh Văn Quên, whose remains have recently been found at the Lê Thị Riêng Cultural Park in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City High Command has confirmed that a set of remains discovered at Lê Thị Riêng Cultural Park during a preliminary survey on June 23 belongs to martyr Huỳnh Văn Quên, whom his family in Tây Ninh Province has spent decades searching for.

Quên was a corporal in the Việt Nam People's Army who died during the Tết Offensive in the then Sài Gòn City in 1968.

His remains were discovered at the park during the nationwide 500-day campaign to recover and identify remains of heroic martyrs.

This is the first case of remains identification at Lê Thị Riêng Park based on documents and personal effects recovered along with remains.

On July 26, Quên’s personal effects were given to his family members, including a pen, comb, wallet, and bottle of medicated oil.

His younger brother Huỳnh Văn Nhỏ said he was moved that his family finally managed to find him after nearly 60 years, while Nguyễn Thị Lệ, who was recently acknowledged as his wife, was tearful.

The national steering committee for the search, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers' remains (Steering Committee 515) said the martyr’s family has two documents with different names: a wartime death notification that lists his name as "Huỳnh Văn Quyên," and a Certificate of National Merit that says "Huỳnh Văn Quên."

The latter matches the name found on a piece of paper buried with the remains.

After a thorough verification process that covered a wide range of sources and collaboration with Tây Ninh’s Department of Home Affairs, authorities concluded that the wartime death notification belongs to Huỳnh Văn Quên. — VNS