Leaders of the High Command of Military Region 7 regularly monitor and direct search and recovery of the remains of missing fallen soldiers and their identification. — VNA/VNS Photos Xuân Khu

HCM CITY — The High Command of Military Region 7 in HCM City has vowed to search for and identify missing fallen soldiers with the utmost urgency to send them home to their family and country.

Major General Trần Chí Tâm, deputy political commissar and head of the Steering Committee for Searching, Recovering and Identifying Martyrs' Remains of Military Region 7, said this during a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the ongoing 500-day campaign to accelerate the search, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers' remains.

Reviewing the progress made over 164 days, or a third of the way through the campaign, he said military units and affiliated forces have achieved excellent results so far both domestically and abroad.

The military region has completed sample collection at all 58 martyrs' cemeteries in its area that have 40,629 graves.

More than 30,000 of the samples, or 75 per cent, met identification quality standards, with 17,000 already sent to relevant agencies for DNA testing.

In September, the military region will work with the Air Defence - Air Force Service to transfer nearly 13,000 more samples to identification centres, completing the cemetery sampling target nine months ahead of schedule.

In field recovery operations, search teams have located and gathered 944 sets of martyrs' remains, exceeding the phase 1 target of 900 set for November.

Based on historical information and systematic implementation, Tâm said his command would recover more than 2,000 sets of remains by the end of the campaign, higher than its original target of 1,500.

The achievements are due to the meticulous planning since the campaign’s launch on March 15.

Military Region 7 established dedicated working groups to process records and deployed four specialised teams to monitor key areas, HCM City, Đồng Nai City, Tây Ninh Province, and Lâm Đồng Province.

Directive No. 05, issued on July 10, outlined nine specific measures to promote co-ordinated action at all levels.

The progress has also been made at Lê Thị Riêng Park in HCM City, a major focus of public attention.

Major General Trần Chí Tâm, deputy political commissar and head of the Steering Committee for Searching, Recovering, and Identifying Martyrs' Remains of Military Region 7, speaks to the Vietnam News Agency.

Following interviews with eyewitnesses and after ground-penetrating radar surveys to identify soil layers and burial trenches, search teams had recovered 481 sets of remains by August 24, or half the estimated 900 to 1,000 at the site.

Team K74 and archaeological experts are conducting excavation work to ensure all soldiers who died there in 1968 are recovered.

To process an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 pieces of information relating to collective mass graves, Military Region 7 has established some key priorities under Directive No. 05: the “highest” political determination, utmost urgency, scientific rigour, meticulous care, comprehensive public communication, close co-ordination between military and local authorities, and absolute safety.

To meet them, the military has established an information synthesis team to review major historical battles, compile survey records, and maintain constant two-way communication with local authorities.

Regarding force deployment, four specialised teams will begin search operations in Cambodia on September 4.

Domestically, temporary units have been established, including Team K74 in HCM City and Team K75 in Lâm Đồng Province.

The military has also proposed forming Team K76 in Đồng Nai City alongside dedicated working groups in Tây Ninh Province.

Meanwhile, the Military Region Museum is surveying and restoring historical artefacts for public exhibition.

Addressing the nearly 76,000 families still awaiting news of missing loved ones, Tâm urged them to remain patient and have faith in the determination of the Party, State, armed forces, and local authorities. — VNS