The man who twice won the Party Badge award went to find his comrade's grave.

Mr. Le Tien Quang (72 years old), served in the army for 8 years (1968-1976) as a medical officer, fighting in the fierce battlefields of Tri - Thien and Quang - Da. He was honored to be admitted to the Party right at the front. Here, the medical soldier could not remember all the times he witnessed his comrades dying under enemy bombs and bullets, which always tormented and troubled him.

Mr. Le Tien Quang has twice spent his Party Badge bonus to go to the old battlefield to find the graves of his comrades. Photo: Cong Kien

After returning from the army with a disability rate of 41%, Mr. Quang worked at Anh Son District Party Committee until his retirement in 2007. Mr. Quang said that, in his mind, he always wanted to do something useful, worthy of the sacrifice of his close and dear comrades.

In 2013, through a comrade, Mr. Quang learned that the relatives of martyr Hoang Van Nam in Quy Chau district were looking for the grave of their loved one. As a comrade who fought in the same unit and knew the grave map of martyr Nam, he proactively informed the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quy Chau district, from which he was able to contact the family.

45-year Party membership badge of Mr. Le Tien Quang. Photo: Cong Kien

The martyr's family came to his house and asked Mr. Quang to arrange a time to go to Quang Nam to find the grave. At that time, having just received the award money of the 40-year Party membership badge, Mr. Quang decided to save it to use as travel expenses to find his comrade's grave. As a result, he found the grave of martyr Hoang Van Nam, which had been gathered at Dai Lanh commune cemetery, Dai Loc district (Quang Nam).

Five years later, in early 2018, Mr. Quang was awarded the 45-year Party membership badge. He decided to continue saving the prize money to cover his travel expenses to Quang Tri to find his comrades. Because in the past, in a fierce battle, 11 of his comrades died in the middle of a rice field, surrounded by the enemy so they could not go in to retrieve their bodies for burial. Now that he has the opportunity, he wants to return to verify where his comrades are now.

Mr. Le Tien Quang and relatives of martyr Hoang Van Nam at Dai Lanh Commune Cemetery, Dai Loc District (Quang Nam). Photo: NVCC

Arriving at the old battlefield in Hai Lang district (Quang Tri), Mr. Le Tien Quang identified the location of his fallen comrades and looked for elderly people to learn about the events of that year. Local people told him that 11 martyrs' graves had been gathered in the district cemetery, but unfortunately, all of them were unidentified.

Because after we withdrew, the enemy returned here to invade and used machines to level 11 graves. Mr. Quang had no choice but to go to Hai Lang cemetery, search for each grave, light incense and shed tears.

In addition to two times personally going to the old battlefield to find the graves of his comrades, Mr. Le Tien Quang also drew maps and showed the way many times for relatives to go to the old battlefields in Quang Tri and Quang Nam to find the graves of martyrs. Thanks to that, many martyrs' remains have been found by their families such as: Nguyen Nhu Ha, Nguyen Canh Cac, Ngo Vinh...

Mr. Le Tien Quang shared: "As a soldier returning from the battlefield, and a party member, I always choose to live a loyal and affectionate life, ready to help others when they encounter difficulties and misfortunes."