Leaders of provinces, cities, and the Air Defence – Air Force Service placed the biological samples of the martyrs' remains onto the aircraft. Phôt courtesy of the Military Region 9 High Command

CẦN THƠ — More than 15,000 biological samples taken from the remains of fallen soldiers have been transported to Hà Nội for DNA testing to help identify the remains.

The Military Region 9 High Command, on Monday, in coordination with the Air Defence-Air Force Service and the Party committees and People's Committees of Cần Thơ City and the provinces of Cà Mau, An Giang, Vĩnh Long and Đồng Tháp, held a ceremony at Cần Thơ International Airport to hand over and transport the samples aboard a CASA-C295 military transport aircraft operated by the 918 Air Brigade.

Lieutenant General Hồ Văn Thái, secretary of the Military Region 9 Party Committee and Political Commissar, said that in response to the 500-day campaign launched by the National Steering Committee to accelerate the search for, collection of and identification of the remains of fallen soldiers, officers and soldiers of the Military Region 9 armed forces had made continuous efforts, demonstrating the highest sense of political responsibility towards the nation's fallen heroes.

“The transportation of 15,401 samples of martyrs’ remains today is the eleventh such operation and the first to be carried out by military transport aircraft,” Thái said.

“It is a journey of compassion and gratitude, reflecting the heartfelt sentiments of millions of people towards their roots and towards the outstanding sons and daughters of Việt Nam who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland and the nation.”

According to incomplete statistics, units of the Military Region 9 Armed Forces alone recorded 182,377 heroic martyrs – hailing from provinces and cities across the country – who laid down their lives on the battlefields of the Mekong Delta and neighbouring Cambodia during the war (within the operational area of ​​Military Region 9).

Thái expressed his confidence that, thanks to scientific and technological advancements and the gratitude of the current generation, each sample of remains will be accurately identified, allowing these Heroic Martyrs to return to their homeland.

The containers holding the biological samples were subsequently transported by military aircraft to Hà Nội and handed over to the Military Forensic Institute under the Ministry of National Defence, the Institute of Criminal Sciences under the Ministry of Public Security, and the Việt Nam Academy of Science and Technology.

The institutions will conduct DNA testing and other forensic procedures to accurately identify the fallen soldiers.

The ceremony was also attended by Lieutenant General Nguyễn Xuân Dắt, Commander of Military Region 9, members of the Standing Committee of the Military Region 9 Party Committee and the Military Region 9 High Command, and representatives of the Air Defence-Air Force Service and the leadership of the participating provinces and cities. VNS