Some of the most important history in Da Nang's western communes isn't in a museum. It's in someone's garden.
In 1988, construction machinery in Hiep Duc, then part of Quang Nam, dug up human remains. A local resident, Vo Dinh The, and several neighbors collected them and reburied them on his family's land in what is now Thu Bon commune. For nearly 40 years they kept the grave and lit incense for it every year.
On September 15, the Da Nang Military Command exhumed that grave in Go Cao hamlet, VietnamPlus reported. About 17 people are believed to have been buried there. Searchers found parachute cord, hammock fabric, a leather wallet and a toothbrush, artifacts that the Vietnam News Agency said largely matched The's account of how he found and buried the remains. Tien Phong also covered the exhumation.
Who they were
Initial information suggests the remains belong to special forces officers and soldiers of Division 2, Military Region 5, killed in combat in 1970, VietnamPlus reported. The Military Command verified the account, cross-checked records and met witnesses and veterans who fought around Hiep Duc.
Names come later, if at all. Authorities say they will keep building dossiers and verifying information to identify the dead. The VNA report didn't mention DNA testing.
Reburial
The memorial service and reburial were scheduled for September 17 at the Hiep Duc commune martyrs' cemetery, according to both reports. Tien Phong describes the soldiers as sappers, and says their exact unit, date of death and identities are still being confirmed.
Why a story like this still matters
More than half a century after the war, Vietnam is still finding and identifying its dead. Stories like this one usually depend less on archives than on someone like The, a civilian who decided remains found by a bulldozer deserved a grave and kept showing up for them for 38 years.
The merger with Quang Nam brought dozens of communes like Thu Bon and Hiep Duc into Da Nang, and with them a lot of this unfinished history. If your family has information about wartime graves in the western communes, the city's Military Command is the agency doing this work.
Sources
- War martyrs' remains, artifacts discovered at mass grave in Da Nang
- Khai mở mộ tập thể, phát hiện 17 hài cốt liệt sĩ
This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.
