Dong Nai City holds memorial and burial ceremony for remains of 29 martyrs

On August 13, at the Binh Phuoc Martyrs' Cemetery in Dong Tam Commune, Dong Nai City, the municipal Party Committee (CPC), People's Council, People's Committee, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee solemnly held a memorial and burial ceremony for 29 martyrs' remains recently discovered, in commemoration of the 81st anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Minister of National Defense, offers incense in tribute to the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Ton Ngoc Hanh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Dong Nai CPC and Chairwoman of the City People's Council, offers incense in tribute to the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Major General Tran Chi Tam, Member of the Party Standing Committee, Deputy Political Commissar and Head of the Steering Committee of Military Region 7, offers incense in tribute to the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Attending the ceremony were Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Minister of National Defense; Major General Cao Xuan Thang, Deputy Director of the Policy and Social Affairs Department, Director of the Minister of National Defense’s Social Insurance and Deputy Chief of the Office of the National Steering Committee for the Search, Collection and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains (the Steering Committee); Major General Tran Chi Tam, Member of the Party Standing Committee, Deputy Political Commissar and Head of the Steering Committee of Military Region 7, among others.

Leaders of the Ministry of National Defense and Dong Nai City, representatives of agencies under the Ministry of National Defense, and the Dong Nai City Military Command attend the memorial ceremony for the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Dong Nai City leaders attending the ceremony included Ton Ngoc Hanh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the CPC and Chairwoman of the City People's Council; Nguyen Van Ut, Deputy Secretary of the CPC and Chairman of the City People's Committee; Vo Tan Duc, Deputy Secretary of the CPC; members of the CPC’s Standing Board; former members of the CPC’s Standing Board; members of the CPC’s Executive Board; standing members of the municipal People's Council, People's Committee, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee; the municipal Delegation of National Assembly Deputies; and leaders of the municipal armed forces, departments, agencies, mass organizations, among others.

Dong Nai City leaders respectfully offer incense before performing the burial ritual for the martyrs.

Dong Nai City leaders observe a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs before performing the burial ritual.

Nguyen Thi Hoang, Member of the CPC, Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee and Head of the Dong Nai City Steering Committee for the Search, Collection and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains, reads the eulogy at the memorial ceremony. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Hien, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Minister of National Defense; and Major General Cao Xuan Thang, Deputy Director of the Policy and Social Affairs Department, Director of the Minister of National Defense’s Social Insurance and Deputy Chief of the Office of the National Steering Committee for the Search, Collection and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains, carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Ton Ngoc Hanh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Dong Nai CPC and Chairwoman of the City People's Council; and Major General Tran Chi Tam, Member of the Party Standing Committee, Deputy Political Commissar and Head of the Steering Committee of Military Region 7, carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Nguyen Van Ut, Deputy Secretary of the CPC and Chairman of the City People's Committee; and Duong Minh Dung, Member of the CPC’s Standing Board and Head of the CPC's Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization, carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Vo Tan Duc, Deputy Secretary of the CPC, and Ha Anh Dung, Member of the CPC’s Standing Board and Permanent Vice Chairman of the City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Nguyen Kim Long, Member of the CPC’s Standing Board and Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee; and Nguyen Thi Hoang, Member of the CPC and Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee, carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site.

Leaders of agencies under the Ministry of National Defense, Military Region 7, Dong Nai City, and the Dong Nai City Military Command carry the martyrs' coffins to the burial site. Photo: Nguyet Ha

In a eulogy delivered at the ceremony, Nguyen Thi Hoang, Member of the CPC, Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee and Head of the Dong Nai City Steering Committee, expressed boundless grief and deep sympathy for the losses suffered by the families of the martyrs whose remains were recovered in this collection phase.

She emphasized, "We, who are fortunate to live in peace, respectfully bow our heads to offer fresh wreaths and incense to the heroic martyrs, expressing our profound gratitude to the heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland in their twenties."

Personnel on duty at the memorial and burial ceremony for the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Nguyen Thi Hoang, Member of the CPC, Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee, and Head of the Dong Nai City Steering Committee, said that since 2002, the force has searched for and recovered 4,038 sets of martyrs' remains from various periods for burial in the city's martyrs' cemeteries. Since July 2026, Dong Nai's search forces, Team K72 and Team K76, have found a total of 29 sets of martyrs' remains in Minh Duc, Loc Ninh, and Loc Tan communes and wards. All 29 sets of remains found during this phase have yet to be identified, with 19 biological samples suitable for DNA testing.

"From these limited biological samples, along with the collection of DNA samples from the relatives of unidentified martyrs during the nationwide 500-day-and-night peak campaign currently underway, we hope to find the relatives of these martyrs, thereby helping to soothe the pain and bring comfort to the families," emphasized Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang.

Affirming the city's determination in gratitude work, the Head of the Dong Nai City Steering Committee said that despite many difficulties, the forces undertaking the task would seize every opportunity and employ every possible method to search for and recover martyrs’ remains.

Following the memorial ceremony, delegates from the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, the Party Committee and Command of Military Region 7, and Dong Nai City solemnly paid their final respects as the martyrs’ remains were taken to their burial place at the martyrs’ cemetery.

By Nguyet Ha – Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha