Taking action for the identity of a deceased person
Determining that collecting DNA samples is an act of profound humanitarian significance, demonstrating the morality of "Remembering the source when drinking water", in recent times, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police have proactively coordinated with relevant agencies and units to organize the review, collection of information and collection of DNA samples of martyrs and relatives to serve the search and identification of the remains of martyrs with missing information.
According to statistics, there are currently about 500,000 martyrs nationwide whose identities have not been determined, of which 300,000 remains have been buried but there is not complete information, 200,000 remains have not been collected. In Thanh Hoa alone, there are 37,720 martyrs whose identities have not been determined and more than 39,000 cases where relatives need to collect DNA samples. This is a huge amount of work that needs to be done urgently and methodically.
Understanding the aspirations of mothers, fathers, families, and relatives of martyrs, the Thanh Hoa Police force has mobilized hundreds of officers and soldiers from the provincial to the communal levels to simultaneously deploy working groups, closely coordinate with local authorities, the Provincial Military Command, the Department of Home Affairs... to review information, make a list, and collect DNA samples from martyrs' relatives.
During the first peak period from May 12 to 16, 2025, the authorities collected DNA samples from 933 cases of mothers of martyrs and relatives close to blood on the outside. These are valuable models with high genetic compared value. Initial results have determined the identities of the two martyrs, bringing great emotion and hope to families who are looking forward to their children returning to their motherland every day.
Lighting up hope to find the names of more than 37,000 martyrs
To continue promoting this work, on June 20, the Director of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police issued a Plan to launch a peak period of collecting DNA samples for all relatives of unidentified martyrs in the area. The implementation period is from July 1 to before July 27, 2025, on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day.
The subjects of this sample collection are the remaining groups that have not been sampled in the first batch, including: group 3 (anh, chi, brothers and sisters of the same mother as the martyr); group 4 (anh, chi, brothers and sisters of the martyr's mother); and group 6 (children of the sister, sister of the martyr). Sampling will be carried out at the police headquarters of communes, wards, towns or to go to the homes for special cases that cannot be moved.
To ensure efficiency, safety and security, the sampling points are fully equipped with specialized equipment, qualified human resources, strictly following technical procedures, and authenticating citizen identification cards to ensure absolute accuracy. Along with that, the working groups also conducted surveys on information related to the place of sacrifice and the initial burial of martyrs to serve the comparison and comparison work in the process of identity verification.
The creation and updating of a DNA bank into the ID Database is an important step to gradually decoding thousands of lives of unknown people. This is not only a professional task, but also a concrete manifestation of gratitude and political determination in the journey to bring the heroes back to their names, homeland and family.
