The remains of 731 martyrs who died during the Tết Mậu Thân Offensive of 1968 were reinterred on Tuesday, nearly six decades after they were buried beneath what is now a public park in the centre of the city.

A memorial and funeral service was held from 8am on October 14 at Lê Thị Riêng Cultural Park in Hòa Hưng Ward, organised by the Party Committee and High Command of Military Region Seven together with the HCM City Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and Fatherland Front Committee.

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng led the delegation, laying flowers and lighting incense at the monument to the late Party General Secretary Trần Phú and at the park’s martyrs’ stele before the ceremony began. Also in attendance were former State Presidents Nguyễn Minh Triết and Trương Tấn Sang, former Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, former National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, HCM City Party Secretary Trần Lưu Quang, veterans, families of the war dead, and representatives of the United States and Australian embassies.

Between June 23 and October 5, Team K74 and supporting units recovered 731 sets of remains from the park — 698 individually and 33 from eight mass graves, two in Zone A and six in Zone B. Of the total, 307 were found with personal effects, among them photographs, combs, rings and rubber sandals.

Delivering the eulogy, Nguyễn Mạnh Cường, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee and head of the city’s Steering Committee 515, said the recovery had taken nearly 60 years. “These brothers and sisters did not live to see the day the country was reunified,” he said, paying tribute to the young servicemen and veteran medical staff who had handled each fragment of remains and each relic.

At about 9am, the ossuaries were carried from the ceremonial ground to waiting vehicles by a colour party, honour guard and bearer parties. Along the 26km route through 11 wards, tens of thousands of residents stood at the roadside holding white chrysanthemums as the convoy passed.

The burial service began at 10am at the HCM City Martyrs’ Cemetery in Long Bình Ward.

Most of the remains have not been identified. Biological samples have been taken for DNA analysis and stored in the national gene bank for comparison against samples collected from relatives of missing soldiers nationwide. The search will continue under the “500 Days and Nights” campaign, which General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm has directed be extended to all sites where martyrs may be buried, including areas that saw heavy fighting during the war.

“From today,” Cường said, “they rest beside their comrades, in the love of those who remain.” VNS