Quang Ngai (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains, attended a wreath-laying and incense-offering ceremony before breaking ground on an excavation and recovery operation in Dak Cam and Kon Tum wards, the central province of Quang Ngai on June 5.
Tra also also presented gifts to members of the search and recovery team K53 and pushed them to press on with determination.
She called on the authorities of Dak Cam and Kon Tum wards to give the operation maximum support and instructed experts from the University of Science under Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City to deploy all available scientific and technical methods.
Y Ngoc, Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the provincial Steering Committee for the search, recovery and identification of martyrs’ remains, said the mission aims to conduct definitive excavation and verification to bring home the remains of martyrs from Regiment 24A, the B3 Front, Special Forces Battalion 406, and Infantry Battalion 304, who fell during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
The excavation site runs along Truong Chinh Street, cutting through complex sections that directly affect underground infrastructure and residential properties in both wards. After intensive preparations, including a verification workshop on May 29 and land clearance planning, the provincial authorities have secured broad consensus and backing from local residents.
In November last year, the provincial Military Command hosted a conference to receive information on martyrs’ graves provided by a joint Vietnam - US research group, including a document titled “Research on locating grave trenches of soldiers of Regiment 24(A)/B3 who died in the Tet Offensive on February 2, 1968".
Based on that verification, the command estimated that about 30-50 sets of remains may still lie in two trench sites along Truong Chinh street. The remains are believed to be those of Regiment 24A under the B3 Front, together with Special Forces Battalion 406 and Infantry Battalion 304 of the military command of the former Kon Tum province (now part of Quang Ngai province), killed in action during the Tet Offensive in late January and early February 1968./.
