Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Returning to Ho Chi Minh City in early June, US veteran Robert Ambrose Connor visited the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History before attending a workshop on verifying information related to fallen Vietnamese soldiers, a mission he has pursued for many years.
During his visit to the museum on June 7, the 80-year-old veteran spent time viewing artefacts reflecting the history and development of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam. He listened attentively to presentations on ancient cultures, archaeological discoveries and collections depicting the lives and cultural traditions of Vietnamese people throughout history.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1946, Connor served in the US Air Force and was stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base, now in the southern province of Dong Nai, during one of the most intense periods of the war in Vietnam. In the 1968 General Offensive, known internationally as the Tet Offensive, he witnessed the historic battle at Bien Hoa Air Base, where Vietnam's armed forces launched an attack.
Decades later, while helping his granddaughter with a history assignment, Connor came across a photograph of Bien Hoa Air Base taken in 1968. The image revived memories of a mass grave believed to contain the remains of about 150 Vietnamese soldiers who had fallen in the battle. The recollection inspired him to begin a years-long effort to help locate wartime burial sites.
Together with fellow members of a US veterans' group, Connor spent years examining military maps, historical coordinates and personal records in an attempt to identify the locations of suspected mass graves.
Over multiple visits to Vietnam, he has met with authorities, historians, veterans and relatives of fallen soldiers. Connor and his fellow former servicemen have provided Vietnamese authorities with more than 20 sets of coordinate data linked to suspected burial sites to support the verification, search and recovery of martyrs' remains.
At the museum, Connor showed his interest in stories about Vietnam's land and people. The visit also offered him an opportunity to deepen his understanding of the history and culture of a country he has returned to many times over the past decade in the hope of contributing to post-war reconciliation and healing.
Earlier, Connor and his delegation visited the Reunification Hall. During this trip, he was among the historical witnesses participating in a workshop on verifying information related to martyrs and martyrs' graves in the area of the former Chi Hoa–Cho Quan cemetery area, now Le Thi Rieng Park in Hoa Hung ward, Ho Chi Minh City.
The memories, documents and information preserved by Connor and other US veterans are expected to provide additional evidence to help clarify historical details that have remained unresolved for nearly six decades, supporting efforts to locate and recover the remains of fallen soldiers and honour those who sacrificed their lives for national independence./.
