A lifetime waiting for the day to find a loved one
More than half a century after the war, the journey of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains continues. Behind each unidentified grave is a family still hoping for the day their loved ones can return.
For Mr. Tran Tan Dat, An Hoi ward, Vinh Long province, that journey is associated with two relatives who sacrificed themselves. For more than half a century, he has still preserved the two "Fatherland Remembers Merit" certificates of martyrs Tran Van Quy and Dang Van Au.
55 years of Party membership is also the same amount of time Mr. Dat searched for traces, the resting place of his loved ones. The longer the time, the fewer traces, the fewer witnesses, but the desire to find the place where the martyrs are resting has never stopped.
There is nothing more than hoping to find my relatives. I hope that DNA testing will help find the martyrs, so that they can return to their families, be remembered and appreciated by their children and grandchildren" - Mr. Dat shared.
Mr. Dat's story is also the aspiration of many families. For Ms. Nguyen Kim Nu, Ben Tre ward, Vinh Long province, every piece of information about searching for and repatriating martyrs' remains opens up another hope.
A blood sample sent for DNA testing can carry the memories of a whole family. If the results identify the identity, after decades, relatives will have an answer about the person who sacrificed and an address to return to.
Clues extend the journey to find the deceased
According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Truong Giang - Deputy Head of Politics Department, Vinh Long Provincial Military Command, the prolonged time has made it difficult to search for martyrs' remains. Traces are changing, witnesses are decreasing, while much information is only left through memories.
Functional forces must review records, meet witnesses, compare information, verify locations and zone areas where there are likely remains of martyrs. Every clue, no matter how small, is checked to find more opportunities to bring the martyrs back.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Be Muoi - Provincial Party Committee Member, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of Steering Committee 515 of Vinh Long province, among more than 37,000 martyrs who fought, sacrificed and were buried, there are still more than 3,900 martyrs whose information and resting place are unclear.
This figure shows that the journey of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains still has much work to do. In the past 3 months, the Steering Committee 515 of the province has coordinated forces to search for and repatriate 65 martyrs' remains.
The remains were taken to be buried at Mo Cay Bac Martyrs' Cemetery, Phuoc My Trung commune, and another 65 people returned to their resting place. But ahead are still graves whose identities and hometowns have not been identified.
There, behind each unidentified grave is still a family waiting. It could be an old mother, a younger sibling with gray hair, or grandchildren like Mr. Dat, who continue to carry the promise of finding their loved ones over the years.
DNA testing is therefore not just a scientific method. Each result can help reconnect a name with a grave, a homeland with a sacrificed person, and answer for families that have waited for decades.
