Remains of 311 soldiers found in mass graves beneath Ho Chi Minh City park

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Eight mass graves containing the remains of war martyrs have been uncovered at Le Thi Rieng Park in Ho Chi Minh City, with search teams recovering 311 sets of remains to date, including 278 individual remains and 33 from the mass graves, alongside 179 personal belongings, as efforts continue to identify fallen soldiers. On August 13 alone, search teams removed more than 300 cubic metres of soil and expanded their search area, recovering an additional 18 sets of remains and 12 associated belongings, with the focus now on a burial trench where teams are working through a large volume of soil from an embankment created during the park's renovation.

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The Ho Chi Minh City Military High Command has deployed three excavators, one dump truck, and two 3.5-tonne trucks to accelerate excavation and soil removal, as Lieutenant Colonel Le Ngoc Ha, head of the K74 martyrs' remains search and recovery team, stated that the operation is being conducted with utmost determination while ensuring care and caution throughout the process. The recovered remains have been transferred to the memorial hall, with personal belongings found alongside them, including scarves, belts, sandals, combs, and pens, being carefully preserved in accordance with technical guidelines as authorities examine the items to verify the identities of the fallen soldiers and locate their relatives.

Le Thi Rieng Park, a public green space in the city's Hoa Hung Ward, was built over Do Thanh Cemetery, also known as the Chi Hoa-Saigon burial ground, making the discovery part of a broader national effort to recover the remains of soldiers who perished during the conflict. Vietnam has recovered the remains of approximately 1,500 soldiers since March as part of a 500-day campaign aimed at recovering about 7,000 sets of remains from the war, with the Le Thi Rieng site representing one of the most significant discoveries in recent months.

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The operation highlights the ongoing commitment to honouring those who sacrificed their lives, even as urban development has transformed former burial grounds into public spaces, and authorities continue to call on members of the public to provide any information that may assist in identifying the recovered remains. Search teams remain on site, working methodically through the soil as they press forward with the delicate task of recovering and preserving the remains of Vietnam's war martyrs.