Son My massacre commemorated

People burned incense and laid wreaths at the monument

 in memory of the victims. Photo: VNA

A solemn ceremony was held at the Son My relic site in Tinh Khe commune, Son Tinh district in the central province of Quang Ngai on March 15 to commemorate the 45 th anniversary of the Son My massacre (March 16, 1968-2013).

Thousands of local people gathered at the event together with a couple of dozen survivors of the massacre, local authorities, and delegations from Japan and the Republic of Korea to pray for the souls of the 504 victims, who were killed during the bloody massacre conducted by the US army 45 years ago.

They also burned incense and laid wreaths at the monument in memory of the victims. Flower garlands and coloured lanterns were released on a canal, where 170 innocent people were killed.

On March 16, 1968, the US troops killed 504 unarmed citizens in Tinh Khe commune, mostly elderly, women and children. Hundreds of houses, along with thousands of heads of cattle and poultry, and all food were burned and destroyed on the day.

Since then, every March 16 is the day when people in Son My, Vietnam and around the globe recall this heart-breaking history.-VNA