The journey to bring 10 comrades back

In July days, in a small house in Ha Tu ward, veteran Le Long Trieu (born in 1952) slowly opened each album.

The photos that have faded with time, preserving his trips back to the battlefield of the Mekong Delta, where many comrades of the T40 Special Forces Battalion still remain.

In 1969, Mr. Trieu left his hometown of Dong Trieu, Quang Ninh to enlist in the army. After training at the 628th Special Forces Regiment, he went to the southwestern battlefield, directly participated in 9 battles and was wounded three times.

The deepest memory is the raid in Ha Tien. The special forces were divided into three prongs, attacking the tank area and enemy headquarters. The battle lasted from about 1 am, destroying 18 tanks.

At the end of 1972, Mr. Trieu was seriously injured in both legs. When leaving the battlefield, his body weighed only 27kg.

The war left him with an injury rate of 81%; he was a 1/4 wounded soldier and was awarded the Third-class Liberation Military Exploit Medal.

“The thing that worries me the most is that many comrades have not yet been identified and cannot return to their families. Therefore, we established the Liaison Committee of Veterans of Battalion T40, together collected documents, compared memories and returned to the old battlefield many times to find comrades.

People with strength directly lead the way, elderly people review diagrams, provide information. Up to now, the Liaison Committee has contributed to searching and bringing back 10 comrades who sacrificed in An Giang, Kien Giang and Cambodia," Mr. Trieu said.

On another journey, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (born in 1948, residing in Viet Hung ward) had her younger brother, martyr Nguyen Quang Minh, who sacrificed in 1968.

Ms. Hong became blind more than 20 years ago after a serious illness.

Sharing with reporters during her visit to the DNA sampling point for relatives of martyrs serving the identification of martyrs in Hoanh Bo ward, Ms. Hong said: "Now I can't see the way, but I am always concerned about information about her, because there are only two sisters at home. Now I can only rely on the Party, the State and her comrades to help find her younger brother. This is also the wish of my life.

One follows battlefield memories, one sends hope to DNA data. Two different search methods but both aim to correctly name those who have sacrificed and bring them back to their families.

That is also the core meaning of the "500-day and night campaign to promote the search, repatriation and identification of martyrs' remains".

In Quang Ninh, from May 29 to July 14, 2026, forces have completed excavation and sampling at 803/803 unidentified martyrs' graves in 18 cemeteries in 15 localities, collected 713 sets of remains and handed them over to the Military Forensic Institute.

In 5 days from July 10-14, the whole province completed the collection and digitization of 3,173 DNA samples of relatives of martyrs, reaching 94.97% of the plan. Cases where samples cannot be taken will continue to be reviewed and additionally collected.

Behind each remains sample, each DNA sample is a family waiting, a memory that cannot be closed. For Mr. Le Long Trieu, it is a promise to his comrades. For Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, it is the desire to know where her younger brother lies...

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