After two days of implementation (June 30 and July 1), Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province has completed the sampling of remains of unidentified martyrs at Chau Phu Martyrs' Cemetery, Vinh Thanh Trung commune.
This is the first cemetery selected by An Giang province to organize the sampling of martyrs' remains for DNA testing to draw experience before being deployed simultaneously at all martyrs' cemeteries in the province. The activity is directed by the Provincial Steering Committee 515, the An Giang Provincial Military Command - the Standing Agency of the Provincial Steering Committee 515, in coordination with departments, branches, localities and specialized units to organize implementation.
According to the plan, the implementing force has taken samples for 37 martyrs' graves with unidentified information. The entire process from comparing dossiers, determining the location of graves, opening, taking samples, sealing, encoding, preserving to handing over samples are strictly implemented according to the technical procedures of the Ministry of National Defense, ensuring accuracy, science and absolute safety.
Completing the task on schedule not only marks an important starting point in the work of identifying martyrs using DNA testing methods of An Giang province but also creates a practical basis to complete the process before widespread deployment.
Colonel Cao Minh Tam - Deputy Political Commissar of An Giang Provincial Military Command - said: "This is the first time An Giang province has organized to take samples of martyrs' remains for DNA testing, so the implementation process is both implementation and drawing experience. The advantage is that the preparation work is carried out thoughtfully, receiving the attention and direction of the 515 Steering Committee of Military Region 9, the close coordination of departments, branches, localities and the high sense of responsibility of participating forces. However, because martyrs' remains have been buried for many years, the preservation conditions in each grave are different, so the selection of sample locations, ensuring the quality of samples for DNA testing requires professional staff to perform very carefully, accurately and strictly comply with technical procedures. Through the implementation at Chau Phu Martyrs' Cemetery, we will organize a comprehensive assessment and drawing experience to deploy synchronously at the remaining martyrs' cemeteries in the province.
Taking DNA samples of martyrs' remains is of particular importance in the search, repatriation and identification of missing martyrs. From the collected remains, specialized agencies will conduct appraisal and comparison with the DNA database of relatives of martyrs nationwide, thereby gradually returning the names and hometowns of heroic martyrs, meeting the aspirations of relatives and contributing to the good implementation of the "Gratitude" policy of the Party and State.
According to the plan of Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province, after completing the pilot phase and learning from experience at Chau Phu Martyrs' Cemetery, the province will deploy simultaneous DNA sampling at martyrs' cemeteries in the area, striving to complete DNA sampling before May 2027, contributing to accelerating the progress of identifying the names of heroic martyrs who are still missing information, bringing them back to their names and homeland after many years of waiting.
