"We must bring them back to their Motherland."
One historic April day, we visited the Fourth Eastern Triều War Zone to meet Mr. Ngo Quang Chieu, a veteran of the 126th Naval Brigade. In his small, cozy house, the old soldier, his hair streaked with gray, flipped through the pages of his notebook, recounting his years-long journey of searching for the remains of his fallen comrades and bringing them back to their homeland. For Mr. Chieu, each word in that yellowed notebook was like blood and flesh, a precious map that helped him find his comrades. For twenty years, he has traversed forests and mountains from North to South, bringing the remains of his fallen comrades back to their hometowns. "Returning home after the war was a blessing, while many of my comrades had to remain in remote mountainous areas, so no matter what, I had to try my best to find them and bring them back to Mother Earth," Mr. Chieu said with emotion.
In January 1970, Mr. Chieu enlisted in the army and was assigned to the 126th Naval Special Forces Brigade. In October 1970, he was transferred to Unit HB18 of the 5th Military Region Front (Quang Ngai) to carry out the mission of intercepting the "no-number" ships. In 1972, he continued to Unit C170 of the 4th Military Region Front ( Da Nang ) to carry out the task of attacking ships and ports… Directly participating in battles, Mr. Chieu deeply understood the pain of war, witnessed the sacrifice of his comrades firsthand, and personally buried and erected memorials for nine of his fallen comrades.
Mr. Chieu confided: “Throughout the years of peace , I always wondered whether my comrades who sacrificed their lives had been found and brought back to their hometowns. Due to difficult circumstances, it wasn't until 2000, after retiring, that I had the opportunity to return to the old battlefield to identify the locations where my comrades died. I meticulously recorded the names and hometowns of my comrades from units HB18 and C170 who died in a notebook, keeping a record of who had been brought back home and who had not.” After nearly 20 years, the search for his comrades by veteran Ngo Quang Chieu has helped to gather the remains of 9 martyrs, bringing them back to rest in the martyrs' cemeteries in their hometowns. Despite numerous difficulties and hardships, and at times the journey seemed to hit a dead end, each comrade found brought the old veteran a greater sense of peace in his heart.
Mr. Chieu recounted: “Of all the searches, the most difficult was the journey to find the fallen soldier Ngo Van Phiệt, a fellow villager from Dong Trieu. Phiệt died in 1974 in Binh Dinh, and I buried him right in a villager's garden. In 2000, I went to Binh Dinh with a comrade from Da Nang to search for him. The garden had been leveled by then, making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the grave. We went to the location we had recorded, borrowed shovels and picks, and dug for a week. When we found a hammock and a special forces knife, we shouted like children: 'Ah! It's here!' And the two of us sat there crying. When we found Phiệt's remains, they were still in a plastic bag. After nearly 30 years, the body hadn't completely decomposed, so we had to remove the remains to bring our comrade back home.” At this point, tears of sorrow for his fallen comrade welled up in the old soldier's eyes.
In Uong Bi City, we heard the story of veteran Doan Van Tuan, who for nearly 20 years has quietly traveled back and forth across former battlefields searching for his comrades to bring them back to his hometown. Born in 1950 in Yen Duc (Dong Trieu), at the age of 18, Doan Van Tuan enlisted in the army, participating in hundreds of battles and witnessing many comrades fall on the battlefield… In 1991, returning to civilian life, with the resilience of a soldier of Uncle Ho's army, he actively worked to develop his family's economy and participate in local social activities.
Deep down, he was always driven to find his fallen comrades. Since 2005, he has saved up money, time, and energy to return to the old battlefields to gather information and search for the remains of fallen soldiers. He also personally led recovery teams to excavate sites, determined to continue searching for his comrades as long as he had the health to do so.
In 2010, he joined the Policy Department of the 320th Division in Gia Lai province and compiled a list of 70 martyrs (original documents lost) from Quang Ninh province who died in the Central Highlands battlefield (1972-1975) and are buried at the National Martyrs Cemetery on Highway 9. He personally informed the 320th Division's Liaison Committee in the districts, towns, and cities of the province about this list so that they could inform the martyrs' relatives and families. Many families of the martyrs returned to the cemetery to bring the remains back to their hometowns.
Between 2012 and 2017, he made dozens of trips to the battlefields of Lower Laos to search for his comrades. In 2012, he went to the districts of Sepon, Muong Phin, and Dong Hen (Savanakhet province) to search for his comrades at the martyrs' cemeteries of the 48th and 64th Regiments (320th Division), who died in the Route 9 - Southern Laos Campaign in 1971.
Mr. Tuan recounted: "In 2016 and 2017, I, along with the 584th Fallen Soldiers' Remains Collection Team (Quang Tri Provincial Military Command), excavated dozens of sites in Thaphalanxay district ( Savanakhet province). After many days of searching at Dong Hen cemetery (Laos), we only recovered the remains of 10 fallen soldiers that had already been unearthed by other teams. But for some reason, I still had a feeling that there were more graves of fallen soldiers in this area. I suggested that the team expand the excavation. After 30 minutes of digging, the team discovered another complete set of remains. I continued to observe and examine other features around, such as large green trees, tall, dense grass..., and I decided to expand the search area. The joy came when, after one day, we unearthed six more complete sets of remains wrapped in hammocks." After nearly 50 years of enduring hardship in foreign lands, my comrades have finally returned to their homeland.
After that trip, he made two more trips to several localities in Laos to search for his comrades. He also went to Quang Tri province many times to meet and work with policy agencies, the team collecting the remains of fallen soldiers, and the National Cemetery on Highway 9 to cross-check the data on the list of fallen soldiers from his unit; in which he informed the relatives of many so that they could be brought back to their hometowns.
A relentless journey
The journey of tracing the whereabouts and searching for the remains of the sons and daughters of Quang Ninh who fell for the peace, independence, and freedom of the Fatherland, and bringing them back to reunite with their families and hometowns, has never ceased. Over the years, all levels of government, agencies, units, and localities, from veterans to ordinary citizens, have shared a common effort to bring these soldiers home. They have traversed deep forests and treacherous mountain ranges, meticulously searching for clues from witness accounts and old files to find the final resting place of those who sacrificed their lives.
The search and collection of the remains of fallen soldiers is carried out persistently, systematically, and with the motto "As long as there is information about fallen soldiers and their graves, the search and collection will continue." Everyone shares the same heart and belief: no matter how much time passes, no matter how the former battlefields have transformed into cities, forests, mountains, or fields, these soldiers cannot be left unnoticed.
On this journey filled with humanity, alongside family, comrades, and the people, there was also the responsible involvement of the entire political system, with strong support from specialized agencies, especially the Provincial Military Command and the armed forces units in the province. They were the silent, diligent people on every field trip, surveying, and document retrieval. Whenever they received information about a location where remains might be found, they would pack their backpacks, pickaxes, metal detectors, and trek through forests and across streams to reach the site. Some locations were over 1,000 meters above sea level, requiring them to walk all day to reach them. Sometimes they would dig 2-3 meters deep, find nothing, fill the soil back up, and continue. But they never gave up. Because they believed that behind that layer of soil lay the blood and bones of their ancestors, those who sacrificed themselves to protect every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland.
From 2012 to the present, the provincial authorities have received and processed more than 300 pieces of information provided by the people and war veterans; received, reviewed, and finalized nearly 3,000 pieces of information about martyrs, deceased or missing soldiers provided by 38 agencies and units inside and outside the military; corrected and amended information on more than 100 martyrs' tombstones; provided information to military units to match information in the records of nearly 300 martyrs; provided information related to more than 550 martyrs at the request of their relatives; searched and deciphered nearly 300 files to serve the search for the remains of martyrs...
In 2024 alone, under Project 515 "Searching for, collecting the remains of martyrs and identifying the remains of martyrs with incomplete information until 2030 and beyond," the work of searching for and collecting the remains of martyrs continued to achieve many results. According to the report of the Provincial Steering Committee 515, information from various sources such as citizens, veterans, and archived records has been carefully reviewed and cross-referenced. Localities throughout the province and functional departments have actively surveyed, collected evidence, and coordinated with specialized units to carry out the collection of remains. The entire province has completed the decoding of symbols, designations, and locations of martyrs who died and issued certificates confirming information about the place of death for 16 cases; guided relatives of martyrs to contact their former units to obtain certificates confirming the place of death for 4 cases; and reviewed information on 3 martyrs who were collected and buried in the province. Checking, verifying, and supplementing information for 19 martyr records; extracting information for 14 martyrs for their relatives; receiving and responding to 5 inquiries about martyr information; and verifying and standardizing information on numerous other martyr graves at martyrs' cemeteries throughout the province.
The work of searching for, collecting, and identifying the remains of fallen soldiers has facilitated, advised, and supported the families of fallen soldiers in searching for and relocating the remains of those who died in the province, in accordance with State regulations. This has partially fulfilled the aspirations of the families of fallen soldiers, contributing to the effective implementation and resolution of military welfare policies, and demonstrating gratitude for the great sacrifices and contributions of fallen soldiers and their families to the cause of national construction and defense.
The state, military, and local authorities continue to promote this work, mobilizing the participation of the entire society. Programs such as "Searching for Comrades" and "Information about Fallen Soldiers" on various media outlets have helped hundreds of families find their loved ones after many years of separation. Modern technology is applied to the search process. The use of war maps, DNA data, and coordination with veterans has yielded many positive results. With these tireless efforts, the soldiers of yesteryear are gradually being brought back to their homeland. They are no longer alone on the old battlefields, but have returned to the embrace of their comrades and loved ones.
Searching for and collecting the remains of fallen soldiers is a challenging journey, but it is also a journey of gratitude, of the principle of "drinking water and remembering the source." Each set of remains found, each fallen soldier returned to their homeland, represents a debt of gratitude repaid by the nation. No matter how many years pass, this act of gratitude will continue, for it is not only a responsibility but also a sacred duty of the entire Vietnamese people.
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/hanh-trinh-tri-an-chua-bao-gio-dung-lai-3352382.html
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