Hope to close the journey of waiting
In the silent flow of people returning to Quang Tri, Mr. Chu Dinh Minh (Hanoi) carried a long journey - a journey to find his father, martyr Chu Dinh Than, who sacrificed himself on the Quang Tri battlefield.
For more than 50 years, Mr. Minh has been to Quang Tri many times. From martyrs' cemeteries to places associated with wars, wherever there is information, he goes. His familiar stop is the Quang Tri Citadel area, where the 81-day and night fierce battle took place in 1972. Sitting next to the walls stained with traces of bombs and bullets, Mr. Minh quietly talked about his father whom he had never met: "If I am lucky enough to find him, just a piece of bone to know it is my father is also the greatest happiness in my life.
Quang Tri is one of the areas with the largest number of martyrs in the country. According to statistics, there are still more than 31,000 unidentified martyrs in the province; more than 25,000 cases have been collected but their identities have not been identified. Across the country, this number is much larger, with about 175,000 unidentified martyrs' remains and more than 300,000 unidentified graves.
Those numbers are not just dry data, behind them are waiting lives. There are mothers who died without knowing where their children would lie down. There are wives who spend their youth waiting. There are children who grow up just through memories and stories, and then continue their journey to find their father in vain.
Time passes, making the search increasingly difficult. Historical witnesses are decreasing, terrain changes, and war traces are blurred. Many areas that were once battlefields have now become forests, residential areas or were plowed by bombs and bullets to the point of having no initial traces. Therefore, the aspiration of martyrs' relatives is sometimes not only to find their remains completely, but only one trace is needed to confirm, to be able to call their names, to light incense sticks, to close a decades-long journey of waiting.
500 days and nights searching for comrades
In early April 2026, in the Cha Ly mountain stream forest area (Cup village, Huong Lap commune), from early morning to late at night, many members of the Repatriation Team of the 337 Economic - National Defense Corps (Military Region 4) gathered here to search for martyrs' remains. From April 2 to April 6, at a depth of about 1.5m underground, this unit discovered and repatriated 2 martyrs' remains and many artifacts, especially a glass jar containing carefully preserved information. Previously, on April 1 and March 24, also in the Cha Ly mountain stream forest area, the Repatriation Team of martyrs' remains repatriated 2 martyrs' remains.
Professional soldier Captain Luu Van Tri - Team for Repatriating Martyrs' Remains of Economic - National Defense Team 337 shared that many artifacts such as parachute cloth, buttons, hammocks after more than 50 years are only very fragile. Therefore, each time excavating, he and his comrades have to peel off each layer of soil carefully to avoid losing important traces.
There are trips that last many days, eating in the forest, sleeping in hammocks, facing erratic rain and sunshine. But for Mr. Tri and his teammates, it is a sacred mission. "Behind each remains is a family waiting. That is the motivation for us not to be allowed to stop" - Mr. Tri shared.
Not only the Team for Repatriating Martyrs' Remains of Economic - National Defense Team 337, but in the scorching sun of Central Vietnam, on hillsides, forests, or lands that were once battlefields, the teams for repatriating martyrs' remains of military units still lift each layer of soil every day, searching for every smallest trace. The work requires perseverance, meticulousness and patience, but no one flies back.
Faced with the large volume of work to search for and repatriate martyrs' remains and identify martyrs' identities, on April 2, the Government organized the "Operation 500 days and nights to promote the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains" nationwide. Launching the campaign at Quang Tri Citadel, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra - Head of the National Steering Committee for Searching, Repatriating and Identifying Martyrs' remains - emphasized that this is not only a particularly important political task, but also a sacred responsibility, reflecting the morality of "When drinking water, remember the source" of the nation.
The campaign is implemented in stages, from January 2026 to July 2027, DNA sampling will be completed for all uninformed martyrs' graves in cemeteries and newly searched remains. The next phase will be expanded for cases with partial information but unidentified identities. The goal of the campaign is to search for and collect about 7,000 remains and identify about 18,000 cases, contributing to alleviating the pain of families.
In Quang Tri, provincial leaders committed to synchronously deploying solutions, mobilizing maximum forces and means, promoting the application of science and technology and calling on people to provide information. According to Colonel Le Hong Viet - Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command, the locality aims to search for about 240 martyrs' remains in 500 days and nights. At the same time, develop a specific plan to conduct DNA testing for more than 25,000 unidentified remains.
Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee Le Van Bao affirmed that the province will make the highest efforts, closely coordinate forces to complete the goal, and soon bring the martyrs back to their families and homeland.
On the land of Quang Tri today, there are martyrs' relatives frantically searching for their loved ones; there are soldiers in peacetime persistently digging every inch of land; there is the involvement of the entire political system with the highest determination.Each remains found is not only a person returning, but also a family that is relieved of pain, a promise of the nation being fulfilled.
Lighting the hope of reunion with the 500-day-night campaign to find martyrs' remains.
