The Steering Committee 515 of Hue City organized a memorial service and burial for the recently discovered martyrs.

Five years of searching and excavating resulted in the recovery of dozens of remains of fallen soldiers.

Fifty years have passed since the war ended, and its wounds are gradually healing. However, in response to the unceasing longing of the families of fallen heroes, officers and soldiers of the city's armed forces continue their tireless, silent journey of searching for and gathering the remains of fallen heroes, so that they may soon return to their beloved homeland.

In late February 2025, the family and relatives of martyr Bui Duc Vinh (born in 1963, from Xuan Truong district, Nam Dinh province (now Ninh Binh province)) were overjoyed to receive the news that his remains had been found in Phong Thu town, Phong Dien district (now Phong Dien commune). Mr. Bui Duc Hai, the martyr's older brother, along with several other family members, immediately went to Phong Dien to receive them. With the approval of the City's 515 Steering Committee, the local authorities, in coordination with the military and the martyr's family, organized the excavation and relocation of the martyr's remains, handing them over to the family. The family then agreed to have the martyr buried at Huong Dien Martyrs' Cemetery.

Mr. Bui Duc Hai said emotionally: "My younger brother, Bui Duc Vinh, served in Company 301, Regiment 681 (now Brigade 971, Transport Department, General Department of Logistics and Technical Services). The family learned of Vinh's sacrifice while on escort duty in Phong Dien. For many years, we have longed to find his grave, but it has been incredibly difficult. Now, the martyr Bui Duc Vinh has been found by the local Party committee, government, and military, and solemnly buried in the martyrs' cemetery, which has helped to alleviate the pain for my family..."

Not every family is as fortunate as Mr. Bui Duc Hai's family. Currently, the entire city of Hue still has more than 3,790 remains of fallen soldiers yet to be found.

Despite numerous difficulties, the search, collection, and identification of remains of fallen soldiers with incomplete information during the 2021-2025 period have been carried out with the highest level of dedication and political responsibility by local Party committees, authorities, and leaders and commanders of agencies and units throughout the city, achieving many important results. During the 2021-2025 period, the Hue City Steering Committee 515 received and processed 300 pieces of information; of which, 175 pieces were from Laos, resulting in the excavation of 68 remains, and 125 pieces were from within Vietnam, resulting in the excavation of 16 remains.

To date, the city has coordinated the completion of the map for searching and collecting the remains of fallen soldiers (phase 1), and handed it over to the Office of the National Steering Committee 515. The Department of Internal Affairs, in coordination with relevant agencies, organized the excavation of graves of unidentified fallen soldiers at 5 cemeteries, collecting 1,692 biological samples for DNA testing. However, identifying the remains of fallen soldiers remains difficult, as most samples do not meet the criteria for comparison or do not match samples from relatives.

As long as there is information, there is searching.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Truong Viet Hai, Political Commissar of the City Military Command, despite many efforts, thousands of martyrs remain undiscovered. While the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains faces many difficulties, information about martyrs and their graves is increasingly scarce, and the impact of nature and changing terrain persists. For the period 2026-2030, the Hue City Steering Committee 515 has set a goal of further accelerating the search, repatriation, and identification of martyrs' remains with incomplete information. The target is to repatriate approximately 150 remains by 2030, conduct DNA testing for 200 cases, and verify evidence for 100 cases; from 2031 onwards, the task will continue until there is no longer any information about the martyrs' burial places.

Speaking at the conference summarizing the implementation of the task of searching for, collecting, and identifying the remains of fallen soldiers with incomplete information during the 2021-2025 period, Colonel Dinh Xuan Huong, Deputy Head of Political Affairs and Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the 515 Steering Committee of Military Region 4, emphasized: In the coming years, the work of searching for, collecting, and identifying the remains of fallen soldiers in the area, in neighboring Laos, and identifying those with incomplete information is expected to face many difficulties. To successfully carry out this sacred task, the 515 Steering Committee of Hue City will continue to thoroughly understand the policies and guidelines of the Party and State, the decisions of the Prime Minister, and the regulations and instructions of all levels on the work of searching for and collecting the remains of fallen soldiers, strengthening leadership and direction in the search and collection of remains with high political determination, urgency, activeness, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness.

“Effectively implement the solutions for searching, collecting, and identifying the remains of fallen soldiers whose information is incomplete; focus on promoting widespread information dissemination, launching a movement to provide information about the graves of fallen soldiers, collecting, connecting, and processing information; encourage and promote the role of organizations, individuals, and the entire political system to actively participate in providing information and coordinating the search and collection of fallen soldiers' remains. It is necessary to continue reviewing and supplementing the conclusions of the mapping areas for the search and collection of fallen soldiers' remains in subsequent phases. The search and collection of fallen soldiers' remains is a sacred, noble, and deeply humane task, reflecting the traditional moral principle of "drinking water, remembering the source," and must be carried out with the highest sense of responsibility and political determination, with the motto that as long as there is information about the graves of fallen soldiers, the search and collection efforts will continue,” Colonel Dinh Xuan Huong emphasized.

Text and photos: THAI BINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-polit-xa-hoi/trach-nhiem-va-menh-lenh-tu-trai-tim-155908.html