STORYIN THE CAR

We met Major Tran Dinh Bang (born in 1978) - Deputy Commander of Direction 2, Collection Team - Political Department, Nghe An Provincial Military Command on a day in early June, just a few days after he completed his mission and left Laos to return to Vietnam. The search for martyrs' remains is usually carried out from October of the previous year until May of the following year because this is the dry season in Laos. This year, Major Tran Dinh Bang and his teammates have completed their mission completely by searching for and successfully bringing 6 sets of martyrs' remains from Xay Som Bun province back to the motherland of Vietnam. Over the past 10 years, this has been a very difficult area for collecting martyrs' remains, and in the last 3 years, only 2 martyrs have been able to return to their homeland. However, with their creativity and efforts to overcome difficulties, Major Tran Dinh Bang and his teammates have achieved proud results.

However, the journey to get there is extremely arduous.

Recalling the first days of the mission, Major Tran Dinh Bang said: "After a long time searching according to information provided by the people but without results, our team decided to return to the military position in Long Cheng district, Xay Som Bun province to consolidate the formation. Taking advantage of the break, I moved to Long Cheng village (Long Cheng district) to find out. Seeing that at the beginning of the village, the people were crowded, I immediately approached. Because I had learned Lao fluently, I went to greet and talk with the people. Through the exchange, an old man about 70 years old told me that about 17 years ago, during a hunting trip, he discovered 6 graves suspected to be the graves of Vietnamese soldiers buried on Tham Xe mountain.

Having grasped this information more precious than gold, I reported to the team and persuaded the information provider to lead the way. Due to the extremely complex terrain of Tham Xe mountain, the working group had to travel more than 3 hours by motorbike and walk nearly 5 hours to reach the mountain. However, because of the long time that had passed, the Laotian man had a lot of difficulty in determining the location. Despite the careful search, on the 3rd day there was still no sign. Although we had to dig a tunnel to stay in the forest, eat and drink spring water and canned food, we were not discouraged, and encouraged each other to continue expanding the search area. And then, on the 4th day, everyone was overwhelmed when they discovered a shoe sole. Digging continued for the next two days, and on the 6th day, the first remains were discovered deep underground and rolled up in a tank. Continuing to expand the search area after 9 days, the team found 6 graves as the old man provided.

After that, the team continued to gather information and locations to move through the districts in Xay Som Bun province to find three more sets of remains of Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Laos. On the day they were brought back, everyone was sad and emotional. Because from now on, they will rest in peace in their homeland. That is a great source of encouragement to help us continue to walk firmly on the path we have chosen."

TEARS ON THE ROAD BACK TO MOTHER'S HOMETOWN

During the four dry seasons of searching, collecting, and gathering the remains of martyrs, Major Duong Le Chuong (born in 1977) - a staff member of the collection team of Direction 4, Collection Team still remembers clearly the memories and emotions associated with the successful searches for the remains of martyrs. Because of bombs and bullets of war, many soldiers fell without their bodies intact. They lay in the motherland next to the broken pieces of bombs.

With red eyes, Major Duong Le Chuong told us about an unforgettable memory: “It was in March 2024, while searching for martyrs' remains in Phu Xeo village, Phu Cut district, Xieng Khouang province, we received a report from a local who was digging for scrap iron and discovered a rusty CKC rifle and some pieces of a green tank suspected to be from Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war. The location of the discovery was about 15 km away from Phu Xeo village through the forest. Immediately, my brothers and I set off with that local person to the location. When we arrived, we observed and excavated and discovered that this was the grave of a martyr who had been hit by a bomb, leaving his body no longer intact. The remains of the martyr were located next to many relics such as CKC guns, parachute cloth, tanks and communication wires. When we found the remains of the martyrs, we had to use our hands to gently sweep away each layer of soil, collect each relic, not leaving anything behind. anything, even the smallest... After that, we did the simple but solemn and respectful burial procedure, and always carried the remains of the martyrs we found with us. We soldiers always had faith that we were carrying out a sacred mission. Because of that faith, despite the hardships, in the history of the Team, no one has ever wavered, wavered, or abandoned their mission...".

In fact, most of the remains searched and recovered have no information. However, there is still great joy when identifying the martyrs and bringing them back to their families. For example, in February 2021, the team received information from Mr. Cho Va, a resident of Then Phun village, Muong Khun district, Xieng Khouang province, Laos: In the Phu Pha Deng mountain area, in Then Phun village, Muong Phun district, there is a cemetery burying 11 Vietnamese soldiers who died. Based on the above information, on January 24, 2021, the Martyrs' Remains Collection Team of Nghe An Provincial Military Command sent a team of 5 comrades led by Major Le Van Duc as team leader to conduct a survey in the Phu Pha Deng mountain area.

By February 5, 2021, 8 graves with information on aluminum steles had been discovered, of which 5 graves had full names, ranks, positions, hometowns and 3 graves had full names. The martyrs have returned to their families, resting forever in the soil of Mother Vietnam. As for the officers and soldiers of the Quy Tap Team, they are preparing for the upcoming dry season search mission. Although they know that, as time goes on, the search for martyrs' remains will become more and more difficult and arduous. However, no matter how difficult it is, those soldiers still try their best. "As long as there is information about martyrs and martyrs' graves, we will continue to search and collect them" - that is the order and also the motto of the officers and soldiers of the Quy Tap Team in the following journeys.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan The - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Collection Team - Political Department, Provincial Military Command said that the Collection Team was established in 1984, carrying out the central political task of searching for and collecting martyrs' remains in the three provinces: Xieng Khouang, Vientiane, Xay Som Bun, Laos. At the same time, collecting martyrs' remains in Nghe An province when there is information. The force of officers and soldiers of the Team is also a bridge to help Laos build a strong political base, and be mobile in preventing and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters... occurring inside and outside the area.

With great political responsibility and sacred sentiments towards the heroes who devoted their lives to the cause of national liberation and noble international duty, over the past 40 years, officers and soldiers have searched for and collected 13,133 martyrs' remains. Of these, 12,661 are martyrs in Laos and 472 are martyrs in the country.

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That journey will continue to be extended, because countless families still have a deep sorrow when their loved ones are still lying on the battlefield, not yet able to return to the Motherland. The feet of officers and soldiers will move forward together, carrying out the orders from the hearts of soldiers in peacetime!

Lieutenant Colonel Le Xuan The - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Gathering Team - Political Department, Nghe An Provincial Military Command