You leave without knowing when you will return...
In a house in Vinh Lam village, Vinh Thuy commune, Quang Tri province, Mr. Le Van Loan (75 years old) carefully raises the certificate "Fatherland Remembers Merit" that has been framed by his family. His finger stops at the name of martyr Le Van Tho - his older brother who left his hometown to join the army and has not yet returned.
Martyr Le Van Tho was born in 1946, enlisted in 1967, when the war against the US was fierce. In 1972, his family received news of his sacrifice. The "Fatherland Remembers Merit" Certificate clearly states that he was a Lieutenant of the Vietnam People's Army, sacrificed on October 8, 1972 in the cause of fighting against the US for national salvation.
“When he enlisted, I was just 16 years old. He said he would leave without knowing when he would return, I tried to study hard to be good, reminding my parents to live long and happy” - Mr. Loan recounted.
More than half a century has passed, the family only knows the date of sacrifice, the combat unit and the area where the soldier fell. The exact resting place of the martyr is still something no one has found.
Mr. Loan said that, according to the story of Mr. Nguyen Van Lieu - a comrade of Regiment 270 with his older brother, martyr Le Van Tho sacrificed in the Hon Chieng mountain area, belonging to Tan Hiep, Tam Ky, Quang Nam (now Da Nang city).
Having that clue, in 1975, Mr. Loan and his relatives came to the Hon Chieng mountain area. For many days, wading through the forest, searching among the still messy battlefield traces, they still could not find the remains of their loved ones.
Many years later, hearing the news that the remains of martyrs in the area had been gathered at a cemetery in Tam Ky, Mr. Loan set off again. He walked along each row of graves, reading each stele hoping to find his brother's name. But most of them were graves whose identities had not been identified.
That time I went to search for a few days. Many graves only recorded martyrs whose names were not known, so there was no basis to determine where my brother was. I had to return, but in my heart I was still always hoping," Mr. Loan recounted.
Unable to find the remains, the family built a wind grave in their hometown and placed the martyr's portrait in a small shrine. Since then, October 8th every year has become the death anniversary of the brother whose grave has not been found. Every July 27, children and grandchildren gather to burn incense to commemorate the sacrificed person.
Light from "Operation 500 Days and Nights
In July 2026, when the Vinh Thuy commune government announced the deployment of DNA sampling for relatives of martyrs whose graves have not been identified, Mr. Loan was one of the first people to register.
After many years of only being able to follow the stories of his comrades and archives, he considered DNA matching as the biggest opportunity for his family to identify his sacrificed brother.
Mr. Loan said that knowing the relative area where martyr Le Van Tho may be resting further gives the family hope. If the remains have been repatriated to the cemetery, the DNA test results may help bring the soldier's name back to its grave.
What the family wants most is to find him, bring him back to his homeland, to his family, brothers and friends. For so many years, we have been waiting for that day," Mr. Loan said emotionally.
DNA sampling is being implemented within the framework of the 500 Days and Nights Campaign to promote the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains, towards the 80th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs' Day.
At the age of 75, after more than half a century of searching for him, Mr. Loan still maintains a simple wish, that one day, the family will know exactly where his brother lay to welcome him back to his homeland.
