(VOVWORLD) -On March 16, 55 years ago US troops raided Son My village in Quang Ngai province and killed innocent civilians, including many old people, women and children. As time went by, Son My revived day by day. The people of Son My are still doing their best to reach a brighter future.
 Pham Cong has four relatives killed in the Son My massacre. (Photo: VOV) |
“This is my first visit to Vietnam since I was stationed in Chu Lai. I have also been to Quang Ngai. I used to be an infantryman and came here a year after the Son My massacre. I didn't hear about the massacre until many years later. As an American veteran, I’m saddened by such a meaningless massacre of old men, women, and children.”
Roxi Owds, an American veteran, recorded those words in the visitors’ book at the national relic site of Son My War Remnant on May 18, 2007, on a return visit to this place.
The massacre killed 504 innocent civilians, most of them elderly, women, and children. The 17th day of the second lunar month each year is now observed as the death anniversary of all the Son My victims.
90-year-old Pham Cong of Tu Cung hamlet in Quang Ngai city, recalls when one morning four of his relatives – his father, wife, and two daughters – were killed. “I always pray for no more massacres like this so that no one else suffers death and pain,” Cong said.
 The ruins of a house burned by US troops on March 16, 1968 (Photo: VOV)
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An incense ceremony is held on March 16 every year at the Son My relic site to commemorate the 504 innocent massacre victims and pray for world peace.
Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said that after half a century Son My is joining efforts for a peaceful world.
“We’ll continue to make the area around Son My beautiful to show the revival of Son My’s people, preserve the historical values of the site, and apply technology to make Son My prosper. It’s a good way to promote world peace,” according to Dung.