Based on battle records and coordinates supplied by Glenn Hines, an Australian veteran representing the Organisation for Healing Wounds of War, search teams have carried out exploratory excavations at three locations covering a total area of several hundred square metres.
Major General Tran Chi Tam inspects the search for the remains of fallen soldiers in Binh Co ward (Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Command).
At Site 1, where a mass grave believed to contain about 20 fallen soldiers is suspected to be located, teams have dug two trenches to depths of between 1.8 and two metres but have yet to find any human remains. Search operations are also under way at Sites 2 and 3.
During an earlier excavation campaign from July 17 to July 28, teams dug 20 trenches at nearby coordinates but found no remains of fallen soldiers.
The delegation presents gifts to officers and soldiers at the search site (Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Command).
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Military Command, a battle took place on May 12, 1968, in Tan Uyen District, former Binh Duong Province, an area now part of Binh Co Ward in Ho Chi Minh City.
Witnesses said about 20 fallen soldiers were buried in three mass graves following the battle. Local residents have previously discovered seven sets of remains and still retain photographs showing the burial trenches.