DNA collection accelerates to identify 300,000 unidentified martyrs' remains

The collection of DNA samples from relatives is being accelerated, opening up the opportunity to identify 300,000 martyrs' graves that have not been found after half a century.

On the afternoon of July 4, the hall of Huong Khe commune, Ha Tinh, was filled with relatives of martyrs coming for DNA testing. Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh, 90 years old, is the oldest person. His biological sample will be put into the national gene bank, as a basis for comparison to find the remains of his younger brother - martyr Nguyen Van Lac. "I'm glad I'm still alive to take genetic samples for her, but I'm sad because I haven't found her yet," said Ms. Dinh, from Huong Do commune.

In Thanh Hoa, the family of 97-year-old Le Thi Quynh completed DNA sampling at the end of 2025. Due to difficulty in mobility after 5 years of stroke, Ms. Quynh was taken to the police headquarters by her children to collect samples with two other members. The old man's memories are not many, but every time the name of his eldest son - martyr Le Thanh, is mentioned, Mr. Quynh cries.

Ms. Le Thi Que, Mr. Quynh's fifth child, said what the family was most worried about was that her mother had passed away without bringing back the remains of martyr Le Thanh.

The "500 days and nights campaign" and DNA samples are becoming the last hope of more than 300,000 families of martyrs like Mr. Dinh and Mr. Quynh who have not found their relatives, after decades of searching.

The soldiers left and did not return

When talking about you, Mr. Dinh remembers the family's most difficult years. In 1944, floods swept away the family's home. Two years later, his parents died of an epidemic, leaving behind 5 sisters. Youngest brother Nguyen Van Lac grew up with potatoes, cassava and the care of his siblings.

In 1960, Lac enlisted in Military Region 4, then went to B. Former teammates said that Mr. Lac belonged to a special reconnaissance force, operating secretly. The last time any family members met him was in the afternoon in Tan Thuy commune, Quang Binh, at the end of 1961. That was also the last time the family heard from him.

The war became more and more fierce, and none of the comrades who joined the army that year returned alive. Mr. Lac has never contacted his family during all these years. "My family hopes that I'm on some secret mission and haven't returned yet," Mr. Dinh said.

In 1982, the family received a death notice stating that martyr Nguyen Van Lac died on March 24, 1966 in Quang Ngai. The contradiction between the witness's account (activity in Quang Tri) and the death notice (sacrifice in Quang Ngai) caused the family to enter a difficult search journey.

As Chairman of the Veterans Association of Son Thuy commune, A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue, in early 2000, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son (nephew of martyr Lac) often rode his motorbike to cemeteries around the Gio Linh area (Quang Tri) looking for, but mostly "Unknown Martyrs" stele.

Deadlocked in the field, Mr. Son took the train to the South Central provinces to look for clues. Every search on the Electronic Information Portal, every letter asking for verification from Veterans Associations everywhere returns zero.

He continued to knock on the doors of archives. Arriving at the Huong Khe District Military Command, he received information that old books had been swept away by floodwaters. At the Military Command of Ha Tinh province, the name Nguyen Van Lac did not exist. He traveled all the way to Military Region 4 and Military Region 5, then brought all the files to the Ministry of National Defense and the Southern Cadre Archives Department to gather them to the North in Hanoi. "The officers opened the computer to check each line of data but couldn't find it. They explained that he was on a secret mission, the records kept were extremely few or were lost," Mr. Son said.

Three anonymous graves in Mang Yang

Not completely losing track like Mr. Dinh's family, Mr. Le Thi Quynh, even though she found the right cemetery, could not locate her son's grave.

Remembering her eldest brother who took care of his six younger siblings, Mrs. Le Thi Que said that even though she was not required to do so, Le Thanh still volunteered to write an application to join the army after finishing high school.

In 1972, after training in Son Tay, Hanoi, 20-year-old Le Thanh marched into Gia Lai. In a letter to his family on April 2, 1972, he wrote: "Dear parents, in this fight with the enemy, losses are normal. If something happens to your child, you should not suffer too much, but consider your child as if he were still away from home on duty, and you should be proud to have a child who has contributed to the cause of national liberation."

On June 7, 1972, he died at the foot of Le Can bridge, Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province.

Receiving the death notice but not believing that their child had passed away, Mr. Quynh and his wife asked their nephew who was fighting in Gia Lai to search for him. Having contacted the unit, the family determined that Le Thanh died with two teammates at the same location. His body was buried in a separate corner by a beloved local resident to facilitate the incense smoke, while the remaining two teammates were buried next to each other.

Peace was restored, when the State gathered at the Mang Yang Martyrs Cemetery, the remains of three people were placed next to each other and all were inscribed "Unknown Martyrs".

The family located a cluster of three graves. Mr. Le Tuan Dat, the seventh child, and his wife, Ms. Pham Thi Huong, plan to find relatives of the remaining two martyrs for DNA testing to rule out.

At that time, the other two families were having economic difficulties so they could not do it. Since then, every few years the family has come to Gia Lai once. Every time they go to Mang Yang Martyrs Cemetery, Mr. Dat and his wife prepare three identical offerings and burn incense in front of all three graves. "We didn't know where my brother was, so we burned smoke for all three of us. We were comrades, and when we lay down, we were still together," Ms. Huong said.

Race against time

The hopes of the two families are now placed on the "500 days and nights campaign" launched by the National Steering Committee for searching, gathering and identifying the remains of martyrs. This peak phase aims to collect 7,000 remains, take biological samples from 230,000 anonymous graves and DNA examine 18,000 samples.

The country currently has about 1.2 million martyrs. More than 900,000 remains have been collected, but there are still about 300,000 unidentified cases. DNA samples of relatives will be saved in the national bank for comparison and cross-verification through military records.

The journey is counting down each day. After many years, the martyrs' remains gradually decompose due to natural conditions, while the closest blood relatives (especially the first generation) have mostly turned 80 or 90 years old. With each passing day, the opportunity to collect genetic resources becomes narrower. Establishing a DNA database will shorten the road to realizing reunions after half a century.

Mr. Quynh's family has now completed the documents and power of attorney. "We're just waiting for the authorities to notify us to go for an assessment before we leave," Ms. Que said.