The work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains is one of the central parts of the work for the people with meritorious services to the revolution. Better performing this work is the sentiment and responsibility of our entire Party, Military, and people.

Over the past years, offices, sectors, units, and localities have focused their leadership and direction on conducting the work of searching and collecting martyrs’ remains and achieved the significant results. At present, the information about martyrs and martyrs’ graves are increasingly scarce; the number of martyrs’ remains to be searched, gathered, and identified are still large; the profiles and lists of martyrs, the maps of martyrs’ graves, and the profiles for collecting and managing martyr’s remains have some shortcomings; several local party committees and authorities pay insufficient regard to leading and directing this work.

The ceremony to receive remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who fell on the battlefield in Laos at the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province

The Ministry of National Defence (MND) has directed its offices and units to closely cooperate with Central committees, ministries, and sectors and local party committees and authorities in taking various measures for the work of martyrs’ graves. At the same time, they have recommended the Prime Minister to issue a Decision on merging the National Steering Board on searching and collecting martyrs’ remains and the State Steering Board on identifying martyrs’ remains into the National Steering Board 515¹. Grounded on this Decision, the military regions, provinces, and cities have consolidated their Steering Boards 515 and directed their units and localities to develop the action plans seriously and mobilize various resources in the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains.

It should be noted that the work of information and propagation has promoted the combined strength and involvement of the whole political system in the work of martyrs’ graves. Central, local, and Military press agencies have organized columns and increased the number and duration of articles and news stories about the work of martyrs and martyrs’ graves. The National Steering Board 515 has signed the Program on cooperation in propagation with the Veterans Association of Vietnam so as to raise the effectiveness of searching and collecting martyrs’ graves; cooperated with the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Communications in launching and effectively exploiting the Website for the management of information about martyrs and martyrs’ graves. Units and localities have adopted various approaches creatively, delivering leaflets on information about martyrs and martyrs’ graves to each household, including this work in the people’s meetings, dispatching cadres to attend villages and hamlets’ meetings and grasp the information about martyrs and martyrs’ graves. Doing so has helped them receive and verify the information and effectively search and gather many martyrs’ graves and collective graves in localities².

In addition, units and localities have taken good approaches to closely review and complete the profiles and lists of martyrs. Up to now, many units and localities have basically accomplished the profiles and lists of martyrs; classified groups of martyrs according to their hometowns and places of death, thereby facilitating the work of identifying and concluding the areas and drawing the maps for the search and collection as well as the provision of information for martyrs’ families and relatives³.

To achieve a consensus on the work of concluding the areas and drawing the maps for the search and collection, the National Steering Board 515 has issued the guiding documents, organized the refresher courses, and directed units and localities to draw the maps for the search and collection at the three levels (commune, district, and province) across the country. Up to now, many localities have completed over 50% of the work of concluding the areas at the commune level; importance has been attached to the work of surveying and identifying the areas, particularly the key ones. The MND has submitted the Project on unexploded ordnance clearance for searching and collecting martyrs’ graves in the areas of Ha Giang province to the Prime Minister. Units and localities have proactively exploited, gathered, and processed sources of information about martyrs and martyrs’ graves, conducted various surveys, mobilized forces and means on a large scale, and gathered many collective graves in a number of provinces.

Competent offices of Cu’ M.gar district, Dak Lak province conducting surveys and drawing the map for searching martyrs’ remains in the area

The National Steering Board 515 has proactively cooperated with several countries and foreign organizations and individuals in the search and collection, particularly with South Korea, Australia, and America. International cooperation in exchanging and sharing information about and experiences in the search of fallen and missing soldiers has been included in the working programs of leaders of the Party, State, ministries, and localities with relevant countries. The all-level Steering Boards 515 have actively encouraged organizations and veterans engaged in the wars in Vietnam to provide information about martyrs’ graves and particularly collective graves. The Government’s Special Mission and Special Task Force Committees and the military regions and localities bordering Laos and Cambodia have closely cooperated with the two countries in the search and collection; encouraged unions, veterans, and people from the two countries to provide information and take part in searching and collecting martyrs’ remains; proactively dealt with difficulties when performing the task⁴.

However, there have been several weaknesses in the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains. Some units and localities have yet to correctly adopt the procedures and methods for reviewing and completing the profiles and lists of martyrs as well as concluding the areas and drawing the maps for the search and collection. Analyzing and comparing the DNA samples of martyrs and their relatives have taken a lot of time.

To continue effectively carrying out the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains in the years to come, units and localities should focus on the following.

1. Party committees and commands of offices, units, and localities should continue to grasp and strictly implement the Politburo’s Directive 24-CT/TW, dated May 15^th 2013, the Central Secretariat’s Directive 14-CT/TW, dated July 19^th 2017, the Prime Minister’s Decisions, legal documents, and higher echelons’ guiding documents. They should enhance their leadership and direction over the state management of the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains; set the targets and develop the action plans in accordance with the situation for each year and the period of 2019-2020. This is an important regular, long-term political task which should be closely led, directed, and more drastically performed in the upcoming time.

2. Consideration should be given to continuing to study and complete the legal normative documents and guiding documents on the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains as well as to submit the procedure for identifying martyrs’ remains to competent offices. Due regard should be paid to renewing the method and promoting the effectiveness of cultural institutions and mass media to raise the awareness and responsibility of cadres, soldiers, and particularly all-level party committees, commands, and key cadres towards the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains.

3. Great value should be attached to continuing to review and complete the profiles and lists of martyrs under units and localities’ management; enhancing the capacity to apply information technology to quickly completing the database of martyrs and martyrs’ remains; accelerating the progress in concluding the areas and drawing the maps for searching and collecting martyrs’ remains at the three levels (commune, district, and province) across the country. Focuses should be placed on searching and collecting martyrs’ remains in the key areas and accelerating the progress in unexploded ordnance clearance to search and gather martyrs’ remains in the key areas. In the process, it is necessary to completely finish the search and collection in each area and gradually conclude the areas and identify the key areas for the search and collection.

4. Importance should be attached to closely cooperating with the Lao Government’s Special Mission Committee, the Cambodian Government’s Special Task Force Committee, and their authorities at all levels in searching and collecting martyrs’ remains until there is no information about martyrs’ remains. Moreover, due attention should be paid to fostering relations and cooperation with South Korea, Australia, and America and establishing the mechanism for cooperation with the National Steering Board 515 or the Board’s Office in exchanging and providing information and sharing experiences in searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains. It is essential to discuss and cooperate with China, Thailand, and Azerbaijan in searching, collecting, and repatriating martyrs’ remains.

5. Significance should be attached to conducting reviews and drawing lessons on designing the maps for searching and collecting martyrs’ remains at the three levels in the military regions and the Hanoi Capital High Command; reviewing the implementation of the Projects 1237 and 150 in the period of 2013-2020, working towards the measures for the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains in the following years; opportunely commending and rewarding organizations and individuals both at home and abroad with outstanding achievements in searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains.

Maj. Gen. Tran Quoc Dzung

Director of the Department of Military Policy

Head of the Office of the National Steering Board 515

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1 - The National Steering Board 515 on searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains was founded on the basis of a merger between the National Steering Board 1237 and the Steering Board 150

2 - The provinces of Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong

3 - The MND handed more than 700,000 data related to martyrs and the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs handed 1,200,000 data related to martyrs, nearly 900,000 data related to martyrs’ graves, and more than 3,000 data related to martyrs’ cemeteries over to the Ministry of Information and Communications to standardize and incorporate into the database for the work of searching, collecting, and identifying martyrs’ remains. The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs cooperated with the Vietnam Post Corporation in building and launching the Web Portal on martyrs, martyrs’ graves, and martyrs’ cemeteries.

4 - American veterans provided information about martyrs’ collective graves at the airports of Bien Hoa, Tan Son Nhat, and Loc Ninh. Between 2016 and 2018, the whole country searched and collected 5,886 sets of martyrs’ remains (2,670 within the country, 854 in Laos, and 2,362 in Cambodia) as well as identified 759 sets of martyrs’ remains.