Vietnam: A Television History; Interview with Le Cong Chinh [2], 1981

Interviewer: Please tell us what happened that day. Le Cong Chinh: It was at around twelve noon on the 31st when a battalion of US Marines swept through this village here. The mounds you see there were where the beautiful houses used to be. They shot and killed and wounded a total of 145 persons. 115 persons were shot dead on the spot. Of these 115, 105 belonged to this hamlet of Thuy bo. Le Cong Chinh: And these people were buried here at this graveyard. The other ten persons were taken to the adjoining village over here and buried. We had buried these 105 persons in a mass grave and then constructed this house over here to worship, to pray for, these 105 persons. At that times we did not have the means to do what we wanted to do... Interviewer: Were you here at the time? And how are you sure of the facts?

Le Cong Chinh: At that time I was a cadre here. I was only about 500 meters from the scene of the crime. When they landed their troops and shot at the inhabitants, I heard what was going on. But I was 500 meters away and so I did not see the whole thing with my own eyes. Interviewer: Do you have the names and the ages of the 145 persons who were killed here? Le Cong Chinh: Those people who were killed here... Only fifteen minutes later I arrived here at the scene personally. The wounded are still alive. The dead people, I knew them and so I recorded their names. A list of the name is now used for worship in that place down there. Interviewer: How many bodies are there still beneath us in this field? Do you know?

Le Cong Chinh: There are 105 beneath us here. And the number of wounded who are still alive are five persons who are living down there. In a while, I would like the delegation to come down there and visit them. Interviewer: What we want to ask you is whether there has been any investigation since the massacre to ascertain as to how these people died? Whether these people were killed by gunshots or by some other means? Le Cong Chinh: I would like to report to the delegation that the Americans used rifles to shoot at these people. The gunshot wounds were unmistakable. Interviewer: Could you describe the scene here when you arrived? What you saw with your own eyes?

Le Cong Chinh: Yes. Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at this place. All the houses were still burning. Corpses were still strewn all around, and blood was still oozing from these bodies. There were still babies who were still clinging to their mothers' dead bodies and sucking at the breasts. These children are still living here. Interviewer: Did the village demand the puppet authorities to come here and investigate? Le Cong Chinh: On the very next day, which was on the 1st, we carried these bodies to the Bo Bo military post and to the Trang military post, demanding the commanders there to stop all these outrageous activities.

Interviewer: Who buried these 105 here? Did the villagers bury them or did someone else? Le Cong Chinh: The guerrilla units and the survivors who came back together buried these people. Interviewer: What was the result of the complaint? Did the district and the provincial authorities do something? Le Cong Chinh: When the inhabitants of this village carried the bodies to the military posts and talked to the American military commanders, they promised that they would not repeat the same thing again. But in reality, they did not change their behavior at all. They continued with the same kind of thing later on.