Throwing down chopsticks in the middle of a death anniversary because of news on the phone
At noon in July, Mr. Huynh Van Nho (58 years old, residing in Binh Loi hamlet, Vam Co commune, Tay Ninh province) was attending a death anniversary ceremony when he accidentally read information in the newspaper about functional forces searching for and repatriating martyrs' remains in the Le Thi Rieng Park area (HCMC). When he read the name Huynh Van Quen, his hand suddenly trembled, his chest tightened.
Hearing the news in one go, I couldn't eat anymore, dropped my chopsticks, and shed tears because I was so emotional," Mr. Nho recalled that moment of bursting tears. Leaving the party unfinished, he hurriedly picked up his motorbike and drove straight home, immediately called his older brother to inform him: "I'm Anh Hai, I've forgotten myself, how can I run anymore?" Immediately after that, his brothers coordinated together to report the incident to the Chairman of Vam Co commune, Tay Ninh province.
The appearance of this clue immediately received close attention from functional agencies. On the afternoon of July 6, Major General Nguyen Thanh Trung - Political Commissar of the Ho Chi Minh City Command and the working delegation of Steering Committee 515 of Ho Chi Minh City directly went down to the family's small house in Tay Ninh to meet relatives and compare documents.
This caution stems from a different detail between the old papers. The death certificate issued by Military Region 9 from the war era records the martyr's name as Huynh Van Quyen, who sacrificed on March 2, 1968. Meanwhile, the "Fatherland Remembers Merit" certificate that the family cherished for many years is recorded as Huynh Van Quyen - completely matching the name on the piece of paper found with the remains at Le Thi Rieng Park.
To ensure absolute accuracy before proceeding with the next steps, functional agencies have conducted thorough appraisal and verification.
Memories by the Vam Co river wharf
In the small house, Mr. Nho carefully took out the certificate "Fatherland Remembers Merit" that had been stained with time. As the youngest child in a family of 11 siblings, Mr. Nho had never seen his eldest brother's figure because when he left, he was too young. All memories of his brave brother were only patched up through the stories of his mother and his fifth sister - Mrs. Huynh Thi Le (72 years old).
Ms. Le, 6 years younger than martyr Quen, is the only member of the family who still remembers her brother's appearance. In her childhood memories, Mr. Hai Quen was the most handsome person in the family, tall, calm in personality and always knew how to take care of his younger siblings. From the days of participating in the young bamboo team, performing lively art dramas until he left home at the age of 18 to follow the revolution, he has always been a great pride of the whole family.
Ms. Le still cannot forget the fateful afternoon when she saw him across the Vam Co River to go to the battlefield. The teenage girl at the beginning of that day followed him and burst into tears: "At that time, I told you to go like this and then know when you will return".
I love him very much. For decades, I kept thinking that when I closed my eyes and passed away, there would still be no chance to find his remains...", Ms. Le choked up.
After enlisting for a few years, young soldier Huynh Van Quen lost contact after a fierce battle in the Chu Y bridge area during the 1968 Tet Offensive, when he was just 22 years old. According to his account, bombs and bullets plowed fiercely, forcing the unit to withdraw, powerlessly leaving his body and a dozen comrades on the battlefield. The enemy then buried them together in a collective bomb pit.
Promise before the spirit of parents
For more than half a century, Mrs. Le's family has always believed that her brother has forever lain in the deep land and the search is hopeless. For more than 50 years, his death anniversary has only been a meal to burn incense and look forward from afar, no one has dared to dream of reuniting.
Until the early days of July, when she accidentally read the newspaper and saw information that functional forces had discovered many sets of remains at Le Thi Rieng Park, Ms. Le's heart tightened when she swiped through the list with her brother's name. Unable to restrain her emotions, she happily covered her face and shouted in tears: "That's my second brother! That's definitely my Quen brother!". The pain of disappearing for 58 years was suddenly soothed by a miracle in real life.
These days, the small house in Binh Loi hamlet is always filled with choked but happy tears. Both Mrs. Le, Mr. Nho and family members are restless, unable to eat or sleep, counting down the days waiting for the DNA test results to match to officially bring him home.
Standing in front of the altar, Mr. Nho looked towards his brother's "Fatherland Remembers Merit" certificate, choked up and whispered: "Parents, please rest assured, the State will find Mr. Hai Quen for you!".
Previously, during the process of repatriating martyrs' remains at Le Thi Rieng Park (HCMC), functional forces discovered a piece of paper containing a lot of important information, including the name "Comrade Huynh Van Quen", along with content related to the South Vietnam Liberation Army and unit code 962. Through deciphering the unit code and comparing archival records, Military Region 7 initially identified martyr Huynh Van Quen as a Liberation Army soldier, holding the position of Deputy Squad Leader, belonging to a unit of Long An, who participated in combat in the Chu Y bridge area during the General Offensive and Uprising of Spring Mau Than in 1968.
