HANOI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will build a 41-hectare peace park in central Quang Ngai province to commemorate the My Lai Massacre 50 years ago, the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War.

Hoa Binh (peace) My Lai Park will be built soon in Son Tinh district with investment of 348 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 15.4 million U.S. dollars), as a symbol of Quang Ngai as well as a destination for people to pray for peace and protest wars, the provincial authorities said on Wednesday.

On March 16, 1968 in two hamlets in Quang Ngai, U.S. Army soldiers killed 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mainly women and children.

The incident prompted global outrage when it became public knowledge in November 1969. When the scope of killing and cover-up attempts were exposed, the massacre fueled opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.