Over 13,500 remains samples transported for DNA testing to identify fallen soldiers

The samples were handed over to the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology and the Military Institute of Forensic Medicine following a ceremony held on September 11 by the Air Defence-Air Force Service in coordination with Military Region 7 and the People's Committees of Dong Nai, Tay Ninh and Lam Dong provinces.

At the ceremony, Colonel Nguyen Huu Toan, Deputy Director of the Air Defence-Air Force Service's Department of Political Affairs, expressed his profound gratitude to the heroes and fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives for national independence and freedom and the happiness of the people.

He said that during the resistance wars to defend the Fatherland, countless young people left their hometowns, families and personal dreams to undertake national duties. Many never returned from the battlefields, while the identities and burial sites of others remain unknown.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Huy Tuan, Deputy Political Commissar of the Air Defence-Air Force Service, said the flights carrying biological samples under the “500-day campaign” to accelerate the search and identification of fallen soldiers' remains had special significance, saying behind every sample lies a story, a life and the hopes of relatives who have waited for decades to learn the identity and hometown of their loved ones.

This time, the service transported 13,563 samples, more than 7,000 above the number transported on August 21. The samples were transported, received and handed over with the highest level of care, responsibility and security, he added.

Earlier the same day, at the Military Terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Military Region 7 coordinated with the Air Defence-Air Force Service and the three localities to organise the transport and handover.

Dong Nai contributed 4,651 samples, Tay Ninh 5,287 and Lam Dong 3,625. They were securely sealed and packed in 144 specialised boxes covered with the national flag to ensure safety throughout transport.

Lieut. Gen. Tran Vinh Ngoc, Secretary of the Party Committee and Political Commissar of Military Region 7, said millions of Vietnamese had devoted their youth and lives to national independence and freedom. More than half a century after peace was restored, many remain unidentified, leaving families waiting for information about their loved ones.

He described the transport of the 13,563 samples as “a flight of gratitude,” reflecting the nation's enduring remembrance of those who sacrificed for the Fatherland.

The use of scientific and technological advances in identification is expected to help clarify the identities of more fallen soldiers, narrow information gaps on their graves and meet the legitimate aspirations of their families.