In the last days of September, at many martyrs' cemeteries in An Giang province, biological sample collection is being implemented at high intensity. To date, 11/20 cemeteries have completed biological sample collection, 8,525 graves have been sampled, of which 1,133 samples have been handed over to functional agencies for testing and DNA comparison.
On June 30, 2026, Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province established 2 teams to take biological samples of martyrs' remains and began performing their tasks. Faced with the volume of 15,747 graves at 20 martyrs' cemeteries that need to be sampled, along with urgent progress requirements, under the drastic direction of Steering Committee 515 of the province, the number of teams has been gradually supplemented and strengthened. To date, the province has established 14 teams to take biological samples of martyrs' remains, with a total force of more than 500 officers, soldiers and coordinated forces.
In addition to officers and soldiers of the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Steering Committee 515 has received 7 doctors, 12 doctors of the Logistics - Technical Department/ Military Region 9 and the Department of Health of An Giang province; 2 information technology officers of the General Staff/ Military Region 9 and 5 officers of the Department of Science and Technology of the province to strengthen sample collection teams.
The mobilization and supplementation of forces in terms of both personnel and expertise, teams are highly focused on performing tasks, determined to accelerate progress, complete the work of taking biological samples of martyrs' remains in mid-October 2026, striving to complete earlier than the general progress of the whole country.
However, after decades of being in the ground, the condition of remains in each tomb is very different, subjected to the impact of soil conditions, humidity, groundwater, natural decomposition processes along with gathering and moving through many periods. There are graves where professional officials have to spend a lot of time checking and evaluating to choose suitable samples. Weather, terrain and characteristics of each cemetery also directly affect the implementation process.
Colonel Nguyen Viet Thang, Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command, Deputy Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 515, said that the Party Committee and the Provincial Military Command of An Giang identified this as an important political task, associated with "The 500-day and night campaign to promote the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains".
Throughout the implementation of the standing agency, Steering Committee 515 of An Giang province regularly monitors and inspects progress, promptly directs the removal of arising difficulties and obstacles; proactively coordinates and strengthens forces between teams, prioritizing cemeteries with large workloads. Along with that, the involvement of Party committees and local authorities actively coordinates and mobilizes local forces, ensuring necessary conditions for the task to be maintained continuously.
The Party Committee and the Provincial Military Command regularly pay attention to and encourage officers and soldiers who directly perform tasks, promptly share difficulties and hardships. At the same time, thoroughly grasp the spirit of responsibility, determination to overcome difficulties, race against time but absolutely not to affect the quality and accuracy of each task because of progress," Colonel Nguyen Viet Thang emphasized.
