Opening the ceremony was a minute's silence in memory of the 504 people who were killed on the same day 43 years ago.

US veteran Mike Boehm was present at the event and played a piece of music “The Sound of the Violin in My Lai”. A bell rang in commemoration of the souls of the 504 victims.

Many US war veterans also attended the event to gain a better understanding of the massacre that they knew through mass media.

US war veteran Donglas Mowney said “I had known the relics and I felt so sad.”

On March 16, 1968, the US army cruelly killed 504 unarmed Vietnamese citizens in the hamlets of My Lai and My Khe in Son My village, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai province. All the victims were civilians, including women, children and old people. Many of them were beaten, tortured, maimed or sexually abused. Some were found mutilated.

Every March 16 is the day that Son My people recall their heart-breaking history.

36 years after Reunification Day, the Party and State have always paid great attention to Son My village to help it heal its war wounds and grow from the collapse. The village is getting a facelift.