500 days and nights of intensified efforts to search for, collect, and identify the remains of fallen soldiers: A sacred bridge to bring them back to their homeland soon
The sampling campaign at the National Martyrs' Cemetery on Highway 9 in Quang Tri is clear evidence that digital transformation and DNA technology are effectively serving the work of showing gratitude to fallen soldiers. This combination not only optimizes accuracy but also serves as a sacred bridge, kindling hope for the return of these heroes to their homeland.
Moments of heart-wrenching silence
Quang Tri province currently has over 22,000 graves of martyrs whose information is "unknown," resting in 157 martyrs' cemeteries. Among these, the Truong Son National Martyrs' Cemetery and the Duong 9 National Martyrs' Cemetery have the highest number of martyrs buried there.
For decades, buried in the embrace of Mother Earth, enduring the ravages of bombs and bullets of the past and the harsh weather of Central Vietnam, the skeletal remains of our heroic martyrs are gradually decaying, in some places reduced to dark gray streaks blending into the earth and rocks. With each passing day, the opportunity for them to be called by their rightful names diminishes by the hour, by the minute. That is why, on the windswept hills of summer 2026, soldiers in peacetime must sweat profusely, racing against the relentless passage of time to preserve the last remaining link between the past and the present.
At the National Martyrs' Cemetery on Highway 9, where nearly 6,000 martyrs remain unidentified, the special 500-day and night campaign was conducted with the precision of a "combat" unit and the meticulousness of a field station.
Despite the scorching sun of Quang Tri, the work shifts of Team 584 and the coordinating forces lasted from dawn until dusk. On average, 40 graves were excavated and repositioned each day. Each grave took only 20 minutes to complete the rigorous 8-step process and take exactly 16 documentary photos, which were then digitized under close coordination.
Soldiers from the 584th Fallen Soldiers' Remains Collection Team (Quang Tri Provincial Military Command) carefully move the remains of unidentified fallen soldiers to the area for biological sample collection.In the midst of the sun-drenched, windswept cemetery, the improved pulley system, handcrafted by the soldiers themselves, gently lifts the tombstones, saving energy and representing the ultimate expression of care and respect for those who came before.
From July 18-19, 2026, the Youth Union of the Trade Defense Department and the Youth Union of the National Competition Commission (Ministry of Industry and Trade) coordinated with the Youth Union branches under the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Youth Union to organize the volunteer program "July of Gratitude - Returning to the Land of Fire" in Nam Cua Viet and Vinh Linh communes, Quang Tri province.
Behind those numbers and photographs lie heart-wrenching silences. When the deep layers of earth are opened, some graves contain only a few small bone fragments clinging to buttons or tattered pieces of hammock fabric. Some skeletons have completely merged with Mother Earth, leaving only a dark trace of a person who once took up arms and fell in battle, their lips unable to utter a single vow. The rustling of medical protective clothing and the clicking of specialized instruments suddenly fade away amidst the choked sobs.
After completing the biological sample collection, the remains of the fallen soldiers were returned to their graves by Team 584, reburied, and prepared.The answer to half a century of waiting.
Wiping away the sweat that streamed down his dark circles under his eyes from days spent on the "battlefield," Captain Nguyen Van Hung, a member of Team 584, tremblingly touched a carefully packaged biological sample. He looked at us, his voice choked with emotion: "When it comes to the souls of fallen soldiers, we always remind ourselves to be cautious and show absolute respect. Under the scorching sun, our uniforms are always soaked with sweat, but no one stops. Each time we touch the bones of our comrades, we tremble with happiness – the happiness of those chosen to find the final piece of information. Each biological sample retrieved is a response to half a century of weary waiting by mothers back home."
The soldiers of Team 584 proceeded to assemble and secure the tomb lid, restoring the area to its original state so that the fallen soldiers could continue their peaceful rest.Lieutenant Colonel Ngo Thanh Liem, Team Leader of Team 584 - Quang Tri Provincial Military Command, stated that the process of retrieving information for over 22,000 martyrs in Quang Tri has been carried out more scientifically through digital transformation and DNA technology. In this race against time, DNA technology is the "biological key" that helps decode genetic data from remains; while digital transformation is the "brain" that manages and digitizes everything from grave coordinates to military records. This closed-loop process allows the computer system to automatically match millions of data points between the Martyrs' DNA Bank and the Relatives' DNA Bank nationwide – something that cannot be done manually.
This combination not only optimizes accuracy but also serves as a sacred bridge, igniting hope to erase the words "information unknown" from the tombstones, bringing the fallen soldiers back to their homeland. To achieve this, the first step for our 584th team was to treat this as a command from the heart. Regardless of scorching sun or torrential rain, the entire team persevered through midday to protect the sample collection.
The Quang Tri Provincial Department of Internal Affairs announced that the province is currently reviewing population data and has completed the collection of 2,771 maternal relatives' reference samples for 2,138 martyrs to serve the national data matching process. This is the answer to the anguish of mothers and sisters... whose hair has turned gray and whose legs are weary, yet they still look towards the sloping land of Central Vietnam - Quang Tri - without knowing which gravestone their loved ones are buried in (?!).
As the afternoon sun began to fade over the rows of tombstones at the National Martyrs' Cemetery on Highway 9, test tubes containing the genetic information of the fallen soldiers were carefully sealed, preparing for a journey of hundreds of kilometers to major national identification centers, with the hope of restoring the names of the martyrs before being returned to their proper graves.
Sweat poured down onto the fiery earth, but the smiles of the soldiers of Team 584 still shone brightly beside the newly restored graves. With all their hearts and minds, today's generation is racing against time to awaken the long-silent realm, restoring the name of their homeland to each life so that these heroes may rest in complete peace in the embrace of Mother Earth!
