Dong Nai holds memorial and burial ceremony for 30 fallen soldiers

Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairwoman of Dong Nai People’s Council Ton Ngoc Hanh offers incense at the Provincial Martyrs Cemetery. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee Vo Tan Duc offers incense at the Provincial Martyrs Cemetery. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Delegates offer incense to the martyrs. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Chairwoman of Dong Nai People’s Council Ton Ngoc Hanh together with representatives of the National Steering Committee 515 perform the ritual of transferring martyrs’ remains. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Delivering the funeral oration, Member of the Provincial Standing Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee, and Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 515 Le Truong Son solemnly honored the heroic martyrs who laid down their lives for national liberation and defense.

According to the Provincial Steering Committee 515 Le Truong Son, during the recent search and repatriation efforts, Dong Nai’s functional forces recovered 30 sets of remains of martyrs in Loc Ninh and Phuoc Son communes, which were reburied at the Provincial Martyrs Cemetery in Dong Tam Commune.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee Vo Tan Duc and Major General Nguyen Van Cuong, Deputy Political Commissar of the General Department of Logistics and Engineering, perform the ritual of transferring martyrs’ remains. Photo: Nguyet Ha

On behalf of the Provincial leadership and people, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai People’s Committee Le Truong Son expressed deep gratitude to the heroic martyrs; revolutionary veterans; Vietnamese Heroic Mothers; Heroes of the People’s Armed Forces; Labor Heroes; war invalids, sick soldiers, martyrs’ families, and all revolutionary contributors.

Member of the Provincial Standing Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai People’s Committee and Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 515 Le Truong Son, together with Major General Tran Ngoc Minh, Deputy Commander of Military Region 7, perform the ritual of transferring martyrs’ remains. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Between 2002 and 2025, members of Team K72 under the Dong Nai Provincial Military Command overcame tremendous hardships, searching thousands of sites and exhuming 3,953 sets of remains of martyrs who sacrificed their lives during wartime in Vietnam and Cambodia, for reburial at the Provincial Martyrs Cemetery. Of these, 3,242 remains were recovered in Cambodia and 711 within Vietnam.

In August 2025, under the Provincial Military Command’s plan to continue surveys, verifications, and exhumations in Loc Ninh, Loc Tan, and Phuoc Son communes, Team K72 searched and recovered 30 sets of remains of martyrs at Loc Ninh Airfield in Phuoc Son Commune.

Member of the Provincial Standing Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial Party Inspection Commission Tran Trung Nhan, together with Colonel Bui Dang Ninh, Political Commissar of the Dong Nai Military Command, perform the ritual of transferring martyrs’ remains. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Due to the prolonged and fierce wartime conditions, the identities of the 30 martyrs reburied in this phase, including names, ages, and hometowns, remain unknown.

“It was truly moving to see a few personal belongings left behind by the soldiers, such as a bottle of medicated oil, a comb, a belt, a canteen, rubber sandals, hammocks, ponchos, and weapons,” Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Le Truong Son said.

Among the 30 sets of remains, 13 biological samples were eligible for ADN testing. From these limited biological samples, along with the ongoing nationwide collection of DNA from relatives of unidentified martyrs, there is hope of finding family connections. This effort aims to bring comfort and partly ease the pain and loss endured by the families of the fallen.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Le Truong Son emphasized: “Despite the many challenges ahead, we will not overlook any opportunity or method. Team K72 will continue its mission to search for comrades who fell in the war until there is no information left to pursue.”

Following the incense offering, delegates carried out the solemn reburial ceremony for the martyrs and offered incense at the graves.

Leaders of Dong Nai Province, Military Region 7, and delegates conduct the reburial ceremony for the martyrs’ remains. Photo: Nguyet Ha

Earlier, on August 26, at the Provincial Martyrs Cemetery, the Provincial Fatherland Front’s Standing Committee, together with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee, organized a memorial and requiem ceremony to honor the heroic martyrs. The event was held to remind today’s generations of Vietnam’s noble tradition and to express gratitude to those who sacrificed for the nation’s independence and freedom.

By: Nguyet Ha

Translated by: M.Nguyet-Thu Ha