‘Let me hold you, my son’: Vietnamese mother, 95, reunited with fallen soldier after 53 years

The remains of Phan Van Canh were brought home to An Nghia Hamlet, Tan Minh Commune, Ninh Binh Province, northern Vietnam, at 3:00 pm Saturday, 53 years after he died in the war.

Canh was the eldest of eight children of Phan Van Cong, 97, and Nguyen Thi Tuu, 95.

He joined the military in 1972 at the age of 18.

His family was informed of his death in October 1973, but they did not know where he had been buried.

His parents and siblings spent decades searching for him, but their efforts initially yielded no results.

In 2022, the family received information from the local administration that a former military officer in former Quang Nam Province, now part of Da Nang City, had information about Canh.

The man was Nguyen Tien Dai, a former operations officer of Military Region 5.

While surveying war cemeteries in 2022, Dai noticed a gravestone at Duy Hoa Martyrs Cemetery bearing the name Phan Van Cach, which he believed could refer to Canh.

With assistance from the former Quang Nam Military Command, Dai found military records identifying the martyr as Phan Van Canh and containing details of his hometown, military unit and parents.

The family then traveled to Duy Hoa Martyrs Cemetery, now in Thu Bon Commune, Da Nang, and provided DNA samples for identification.

On July 17, 2026, the National Forensic Institute under the Ministry of Health officially announced that a DNA sample from the remains, coded NCC5279, showed a maternal-line relationship with Phan Thi Cuc, Canh’s biological sister.

The result confirmed that the remains buried at Duy Hoa Martyrs Cemetery were those of Canh, allowing his family to bring him home after more than five decades.

The moment Canh’s remains arrived home on Saturday afternoon, his 95-year-old mother, Nguyen Thi Tuu, wept and reached out to hold her son after 53 years of waiting.

His 97-year-old father, Phan Van Cong, also broke down in tears as the flag-draped remains of his eldest son were brought home. Family members and local residents gathered for the emotional homecoming.

Hoang Thi Hat, 76, a resident of An Nghia Hamlet, recalled that Canh had been a good student and joined the military while in 10th grade.

"He was only 18 when he left and had not yet started a family. It took the family more than 50 years to find his remains. Fortunately, both of his parents are still alive, even though they are nearly 100," Hat said.

Hoang Van Su, a former soldier who grew up with Canh, said Canh had been a diligent student despite his family’s poverty.

"When the country needed him, Canh put his studies aside and went to war," Su said.

"I also went to war and was fortunate to return. Now he has come home to his homeland and family, and we are very happy."

The family will hold a memorial service for Canh at 1:00 pm Sunday before his remains are taken to the local cemetery for burial.