“Trái Tim Người Lính” (Soldier's Heart) organisation presents the war evidence records of Vietnamese soldiers to witnesses and veterans' families. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Lan

HÀ NỘI — War evidence records of Vietnamese soldiers who laid down their lives or were missing in the resistance war against the US imperialists were handed over to their families at a ceremony in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Jointly held by the “Trái Tim Người Lính” (Soldier's Heart) organisation in collaboration with the Việt Nam Centre and Archive of the US, the Việt Nam Environment and Urban magazine, and the “Mãi Mãi Tuổi 20” (Forever Twenty) Club, the event was a practical activity to celebrate the 76th anniversary of President Hồ Chí Minh's appeal for patriotic emulation (June 11, 1948 - 2024).

According to Colonel Đặng Vương Hưng, the founder and Chairman of the “Trái Tim Người Lính” organisation, during the resistance war, tens of thousands of diaries, letters, personal belongings which were artifacts of Vietnamese soldiers were collected on the battlefields, and most of the originals have been destroyed.

However, many contents of documents and artifacts have been captured and preserved in the form of microfilm at the Việt Nam Centre and Archive at Texas Tech University in the US. These copies can also be considered "original," containing a lot of private, touching, and sacred information because almost all martyrs' families involved have never had the opportunity to see them. They could assist the search for graves and remains of martyrs.

Hưng said his agency has collaborated with the Việt Nam Centre and Archive to deploy a non-profit and humanitarian project, using documents sifted from the nearly 3 million-page microfilm archives to search for information about Vietnamese martyrs who sacrificed or went missing during the resistance war.

It has also collaborated with numerous organisations and individuals to search for relatives of fallen soldiers, and alive veterans, to provide them with copies of artifacts, contributing to healing wounds, wrapping up the past, and moving towards the future together, he added.

Since early May, based on documents provided by the centre, the organisation has compiled and introduced over 30 records on the social media platform Facebook and the electronic magazine "Văn Hoá và Phát Triển” (Culture and Development), which summarise 35 diaries and 10 letters.

Notably, among the recipients of the found documents this time, alongside the relatives of the fallen soldiers, there are also three veterans. Two of them attended the event and directly received their artifacts.

At the event, colour portraits of some martyrs were presented to their families.

The organisers took the occasion to introduce the autobiography "Mãi Vẫn Là Người Lính” (Still a Soldier) by veteran Đặng Ngọc Đa from the northern province of Hưng Yên, which reflects his humble and captivating memories about the life and family of a soldier with many ups and downs in life, and through significant events of the nation. — VNS