'Saigon Ranger Garage' is proposed to be ranked as a revolutionary historical relic

A corner of "Saigon Ranger Garage" in the process of restoring the monument to its original state.

On December 20th, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports held a scientific workshop on the historical relic of House No. 499/20 on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street (Ward 13, District 10) - which was once known as "Saigon Special Forces Garage" to serve as a basis for the city's People's Committee to consider the decision of classifying it as a relic.

From the 1950s, the house at No. 499/20 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street (District 10) was a car repair shop owned by Mr. Duong Van Duc. Before it was formed, the house had its old address at No. 499/20 Le Van Duyet Street (today's Cach Mang Thang Tam Street).

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Huong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Conservation of Monuments, said that in 1963, Mr. Duong Van Duc contacted the Saigon Special Forces through Mr. Tran Van Lai (also known as Nam Lai). From then on, Mr. Duc maintained, repaired cars, changed car paint colors, changed car license plates, and designed cars with two floors to camouflage weapons, letters, documents, medicine... to serve the Saigon Special Forces.

At this house, Special Forces soldier Tran Van Lai - an hero of the People's Armed Forces - regularly sent two cars with the license plates NCE-345 and EC-6045 to Mr. Duong Van Duc for design, inspection, and maintenance to serve the task of transporting leaders of the Military Region to and from the city center of Saigon. These two cars were also directly used by Team 5 of the Saigon Special Forces to attack the Independence Palace during the General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than in 1968.

After the reunification day, these two cars were recovered and are now displayed at the Saigon Special Forces Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and the Special Forces Arms Museum in Hanoi. The house at No. 499/20 Cach Mang Thang Tam has been rebuilt with the name "Garage Citroen Duong Van Duc D'Indochine, since 1947". This is a site proposed for classification as a historical relic associated with the revolutionary activities of the Saigon Special Forces.

According to Mr. Duong Buu Chanh (son of Mr. Duong Van Duc), his father used this site to allow revolutionary cadres to enter and exit the city to contact various points within the city and surrounding provinces by test-driving cars that had been repaired. During that time, Mr. Duong Van Duc helped the Saigon Municipal Party Committee to make secret compartments in cars to store documents, money, and medicine. These cars were modified with a dashboard box, gear lever, holes in the side of the car body and the bottom of the car trunk, repaired frame holes... In addition, Mr. Duong Van Duc also created a secret room on the roof of the garage at 499/20 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street for the cadres... 

The car was directly used by the 5th team of the Saigon Special Force to attack Independence Palace during the Tet Offensive and General Uprising of 1968.

The article reports that there are many different names associated with the historical site located at No. 499/20 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. These names include "Garage Duong Van Duc" (named after the owner), "Garage xe Tu Luc" (the name of the cooperative after 1975), and "Garage xe biet dong Sai Gon." The local authorities will consider these names when choosing the official name for the site when it is recognized as a historical site.

According to a survey by the People's Committee of District 10, in addition to running an automobile repair facility that served the Sai Gon Special Forces, Mr. Duong Van Duc also made many contributions to the revolution, such as hiding and assisting combat cadres, providing support for revolutionary activities, and actively participating in revolutionary organizations. Based on this information, the People's Committee of District 10 proposed that No. 499/20 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street be recognized as a historical and cultural site and included in the conservation and promotion of the historical and cultural values of the site. From there, it will become an important point in the "Historical and Cultural Site Cluster of Sai Gon Special Forces."

Mr. Lam Thieu Ky, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Heritage Conservation Center, stated that the Department of Culture and Sports and the Ho Chi Minh City Heritage Conservation Center will take into account the opinions of experts and historical witnesses, and continue to work with the People's Committee of District 10 to complete the scientific dossier, submit it to the Council for Ranking Historical and Cultural Sites in Ho Chi Minh City, and agree on the name of the historical site as "Garage Biet Dong Sai Gon."

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