Heartbreaking advice from parents before death
In recent days, Mr. Nguyen Trong Bay (born 1960, in Hop Tien commune, Thanh Hoa province) has not hidden his joy and emotion when he found the martyr's grave of his older brother through DNA testing. For Mr. Bay, finding his brother's remains is not only his personal happiness, but also fulfilling the wishes of his family, fulfilling his promise to his parents before his death.
Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Bay emotionally said that his family is somewhat luckier than many other families, having found the grave of a loved one after decades of searching.
Mr. Bay recounted that his family had a total of 6 siblings, including 5 sons. Among these, 4 went to war. His two older brothers, Nguyen Trong Cat (born 1952) and Nguyen Trong Khanh (born 1956), both enlisted in 1971, and in 1972 both died.
My two older brothers joined the army in the same year, sacrificed in the same year and the family received the death certificate in the same year. On the day of receiving the death certificate, my mother and family were extremely saddened, because they died when they were very young. However, suppressing the pain, my parents still looked forward to the day they would find their children to bring them back to their homeland" - Mr. Bay recalled.
According to Mr. Bay, since the day his two brothers sacrificed, his parents seem to be much sadder, and their health has also deteriorated. In 1981, his father, Nguyen Trong Kenh, passed away. In 1985, his mother, Ms. Le Thi Loc, also passed away.
Before passing away, parents advised their children that no matter what the price, they must try to find their brothers, bring them back to their hometown, to their motherland to burn incense.
From the advice of my parents, for many years, my three brothers and sisters often asked for information about them to find. However, at that time, it was very difficult to access information, and traveling was also difficult, so over time, my two older brothers also passed away due to old age. Only I, the youngest brother, continued to shoulder the responsibility of finding the two martyr brothers" - Mr. Bay said.
The joy burst when I found you guys
According to Mr. Bay, among the two martyr brothers, the grave of Mr. Nguyen Trong Khanh was found earlier because there was full information. About 10 years ago, the family brought martyr Khanh's grave from the cemetery in Quang Tri province to the home cemetery to burn incense every year.
Regarding the grave of martyr Nguyen Trong Cat, after many years of searching for unknown whereabouts, about 3 years ago, the family was provided with information by an old comrade about the burial place at Nga Bay - Phung Hiep Martyrs' Cemetery, Can Tho City. Immediately after that, Mr. Bay immediately went to this cemetery to search.
Here, he stayed for about a week to inquire about information. Through his brother's old comrade, the family only knew the burial area, and the specific grave no longer had a name or hometown.
“At the time I entered, although I did not know exactly where Mr. Cat's grave was, I only knew that he was lying in this area, I was very moved. I was lingering in the cemetery from morning until late at night before returning. Honestly, to have valuable information about my brother's grave, I am very grateful to his two comrades, Mr. Nguyen Doan Tung and a person in Can Tho City, for their help,” Mr. Bay recounted.
According to Mr. Bay, after the search journey, by 2025, when the State has a policy of taking DNA samples from relatives of martyrs, his family will immediately come to the locality to take samples to serve the comparison work.
After a period of waiting, a few days ago, he received DNA test results from a relative matching his brother's sample.
“When I received the results, I could not describe my joy. I only know that after so many years, I have fulfilled my promise to my parents and found my older brother” - Mr. Bay said emotionally.
According to Mr. Bay, he has completed the procedures and papers. It is expected that on July 10th, he and his family will go to Nga Bay - Phung Hiep Martyrs' Cemetery, Can Tho City to carry out procedures to bring martyr Nguyen Trong Cat back to his homeland, back to his motherland, convenient for incense offerings and gratitude.
On July 27 this year and in the following years, our family and children and grandchildren have been able to burn incense to show gratitude to the brother and uncle who sacrificed more than 50 years ago. Thank you to your comrades, thank you to the Party and State's policies for helping our families find and bring you back to your homeland, back to motherland" - Mr. Bay shared.
Previously, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police said that through DNA testing results and comparing relative information, functional agencies have identified the remains of martyrs buried at grave number 52, row 2, lot B, area B, Nga Bay - Phung Hiep Martyrs' Cemetery, Can Tho City as belonging to martyr Nguyen Trong Cat, native of Minh Dan commune, former Trieu Son district, now Hop Tien commune, Thanh Hoa province.
In Thanh Hoa, there are still tens of thousands of martyrs who have not been identified or lack information about their graves. The DNA sample of martyr Nguyen Trong Cat's relative is one of more than 37,000 DNA samples that Thanh Hoa Provincial Police have coordinated with functional units to collect during peak periods in 2025.
