Dong Thap Launches DNA Sampling of Unidentified Martyrs’ Remains

(DTO) On the morning of June 9, at Chau Thanh Martyrs’ Cemetery in Phu Huu Commune, the Dong Thap Provincial Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery, and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains (Steering Committee 515) held a flower and incense offering ceremony in tribute to fallen heroes. The committee also began collecting and transferring samples from unidentified martyrs’ remains for DNA analysis. 

Attending the ceremony were Colonel Le Van Viet,  Deputy Chief of the Political Department of Military Region 9; representatives from the Policy Division under the Political Department of Military Region 9; Major General Tran Minh Trang, Commander of the Dong Thap Provincial Military Command; Huynh Minh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee; along with leaders of provincial departments, agencies, and personnel directly involved in the mission. 

Chau Thanh Martyrs’ Cemetery was selected as the pilot site for the exhumation, sampling, and transfer of martyrs’ remains. The pilot program aims to assess implementation procedures and draw timely lessons before the process is expanded across the province, ensuring accuracy, scientific rigor, and effectiveness. 

In a solemn atmosphere, delegates offered incense and observed a moment of silence to honor the martyrs who fought and sacrificed everything for national liberation, nation building, and national defense. 

Immediately following the memorial ceremony, relevant authorities began collecting DNA samples from the graves of martyrs whose identities remain unknown. According to the plan, samples will be collected from 442 graves at Chau Thanh Martyrs’ Cemetery. 

The processes of exhumation, sample collection, management, preservation, transportation, and transfer of martyrs’ remains are being carried out seamlessly, in strict accordance with professional and specialized procedures. 

At the same time, information related to the graves and remains is digitized and integrated into a database to support future management, comparison, and identification efforts. 

This activity plays a particularly important role in the implementation of the “500-Day Campaign to Accelerate the Search, Recovery, and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains,” contributing to the gradual identification of martyrs whose information is still missing and helping fulfill the wishes of their families and relatives. 

It also carries profound humanitarian significance, reflecting the Vietnamese tradition of gratitude for those who gave their lives for the nation’s independence and freedom. 

Under the provincial plan for collecting and transferring samples from martyrs’ remains from 2026 to July 27, 2027, Dong Thap aims to complete the collection and transfer of samples from 11,810 unidentified martyrs’ graves located in cemeteries throughout the province, as well as from newly recovered martyrs’ remains. 

From July 2027 to December 2030, the province will continue collecting and transferring samples from 9,346 graves of martyrs with incomplete information, as well as from graves for which some data is available but whose identities have not yet been confirmed 
through empirical verification methods.

By VIET TIEN
Translated by ANH DUC