On the afternoon of August 20, the Steering Committee for searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains of Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with Air Division 370, Air Brigade 918 under the Air Defense - Air Force Service and relevant agencies and units to organize a conference to deploy the plan to transport and hand over samples of martyrs' remains for DNA testing and identifying martyrs.
According to the Steering Committee, Ho Chi Minh City has completed 100% of the sampling work at 18/18 martyrs' cemeteries. A total of 7,104 sampling samples of martyrs' remains are eligible for DNA testing.
The samples are sealed and carefully packaged in 100 specialized boxes, covered with the National Flag, with a total weight of about 1,300kg. Air Force Division 370 and Air Force Brigade 918 under the Air Defense - Air Force Service are responsible for supporting transportation. The receiving unit is the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
Colonel Nguyen Dinh Chuan, Deputy Political Commissar of the Ho Chi Minh City Command, Deputy Head of Steering Committee 515 of Ho Chi Minh City, said that implementing the policy of the Party, State, Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense on searching for, repatriating, and identifying martyrs' remains that lack information, the Ho Chi Minh City Command has proactively coordinated with units to develop air transportation plans as soon as samples meet standards.
According to Colonel Nguyen Dinh Chuan, the coordination is implemented to ensure there is no gap between the stages of sampling, preservation, transportation, handover and DNA testing. This is a special political task, with profound humanistic significance, behind the biological samples is the long-awaited aspiration of the relatives of the martyrs.
Previously, on August 17, the Ho Chi Minh City Command coordinated with Air Division 370, Air Brigade 918 and functional agencies to survey Tan Son Nhat airport, agree on the gathering location, forces, vehicles, rituals, reception and handover procedures and security and safety assurance plans.
According to the plan, on the morning of August 21, at the Military Station of Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a ceremony to offer incense and flowers to commemorate heroic martyrs will take place. It is expected that at 9 am, the CASA-295 military transport aircraft of the Air Defense - Air Force Service will take off, bringing samples from Ho Chi Minh City to Gia Lam military airport, Hanoi.
After that, the samples will be transported to the DNA testing center under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for receipt and professional work.
Transportation by military aircraft helps shorten time, limit transit stages, and ensure safety and continuity in the process of managing and handing over samples.
The Steering Committee for searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains of Ho Chi Minh City requests forces performing tasks to thoroughly grasp the motto "respectful, strict, accurate, safe, timely"; carefully check each dossier, sample, seal and each handover stage, absolutely not to let errors occur.
