Persistently finding the names of martyrs
Quang Tri province currently has 157 martyrs' cemeteries burial more than 74,000 martyrs, of which more than 26,000 graves have not been identified. This is also a place where more than 50,000 martyrs have sacrificed in the area, but graves have not been found. Therefore, verifying missing martyr information and searching for unfounded martyrs is identified as a sacred and long-term task.
At the end of the year, in a small room in the People with Meritorious Services Department of the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Tri province (Dong Ha ward, Quang Tri province), specialist Nguyen Truong An was lost among thick piles of dossiers, displayed all over the table. Mr. An said that each dossier associated with a martyr lacks information and is the hope of the martyrs' relatives, so he does not dare to be negligent and cling to work. "If lucky, any dossier resolved before Tet will bring much joy to the martyrs' relatives, so everyone tries" - Mr. An shared.
Among the thousands of dossiers that Mr. An received and resolved, he remembers the most the dossier related to martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa. The grave of martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa at National Martyrs' Cemetery Road 9 (Dong Ha ward, Quang Tri province) only has a row of names, information about the year of birth, origin, rank, date, month, year of sacrifice of the martyr are all left blank. Then, the Department of People with Meritorious Services received the dossier of Ms. Pham Thi Lai (from Nghe An), a relative of the martyr, requesting to carry out procedures to take biological samples for DNA testing.
Conducting information review and planning, Mr. An exhumed the grave, collected martyr's biological samples and instructed the family to take samples for comparison. Then, Mr. An directly took the dossier and forensic samples to transfer to the Department of People with Meritorious Services. By the end of February 2025, the results showed that martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa's biological sample matched Mrs. Lai. Immediately after that, the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Tri province issued a decision to identify the remains of martyrs who lacked information.
When the procedures for adjusting information about martyrs were completed, meeting the wishes of the family, at 1 am on April 3, I was present at National Martyrs' Cemetery Road 9 to support bringing the martyrs' remains back to their hometowns. The moment witnessing the family welcoming the returning martyrs is unforgettable" - Mr. An shared.
Similarly, in February 2024, Mr. Ngo Van Khuong - younger brother of martyr Ngo Van Du, from Vinh Phuc (now Phu Tho province) - came to the Department of Home Affairs of Quang Tri province with extremely little information. Thanks to data review, Mr. An discovered a tomb only with the name "Du" in Trieu Trach Martyrs' Cemetery (Nam Cua Viet commune, Quang Tri province). Exhumation, sampling and DNA testing showed matching results. On April 10, 2025, martyr Ngo Van Du was brought back to his hometown for burial in the family's emotion.
The two stories are just a small part of the efforts of many forces over the years related to the work of people with meritorious services. Quang Tri province currently has 4 units specializing in searching for and repatriating martyrs' remains, including Teams 584 and 589 (Quang Tri Provincial Military Command), Repatriation Team of Division 968 and Repatriation Team 337 (Military Region 4). In 2025 alone, the province organized memorials and burials of 152 martyrs' remains, including 29 martyrs who sacrificed in Laos.
Mother's happiness after half a century of searching for her child
In the early morning of April 3, 2025, at the National Martyrs' Cemetery Road 9, the family of Mr. Nguyen Cong Quynh, nephew of martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa, completed the procedures to exhume the martyr's remains and take them back to his hometown of Dai Dong (Nghe An province). More than 52 years since his sacrifice, the 22-year-old young soldier has now returned to his mother's house.
Martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa was born in 1951, enlisted in 1969, and was the platoon leader of Division 968 when he sacrificed himself on the Lao battlefield in 1973. However, the death certificate did not state the burial place, causing the search for the grave to last for half a century.
The family had traveled all over Vietnam - Laos Cemetery in Nghe An, Nam Cemetery in Ha Tinh but did not see his name. The martyr's mother - Mrs. Pham Thi Lai, 104 years old this year - has been praying for many years, hoping to find her child one day. Hope arose at the end of 2022 when Mr. Quynh saw a tombstone in the name of Nguyen Cong Hoa on the Internet. From then on, he contacted functional agencies and went to Quang Tri to carry out DNA testing procedures.
On the day of receiving the news of blood sharing, the whole family hugged each other and cried. Mrs. Lai, despite her old age, still looked forward to every day to welcome her son. She told her children and grandchildren to repair their old phones because "they were afraid that Hoa would not be able to call when he returned".
On the morning of April 3, when the coffin covered with the national flag was brought into the house for the ceremony, Mrs. Lai raised her wrinkled hands to touch the flag, leaning as if hugging the child she had left for more than half her life.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Quynh said that martyr Hoa was brought back to be buried at the martyrs' cemetery about 2km from his house. On July 27th and this Tet, the whole family will be present at the cemetery to burn incense, after half a century, the family will stop lingering and welcome the new year fully in happiness.
We were very touched when we came to Quang Tri and received dedicated support from the Department of Home Affairs. When we returned to our hometown in joy of reunion, we also received a gift to support travel expenses, I am really very touched" - Mr. Quynh said emotionally.
