Woman spots her teenage self in newly unearthed photo from fallen Vietnamese soldier’s grave

On Thursday, during an excavation at Tam Thai Martyrs' Cemetery in Da Nang in central Vietnam, authorities found a wallet containing personal belongings inside grave No. 104. 

Among them were a bottle of medicated oil, a metal plaque bearing the pledge 'Better to sacrifice everything than live as a slave', and the preserved portrait of a young woman. 

Hoping the photo might help identify the fallen hero, the Da Nang Military Command issued a public notice asking anyone with information to come forward.

The answer arrived with astonishing speed.

"That's me"

The woman in the portrait was later identified as Nguyen Thi Hanh, a 72-year-old resident of Nam Son Commune in Bac Ninh Province, after her relatives recognized her in the black-and-white photo that had been circulated by news outlets and on social media.

Hanh told authorities on Saturday that she was the woman in the photo when she was young and that she had given the portrait to her uncle, fallen soldier Nguyen Van Hau, before he left for military service.

She also recalled that she was wearing a very old brown shirt in the original photo, rather than the more formal-looking clothing shown in the restored version published by news organizations.

After learning that the photo had been found, Hanh asked a nephew to contact Nguyen Tien Dai, a former operations officer with Military Region 5 who has spent years searching for information about fallen soldiers, for help determining whether the excavated grave was that of Hau.

Based on information provided by Hanh, authorities reviewed and cross-checked records of fallen soldiers buried at Tam Thai Martyrs' Cemetery, leading to the preliminary identification of Nguyen Van Hau, who was born in 1930 and originally came from a northern province.

According to his death notice, Hau held the rank of corporal and served as a soldier.

He died on May 14, 1969, in what was then Quang Nam Province, now part of Da Nang following the national administrative restructuring that took effect on July 1, according to the records reviewed by authorities.

These details largely match information provided by Hanh's family, but the identity of the fallen soldier has not yet been conclusively confirmed through DNA testing, according to the Da Nang Military Command.

However, Hanh's confirmation of the portrait and the preliminary match between information provided by her family and military records provide important grounds for further verification.

The command has instructed relevant agencies and units to urgently review and cross-check all available records, verify the soldier's family ties, hometown, military service, and the time and place of his death, and work with his enlistment locality and family to collect additional documents and witness accounts.

The next steps will be taken in accordance with regulations after the verification process is completed, the command said.

The identification of Hanh has helped link a decades-old photograph to a fallen soldier whose identity has remained unconfirmed for nearly six decades.