Reviewing temporary cemeteries, not missing martyrs' remains
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi Be Muoi - Vice Chairwoman of Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee, Head of Steering Committee 515 of the province said that the province is urgently deploying the 500-day and night campaign to search, collect and identify the remains of martyrs.
Through review, specialized forces determined that there is still a possibility of martyrs' remains remaining at some temporary cemeteries. Steering Committee 515 of the province agreed to review these locations.
The Provincial Military Command is assigned to develop a plan and coordinate with localities to implement it. When new information is detected, units must report, verify, and organize searches and gathering according to regulations.
According to Ms. Muoi, a lot of information about graves and remains of martyrs provided by the Provincial Veterans Association has been sent to the Standing Committee of the Provincial Steering Committee 515, along with bases, documents and witnesses.
The Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 515 requested the standing agency to receive information, coordinate verification and advise on necessary cases to organize searches and gatherings. The review work does not stop after one time.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Be Muoi emphasized: "As long as there is information, there will be searches, resolutely not missing martyrs' remains". According to her, when there is still information or suspicious signs, the force must continue to verify.
Currently, 36/124 communes and wards in Vinh Long have temporary cemeteries with 96 cemeteries. Most of the martyrs' remains here have been repatriated to the current cemeteries or handed over to their families for management.
However, the actual search and repatriation in the two years 2025 - 2026 shows that at some temporary cemeteries, when there is information or suspicion of remaining remains, functional forces search again and still discover them.
Accelerate DNA sampling, identify martyrs
Ms. Muoi said that the Provincial Military Command proposed that the Provincial Steering Committee 515 have a policy to coordinate with localities, agencies, organizations and related individuals to review and verify temporary cemeteries collected before 1990. Where there is a basis, it will be inspected.
In the 500 Days and Nights Campaign, the Provincial Veterans Association coordinated to propagate and mobilize information about martyrs; received many sources of information and transferred them to the Provincial Military Command for review and verification.
Team K90 of the Political Department of Military Region 9 and other forces have reviewed, searched, and repatriated at locations with information and documents suspected of having remains of martyrs. More than 90 remains have been repatriated.
The forces simultaneously made records, took biological samples, preserved and handed them over for DNA testing. The province also took biological samples for remains of martyrs without information at cemeteries.
To date, more than 400 biological samples have been taken and the province continues to deploy them at the remaining cemeteries. Sampling serves DNA testing, contributing to identifying martyrs and bringing them to the right places.
The Steering Committee of 515 provinces has adjusted the objectives and progress of taking and handing over samples to accelerate the 500-day and night Campaign. By the end of December 2026, the province strives to complete the collection of 4,871 sets of remains.
The above samples were taken at 29 martyrs' cemeteries and the remains were searched for and repatriated, shortening 5 months compared to the previous plan. The Provincial Military Command was assigned to preside over the implementation.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Be Muoi added that the Provincial Steering Committee 515 requested departments, branches and localities to closely coordinate, ensure progress, with the goal of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs.
