Officers and soldiers of Team K74 search for martyrs' remains at a mass grave at Lê Thị Riêng Park in HCM City. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The Party Organisation, administration and people of HCM City will hold a memorial service on Tuesday for more than 700 fallen soldiers whose remains were recovered from Lê Thị Riêng Park.

The soldiers will then be laid to rest at the HCM City Martyrs Cemetery.

This is a meaningful milestone in the journey to pay tribute to fallen heroes, reaffirming the determination to search for their remains, establish their identities and reunite them with their families and comrades under the 500-day campaign.

A new beginning

The initial recovery of more than 700 sets of martyrs’ remains from Lê Thị Riêng Park demonstrates that authorities and HCM City have correctly identified a key breakthrough area in implementing the 500-day campaign to intensify the search for and recovery of martyrs’ remains. Yet, behind the remains and rusted artefacts recently unearthed lies a long and arduous journey for the forces involved.

The former Đô Thành Cemetery, which later became Lê Thị Riêng Park, has undergone repeated planning and infrastructure renovation. Its terrain has changed completely. The soil and rocks have been disturbed, while almost none of the remains recovered have identifying information, making DNA testing the main means of establishing the fallen soldiers’ identities.

After decades underground in damp conditions, the remains have severely deteriorated, with bones becoming brittle and porous and many biological samples no longer intact. The greatest challenge is separating remains found in mass graves, where the bones of many fallen heroes have become mixed together.

Doctor Trần Văn Bản, a veteran and dedicated volunteer with Team K74 who has directly handled the remains and collected biological samples for identification, said his greatest concern is obtaining samples suitable for DNA testing.

Fortunately, the rate of successful biological sample collection at Lê Thị Rieêng Park has been very high, he said.

Sharing the same emotion, Doctor Vương Gia Bảo of the HCM City Forensic Medicine Centre, who is part of the team collecting biological samples at Lê Thị Riêng Park, said the samples found there are far more than specimens for laboratory testing. Each tooth or bone sample could be part of a historical story, and the final key to opening the door to hope for families seeking to bring their loved ones home after more than half a century of waiting.

Historical significance in new era

HCM City’s mobilisation of all available resources to search for and recover martyrs’ remains and solemnly organise memorial services for them is more than an administrative task. It is a vivid expression of a time-honoured Vietnamese tradition.

Every set of remains recovered and every artefact left beneath the soil of the former Chí Hoà area is a silent but powerful witness to history. They remind today’s generation of the value of peace and of the blood and lives sacrificed by previous generations so that the city named after President Hồ Chí Minh could attain its present stature and prosperity.

During a visit to encourage the teams working at Lê Thị Riêng Park on July 17, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and President Tô Lâm affirmed that every achievement today bears the quiet presence of those who laid down their lives.

The spirit of gratitude has touched the hearts of young people, inspiring them to turn appreciation into concrete acts of service.

After paying tribute to the fallen heroes, Nguyễn Sơn Trà, an English teacher at Tân Bình Secondary School in Tân Bình Ward, said that seeing the remains brought to the surface after lying deep underground for many years has given her an even deeper appreciation of the immense price of peace.

As a young person, she has promised herself to fulfil her teaching duties to the best of her ability and actively participate in community service, in the hope of repaying, in some small way, the immeasurable sacrifices made by previous generations.

Sharing the feelings of hundreds of officials, armed forces personnel and city residents helping organise the memorial and burial ceremonies, Huỳnh Ngọc Như Ánh, a first-year student at the HCM City Cadre Academy, said she feels a little tense because of the solemnity of the occasion. However, she is not tired; instead, she feels proud to take part in an event that expresses respect and gratitude to the fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives.

“When I came here to help prepare for the ceremony, I was deeply moved to see hundreds of sets of martyrs’ remains, each draped in the national flag and arranged in neat rows. The courageous sacrifices made by these men and women when they were still very young have given us the peaceful life we enjoy today. Although no one in my family serves in the military, I hope to join the armed forces after graduation and follow in the footsteps of these fallen heroes, contributing to the country in my own way,” she said.

The feelings and actions of these young people, who represent the city’s future, are a living testament to the tradition of remembering the source of one’s blessings, connecting the past with the future in today’s modern metropolis. Though seemingly small, their contributions demonstrate how gratitude for history and previous generations has been turned into concrete action, reflecting the present generation's sense of responsibility in honouring those who fell down for the sake of the Fatherland.

Nguyễn Mạnh Cường, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the city has always regarded the search for and recovery of martyrs’ remains and the identification of the fallen as a particularly important political task, a demonstration of the affection for and commitment to those who sacrificed their lives for national independence and freedom.

“The memorial and burial ceremonies are not the end. Our responsibility will continue until all available information has been clarified, helping establish the identities and hometowns of the fallen heroes,” he stressed.

The journey to search for and recover martyrs’ remains may be long, and many challenges remain. However, driven by strong determination and a sacred sense of gratitude to the fallen heroes, HCM City will continue its 500-day campaign to bring them home to their families and comrades.

This is also a continuation of the story of compassion and solidarity in the city named after President Hồ Chí Minh, where enduring loyalty, gratitude and love remain a source of strength as people join hands to welcome the fallen heroes back into the embrace of their families and native places. — VNA/VNS