On July 25, the Steering Committee of Military Region 7 and the Steering Committee of Dong Nai City on searching, repatriating, and identifying martyrs' remains organized a ceremony to deploy the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains in Minh Duc commune, Dong Nai city.
Attending the ceremony were former Politburo Member, former President Nguyen Minh Triet; General Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense; General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army.
On the local side were Mr. Vu Hong Van, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Dong Nai City Party Committee and comrades in the Standing Committee of the Dong Nai City Party Committee.
Speaking at the ceremony, General Phan Van Giang said that the Ministry of National Defense has actively and proactively deployed synchronously and drastically "Operation 500 days and nights to promote the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains"; has established more than 30 teams and strengthened forces for search and repatriation teams; established working groups to collect information at the grassroots level; organized specialized teams to take samples of martyrs' remains; organized many information verification workshops; applied underground scanning radar, digital technology and management software... serving the highest level for the search, repatriation, and identification of martyrs' remains that lack information.
With the highest spirit and responsibility, after more than 4 months of deploying the "Operation 500 Days and Nights", nearly 1,500 sets of martyrs' remains and 7 mass graves have been searched and repatriated. In particular, the mass grave area at Le Thi Rieng Park (HCMC) has found more than 100 sets of martyrs' remains, 2 mass graves and many artifacts. Samples were taken from more than 73,000 sets of martyrs' graves; bomb and mine clearance was carried out on about 8,500 hectares, of which the core area of Vi Xuyen, Tuyen Quang was more than 3,500 hectares, reaching over 80% progress. Dong Nai City has searched and repatriated more than 100 sets of martyrs' remains, and sampled more than 5,000 sets of martyrs' graves.
At the ceremony, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense requested the Dong Nai City Party Committee, Military Region 7, especially the forces directly performing tasks, together with all levels and sectors to mobilize maximum resources, promote the application of science and technology to increase the efficiency of search and repatriation. At the same time, solemnly organize a memorial service and burial of martyrs' remains; promptly hand over samples of martyrs' remains to the appraisal unit for DNA testing, identifying martyrs' identities as soon as possible...
Before deploying the 500-day and night Campaign, the total number of martyrs' remains in Minh Duc commune area, Dong Nai city searched for and collected was 55 sets. Since deploying the 500-day and night Campaign, from July 14, 2026, the Steering Committee of Military Region 7, the Steering Committee of Dong Nai city directed the Military Command of Dong Nai city to decisively get involved, urgently conduct surveys, mobilize forces, vehicles, materials and equipment to expand the scope of exploration and excavation in Minh Duc commune area. By July 20, 2026, 21 sets of remains and many artifacts of martyrs had been discovered.
