In Điện Biên - a land soaked in the blood and bones of countlessly sacrificed soldiers during the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign - the 500-day-and-night campaign is underway with the highest determination, reflecting deep responsibility and gratitude toward those who sacrificed for the Fatherland.

Executing the National Steering Committee’s plan, from June 6, Điện Biên province simultaneously launched the 500-day-and-night campaign. Under the plan, functional forces organize exhumations and sampling of remains across seven martyrs’ cemeteries in the province involving a total of 4,594 graves, while concurrently organizing search and collection operations across the area.

After over a month of deployment, the campaign achieved important results. By July 27, forces conducted exhumation and sampling at 5 out of 7 martyrs’ cemeteries, completing sampling at 4 out of 5 cemeteries and currently deploying at Độc Lập National Martyrs’ Cemetery. Province-wide, forces exhumed 2,066 graves, collecting 1,919 DNA samples to hand over to functional agencies for testing.

The Military Command of Điện Biên province - the standing agency of the provincial Steering Committee for Searching, Gathering, and Identifying Martyrs’ Information - serves as the direct unit executing exhumation and sampling duties. Since the campaign’s inception, the unit mobilized 133 officers and soldiers to participate.

Senior Colonel Dương Quốc Long, Deputy Political Commissar of the provincial Military Command, stated: “This is a major policy of the Party and State carrying profound political, social, and humanistic significance. We simultaneously perform two tasks: exhuming and sampling remains at cemeteries for identification, and organizing the search and collection of martyrs’ remains. Although the work faces numerous difficulties, officers and soldiers constantly uphold a high sense of responsibility, determined to successfully complete assigned tasks.”

For those directly executing the duty, every instance of exhuming a grave leaves behind feelings that are hard to describe. Lieutenant Colonel Đào Xuân Trường, assistant at the Policy Board under the povincial Military Command, is among the cadres participating from the campaign’s first days.

Lieutenant Colonel Đào Xuân Trường shared: “The exhumation process is always conducted with extreme caution to ensure collecting remains samples suitable for DNA testing. Every time sampling for a grave is completed, we experience emotions that are truly difficult to express in words.”

To ensure every remains sample is collected according to proper procedures and guarantees quality for DNA testing, standing behind the front-line operators is the synchronous, close coordination of multiple agencies and units.

Executing the campaign, the Department of Home Affairs was assigned to coordinate sampling and handover of martyrs’ remains samples, receive DNA testing results from the provincial Police to identify martyrs, update data into management systems, and return samples post-testing. Concurrently, it coordinates with the provincial Military Command to mobilize specialized forces to exhume, renovate, and restore cemeteries following sampling. The Department of Home Affairs leads reviewing and standardizing data, establishing location maps and lists of martyrs’ graves, and identifying graves with unclear information for sampling; while guiding communes and wards to supply files and update data onto management software to ensure sample reception and handover comply with regulations.

Lê Đình Tuyên, Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs, noted: “Right after the campaign was launched, the Department coordinated closely with the provincial Military Command to advise the provincial People’s Committee on establishing the Steering Committee, while providing complete files, grave location maps, and related materials so working teams could deploy tasks conveniently.”

The provincial Police actively coordinate with the provincial Military Command and relevant units in collecting DNA samples from martyrs’ relatives and receiving remains testing results for cross-referencing and verification.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoàng Xuân Sang, Deputy Head of the Mobile Police Division under the provincial Police, stated: “From the initial days of campaign deployment, the unit dispatched officers and soldiers to participate across martyrs’ cemeteries in Tủa Chùa, Tuần Giáo, Him Lam, Tông Khao, and currently Độc Lập National Martyrs’ Cemetery, contributing to guaranteeing execution progress and quality.”

The 500-day-and-night campaign continues with a substantial workload ahead. Thousands of graves require sampling, and thousands of families anxiously await news of their fallen relatives. With the synchronous involvement of the entire political system, the dedication of forces directly executing tasks, and the support of science and technology, the journey to “return names” to heroic martyrs is step-by-step materializing.

Every DNA sample collected today kindles an additional ray of hope. Every successful testing result will help identify a martyr, contributing to closing decades of longing endured by countless families. This also stands as a deep expression of gratitude from today’s generation toward those who dedicated their youth to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, enabling those who fell to return with their true names to mother earth and the nation’s memory.