(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday launched a DNA bank for unidentified martyrs and their relatives. This will not only bring hope to over 300,000 families of missing martyrs, but also fulfill Vietnamese people’s long-standing desire to identify and honor all those who sacrificed their lives for national defense.
 The DNA bank for unidentified martyrs is launched in Hanoi on July 23, 2024, at a ceremony attended by PM Pham Minh Chinh. (Photo: dangcongsan.vn) |
Identifying martyrs’ remains has been a priority set by the Party and the State over the years. DNA test is considered a key methodology, especially in cases samples lack sufficient information for empirical methods. To date nearly 10,000 samples of martyrs' remains and over 3,000 biological samples from martyrs' relatives have been analyzed through DNA test, resulting in the identification of more than 1,000 martyrs.
Two of them, Phan Minh Nham (from Thai Binh province) and Pham Van Phuoc (from Thanh Hoa province), finally had their identities confirmed and were returned to their families for burial after half a century.
Martyr Pham Minh Nham's younger brother said: "After nearly 50 years, we are finally reunited. Our family’s wish has been fulfilled. When our parents were alive, they would search high and low for him whenever any news came up. Now that they are no longer here, he finally returned. We are now content."
Martyr Pham Van Phuoc's younger sister said: "Before they died, I promised my parents to go look for my brother. We went through so much trying to find him, and today, I can finally meet my elder brother."
The joy of these reunited families has brought hope to those whose loved ones’ identities remained unconfirmed. One martyr's family said: "My father is martyr Pham Van Phong, who laid down his life in the eastern part of Laos on October 26, 1970. Today, we still don’t know where his remains are. My family has been looking for him for 20 years. But I still hope and strive to bring him home."
A former solider, who is also trying to find his long-lost comrade, said: "We fought during the southwestern border defense in late 1977. 10 of us laid down their lives, and one who was killed in Tay Ninh province, has yet to be found. We, as his comrades, were filled with guilt, and asked our comrades in southern region to search all cemeteries there were, to no avail. We want to see our fellow soldier again. His family, wife and children wish everyday to see him again."
 Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (Photo: baotintuc.vn) |
The ongoing search and identifying of missing martyrs is further motivated by the yearning hope of their comrades and families. Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said: "Collecting DNA samples from unidentified remains and their relatives add up to approximately 600,000 people. It’s a key preparation for a long haul of identifying missing martyrs’ remains. Connecting the National Population Database with DNA technology will hopefully reunite many families and alleviate their pain and grief."
More than 1.2 million martyrs died in Vietnam’s resistance wars. Today, their comrades and loved ones are still tirelessly searching and collecting information, with the hope of identifying around 180,000 samples of martyrs’ remains, among 300,000 martyrs in cemeteries across the nation, and return them to their proper resting place.