Footprints cover the forests
When the mist still covered the hillside, the soldiers set off again to perform a special mission with hoes, shovels, positioning machines, old battlefield diagrams and records from witnesses.
The old battlefield has changed, forests have become fields and villages; witnesses are gradually disappearing. Many locations have been dug for dozens of holes without results, but each small piece of information is still a ray of hope to continue the journey.
Major Danh Ny - guiding officer of Team K92 - said that he knows every road, hamlet, and forest where the unit used to pass through. For him, every piece of information from the people is a ray of hope.
He shared that there is information that must be verified many times, sometimes searches lasting for months still have no results, but officers and soldiers always encourage each other, because behind each search is the decades-long waiting of the martyr's family.
Mr. Chhay Vuthy (Koh Kong province, Cambodia) - who has been with Team K92 for many years - said that he is always ready to provide information and support the unit because of respecting the affection and efforts to search for the remains of Vietnamese martyrs for decades.
Promoting the model of the Gratitude Propaganda Team and Living Data Bank
To improve the search efficiency, for many years Team K92 has implemented the "Gratitude Propaganda Team" model, which is considered a creative approach in the work of repatriating martyrs' remains in Cambodia.
The participating officials are all fluent in Khmer, understand local customs and have experience in mass mobilization. Before each search, they go to each hamlet and village to meet people, monks, elderly people and former soldiers to propagate the meaning of the work, and at the same time collect and verify information about martyrs' burial places.
Not only propagating, officers of Team K92 also help people repair houses, support necessities, provide medical examinations, free medicine and participate in many social security activities. These meaningful actions help the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers to be more trusted and loved by Cambodian people, and at the same time bring many valuable sources of information about martyrs' burial places.
From 2021-2025, the Gratitude Propaganda Team built more than 70 information provision facilities, contributing to helping Team K92 repatriate 456 sets of martyrs' remains, including 89 sets in Cambodia and 367 sets in the country, after many years of sticking to the area, verifying and marching through difficult forests.
If Team K92 builds an information network from local people, Team K93 has a "live data bank" especially for veterans who fought in Cambodia. Many people are now over 70 years old but are still concerned that their comrades are still lying in the friendly country, regularly providing information about place names, battles and burial locations when recalling battlefield memories.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Xuyen - Team Leader of Team K93 - said that from the dry season of 2001-2002 to now, the unit has collected 2,202 sets of martyrs' remains in Cambodia and in the country. In the XXV phase alone (2025-2026), Team K93 collected 76 sets, including 15 sets in the country, identifying the identity of 1 martyr and 61 sets in Cambodia.
In general, Teams K92 and K93 have collected nearly 2,700 sets of martyrs' remains, making an important contribution to the 500-day and night campaign to promote the search, collection and identification of martyrs' remains.
Colonel Cao Minh Tam - Deputy Political Commissar of An Giang Provincial Military Command - said that the work of searching for and repatriating martyrs' remains has always been identified by the Party Committee and the Provincial Military Command as a particularly important political task, demonstrating the responsibility and morality of "When drinking water, remember the source" of the nation.
Over the years, although the search area has become increasingly wide, the traces of war have gradually been erased, and the source of information has become less and less, officers and soldiers of Teams K92 and K93 have always promoted the spirit of responsibility, overcome all difficulties and hardships, stick to the area, stick to witnesses to search for comrades. The results achieved by the two teams not only contribute to alleviating the pain and expectation of martyrs' relatives but also continue to affirm the noble qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers in peacetime" - Colonel Cao Minh Tam emphasized.
