The operational areas of Teams K71 and K73 spanned many provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Over the years, the traces of war gradually faded, witnesses became fewer, and the terrain changed, making the search operation extremely difficult. In this context, the support of the government, armed forces, and local people became crucial in helping the task force verify and pinpoint areas suspected of containing the graves of fallen soldiers.

Rely on the local population to find teammates.
As is customary every year, before deploying to Cambodia, Teams K71 and K73 meticulously prepare, from consolidating organizational structure and personnel, to professional training, Khmer language instruction, and learning about local customs and traditions. Thanks to this, officers and soldiers quickly integrate into the area, effectively implementing the "four together" principle: eating together, living together, working together, and speaking Cambodian with the local people, creating favorable conditions for mobilizing the masses and gathering information to serve their mission.


Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoai Thanh, Political Officer of Team K71, said that in addition to its professional duties, the unit always focuses on civilian outreach and caring for the lives of local people. “During the 2025-2026 dry season, the unit implemented many practical civilian outreach activities such as free medical examinations and medication distribution, gift giving to Cambodian people, celebrating the traditional Chol Chnam Thmay New Year, supporting families in difficult circumstances, and visiting local armed forces. The total cost of these activities was nearly 70 million VND,” Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoai Thanh shared.

After receiving a free medical examination, health consultation, and medication from the K71 Military Medical Unit, Lieutenant Colonel Chan Sok Khan of the Royal Cambodian Gendarmerie shared: “The Cambodian people are very grateful to the Vietnamese soldiers. Wherever the Vietnamese soldiers carry out their duties, they always help the local people, from medical examinations and providing medicine to donating clothes and books to students and poor households, to organizing environmental sanitation and helping people repair community facilities.”

It is precisely because of this close bond that the Cambodian people consider assisting in the search for the remains of Vietnamese martyrs as a noble act. According to Captain Nguyen Le Cong Minh, commander of Team K71, many valuable pieces of information provided by local people have significantly contributed to the results of the search and collection of martyrs' remains over the years.
“There is information provided by elders who witnessed battles during the war; there is also information passed down through generations in families. Although these are only small clues, through the survey and comparison process, the unit has discovered many burial sites of fallen soldiers,” said Captain Nguyen Le Cong Minh.

You may also like
One of the active supporters of Team K71 is Mr. Sat Vong (57 years old, residing in Kbal Khting hamlet , Ta Phou commune, Svay Chek district , Banteay Meanchey province). A former Cambodian soldier who participated in many battles, he has a deep understanding of the terrain and the areas where fighting has taken place.

For many years, Mr. Sat Vong has accompanied the officers and soldiers of Team K71 in their field surveys. Specifically in the Kok Prich hamlet, Ta Phou commune, the information he provided helped the search team discover many burial sites of fallen soldiers. To date, he has provided more than 30 pieces of information related to the graves of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts.
"I find the Vietnamese soldiers very approachable and always helpful to the people, so when we receive information related to fallen soldiers, we are always ready to assist. My greatest wish is to contribute to helping these fallen soldiers return to their families and hometowns," Mr. Sat Vong expressed.
Good foreign relations help to expand sources of information.
Besides civilian outreach work, the K Teams also pay special attention to military diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy to build close relationships with the Cambodian government, armed forces, and people.

During their missions in neighboring provinces, officers and soldiers regularly organize meetings and exchanges with the Task Force, local authorities, and relevant forces to understand the local situation, assist in verifying information, and facilitate search and rescue operations.


Lieutenant Colonel Tran Hung Cuong, Political Officer of Team K73, affirmed, "Civilian relations and foreign affairs not only help the unit build trust but also expand the information network to serve the mission. In the 25th phase, the unit coordinated with 18 agencies and units of Cambodia, organized 56 meetings and working sessions, and received 76 valuable pieces of information. Much of this information helped the unit identify and delineate areas suspected of containing the graves of fallen soldiers, improving the efficiency of search and repatriation on the ground."

Evaluating the cooperation between the two sides, Lieutenant Colonel Saophea Sophoat - Team Leader of the Battambang Provincial Cooperation Team, shared: “The officers and soldiers of Team K73 always demonstrate a high sense of responsibility, respect local customs and traditions, and actively support the people. This has contributed to strengthening the solidarity and friendship between the people and armed forces of the two countries, creating consensus in supporting the search for information about Vietnamese martyrs.”


Having traversed a long journey with 25 search phases , the K71 and K73 teams of the Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command have carefully searched for and collected a total of 6,473 remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in a foreign land, including 256 whose names have been identified. These persistent efforts, undeterred by sacrifice and hardship, not only fulfill the sacred wishes of the martyrs' families but also further strengthen the special solidarity and friendship between the two countries.


Acknowledging the efforts and achievements in building a strong "people's support base" by the K Teams of the Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command in Cambodia, during a recent field visit and inspection, Colonel Tran Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of the Social Policy Department, General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army - emphasized that people's mobilization and foreign relations are the "key" to strengthening solidarity and friendship with the Cambodian government and people. Through this, the unit will continue to exploit more valuable information and clues about graves to serve the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains in the future.
Colonel Tran Quang Thanh requested that the teams continue to effectively promote mass mobilization and people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to the successful implementation of the peak period of the "500-day campaign to intensify the search, collection, and identification of the remains of martyrs," aiming to achieve the goals and targets assigned by the Military Region and the Ministry of National Defense.
Thursday
Source: https://baotayninh.vn/dan-van-kheo-de-tim-dong-doi-บน-dat-ban-campuchia-149073.html







