Find a name for the martyr

The war has ended, but its consequences still linger. For many families, the pain has not subsided when their loved ones died for peace and independence but have not been found yet. There are martyrs' remains that have been gathered and buried in cemeteries but their names and ages have not been identified. Each unnamed grave is an unfinished story, an unending pain that has lasted for decades...

Taking DNA samples from martyr's mother

Open up hope

The Party and State always pay special attention to the search and collection of martyrs' remains. This is not only a political task but also a moral and sacred responsibility. Recently, the Ministry of Public Security has deployed and implemented a project to collect and analyze DNA samples of martyrs' relatives to build a national gene bank, as a scientific database and to compare and identify martyrs' remains.

DNA sampling is carried out strictly, scientifically , completely free of charge and prioritizes samples with high accuracy, especially from the martyr’s mother or maternal relatives because this is the direct gene according to bloodline. From here, the journey of “finding a name for the martyr” brings much hope.

In Tay Ninh , a land once wracked by the flames of war, there are currently 33,844 recorded martyrs, but 4,909 of them have yet to be identified. Many of the remains were gathered from old battlefields, buried and worshiped with care, but on the tombstones there is still the inscription: "Unknown martyr".

Through the process of screening and mobilizing, there are currently 6,699 relatives of martyrs on the maternal side who have provided DNA samples to serve the identification of martyrs. However, there are still 4,513 martyrs who do not have relatives who are eligible to provide DNA samples, so identification is difficult.

Lieutenant Colonel Pham Minh Mong - Deputy Head of the Department of Administrative Management of Social Order, Provincial Police, shared: “Collecting DNA samples of martyrs' relatives opens up opportunities to search for and identify the identities of heroic martyrs more accurately and effectively. Each DNA sample is like a piece of the past, a link between the deceased and their living relatives. Taking DNA samples to identify martyrs is also a commitment to history that no one will be forgotten.”

Recently, Tay Ninh Provincial Police coordinated with the Department of Administrative Management of Social Order (Ministry of Public Security) and GeneStory Company to collect DNA samples from 144 cases of relatives of martyrs whose identities have not been determined. Of these, 39 cases were the martyrs' biological mothers and 105 cases were other relatives in the family.

The seemingly purely technical work is filled with emotions. It is not just a biological sample but the last remaining hope of the martyrs’ relatives. All samples, after being collected, will be transferred to the identification room, compared with the data of the collected remains, and integrated into the National Gene Bank. Although the process may take a long time, if the results match, it will be a belated but extremely meaningful reunion.

Behind each biological sample collection are countless beautiful and meaningful stories. The members and officers of the working group not only come to collect DNA samples but also listen and talk with the mothers and relatives of martyrs to understand and share.

"Mom has been waiting for you for so long...!"

A journey to collect DNA samples to find the names of martyrs brings much hope

Not long ago, the working group came to the house of Vietnamese Heroic Mother Truong Thi Chiem (born in 1923, residing in Vinh Hung commune) to collect DNA samples. Her hair was white and her eyes were dim, but when mentioning her son - martyr Tran Van Coi who died in 1968, her eyes lit up with hope. More than half a century has passed, but she has never given up hope of finding her son's grave. "The officers came to collect some kind of DNA sample, I'm not very familiar with it, but I heard it was to identify the martyr's name. So there is hope!" - the mother said toothlessly, full of confidence.

In Long An ward, Mrs. Truong Thi Doan, over 90 years old, was moved to tears when talking about her son - martyr Truong Van Sang who sacrificed his life in the resistance war against America to save the country. Looking up at her son's altar, she said: "I am old, I wish for nothing more than to find you. I have waited for you to come back for so long!" The old mother's voice moved many people.

In My Yen commune, Mrs. Tran Thi To Quyen still has not given up hope of finding her brother - martyr Tran Tan Xuan. "His family still remembers and calls him by his name, but his grave is still unknown," she said, her eyes red.

Finding remains and identifying martyrs is not only a professional task but also a deep gratitude of today's generation to those people and families who have contributed to the country. Behind each collection of biological samples are many beautiful and meaningful stories. Members and officers of the working group not only come to collect DNA samples but also listen and talk with mothers and relatives of martyrs to understand and share.

The work of collecting DNA samples and identifying the martyrs will continue in the coming time with the hope of bringing about many belated but meaningful “reunions”. That is a way for those who are still living to somewhat alleviate the painful question: “Where are my children, my husband, my brother…?”./.

Le Duc

Source: https://baolongan.vn/tim-ten-cho-liet-si-a199727.html