The ceremony commemorating the 504 victims of the Mỹ Lai massacre. — Photo kinhtedothi.vn

QUẢNG NGÃI — An incense offering ceremony was held on Tuesday to commemorate 504 victims of the infamous Mỹ Lai massacre by US troops 53 years ago (March 16, 1968).

The brutality and violence of the massacre in Mỹ Lai Hamlet, Sơn Mỹ Village, Tịnh Khê Commune of Quảng Ngãi City, the central province of Quảng Ngãi, perpetrated against unarmed civilian Vietnamese, including women, children and elders, shocked the world and further amplified the anti-war movement.

At the Sơn Mỹ relic site, participants, including surviving victims and local residents, mourned for the deceased and prayed for a world where there is no more war and people can live in peace and happiness.

Billy Kelly, a US war veteran who fought in Việt Nam and frequently attended the ceremony and prayed for the lost souls, sent 504 roses to the ceremony this year as offerings to the 504 civilians killed in the massacre.

“My friends, I am not able to be with you in Sơn Mỹ this year again, but my thoughts and prayers will be with you. I will always remember and never forget,” his postcard reads.

The incident went down in history as a horrific crime committed against Sơn Mỹ residents, as well as the Vietnamese people.

Phạm Thị Thuận, an 80-year-old survivor of the massacre, said all pain and wounds would eventually heal.

“Now when life is peaceful, I cannot be more glad. The past is the past, and we should look towards the future,” Thuận said. — VNS