Vietnam recovers over 1,300 sets of war martyrs’ remains since launch of 500-day campaign

According to the national steering committee for the search, recovery and identification of martyrs' remains, authorities have collected samples from over 32,000 martyrs’ graves, with more than 22,000 suitable for DNA collection.

More than 9,300 samples have been transferred to laboratories for DNA analysis.

Authorities have also cleared landmines and unexploded ordnance across more than 7,000 hectares, including over 3,000 hectares in the core area of Vi Xuyen in Tuyen Quang Province, northern Vietnam, completing over 70 percent of the planned work.

The Ministry of Public Security has collected nearly 95,000 biological samples from relatives of war martyrs and synchronized data from more than 50,000 samples into the national database.

In addition, DNA sampling has been carried out at unidentified graves in 2,091 war martyrs' cemeteries nationwide, out of nearly 3,000 cemeteries across the country.

Recent searches have combined witness testimony with advanced methods such as underground radar scanning and map coordinate analysis, improving accuracy and reducing excavation work.

Declassified foreign records have also been used to verify information about mass graves, yielding results in localities like Quang Ngai Province and Ho Chi Minh City.

One of the campaign's most significant breakthroughs came at Le Thi Rieng Park in Ho Chi Minh City, where the first remains of war martyrs were recently recovered more than one month after the city’s High Command appealed for witnesses connected to a historic photograph documenting the burial of fallen soldiers on February 12, 1968 at the former Chi Hoa Cemetery.

The search at Le Thi Rieng Park has become a key milestone in the campaign to accelerate the recovery and identification of war martyrs' remains.

To support the campaign, the Ministry of National Defense has issued guidelines covering sample collection, digitization, transportation, storage and preservation of war martyrs' remains.

Training programs have also been conducted across the country before nationwide implementation.

The ministry has assigned the military-run Viettel Group to develop software to manage all information related to collected samples, enabling authorities to trace samples throughout the collection, transfer, and storage process in case of discrepancies.

Across Vietnam, local authorities continue to expand the campaign.

In Phu Tho Province, officials are implementing DNA sampling for 4,837 unidentified graves at 131 war martyrs' cemeteries. The province has 292 cemeteries containing 28,809 graves, including 5,386 whose identities remain unknown.

By the end of June, sampling had been completed at three cemeteries as a pilot program before broader implementation, while Phu Tho authorities continued reviewing thousands of records related to potential burial sites.

In Vi Xuyen of Tuyen Quang Province, search teams recently recovered two additional sets of remains and one mass grave in Thanh Thuy Commune.

Eleven individual sets of remains and three mass graves are being prepared for reburial at the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs' Cemetery.

In Lao Cai Province, over 2,200 military officers and soldiers were deployed to search across 280 hectares, excavating over 4,050 cubic meters of earth and rock.

The forces have recovered 13 sets of remains, with four identified. Over 600 samples have been collected from 931 graves for DNA testing.