"For many years I have been searching for you – my Dad

Around Hill A1 and along the Mường Thanh field

Cemeteries of unidentified martyrs

Thousands of graves lined up next to each other.

I can't find your name

I only know that you are a brave soldier of Điện Biên"

(Lyrics by Đoàn Hoài Trung and set to music by Quỳnh Hợp)

Among those deeply touched are the children and grandchildren of martyrs who perished at the Điện Biên Phủ Battlefield. Many of the martyrs' remains have yet to be found.

On a hot April afternoon, amidst the stream of people offering incense at the A1 Martyrs Cemetery, an elderly woman stands silently before the list of heroes and martyrs from Thái Bình province who fell in the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign. When questioned by her companions, she bursts into tears.

Gently touching the name engraved on the board, she chokes out, "This is my father. He fought and died here. His name is here, but there is no grave, and his remains could not be found."

She is Nguyễn Thị Oanh, currently residing in Hà Nội, daughter of martyr Nguyễn Thiện Thuật. She and her family have made numerous pilgrimages to Điện Biên to pay respects to her father and his comrades.

This year, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ Victory, Oanh and her colleagues embark on a journey to Điện Biên Province. Once again, she stands upon the land where her father made his sacrifice.

In the supportive embrace of her colleagues, Oanh shares, "When I met my father's only surviving comrade after the battle, I learned that my father and other soldiers had dug tunnels to attack Hill A1. He met a heroic end, remaining in this land forever, just as victory was within reach. My family has searched for his grave many times, but to no avail; only his name remains on the list. Nonetheless, almost every year, we come to light incense at the martyrs' cemeteries for him and his comrades."

Nguyễn Thảo Hương, diligently scanning each row of names, searched for her uncle who fell in the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign. This marks her first visit to Điện Biên.

After offering incense at the martyrs' graves, she hurriedly returns to the honor board, scouring the Hà Nội section for her uncle's name, martyr Phan Hữu Lưu.

Though she never had the chance to meet him, standing in this historic land during the heroic days when the entire nation pays homage to Điện Biên, reading his name among the thousands of martyrs who valiantly fought and fell, she sheds tears.

Touched, Hương shares, "He passed away before I was born. I've only heard about him from my parents and relatives – an indomitable, resilient soldier, the pride of our entire family. My family has searched for his remains and grave, to no avail. Today, I finally have the chance to come to Điện Biên, where he rests. Though my love for him is immense, all I can do is offer incense to honor him."

Among the tens of thousands of young people who volunteered to join the resistance war, thousands of them remain forever on the Điện Biên Phủ Battlefield. They remain forever young, at the age of eighteen or twenty. Currently, Điện Biên Province is home to three cemeteries that serve as the resting places and gather the remains of martyrs who died in the campaign: the A1 Martyrs Cemetery, the Independence Martyrs Cemetery, and the Him Lam Martyrs Cemetery.

Most of the graves there remain unidentified, and many heroes' remains have yet to be found to reunite with their comrades. Over the past decades, the martyrs' cemeteries and the roads of Điện Biên have borne countless footprints of the martyrs' relatives. They continue their journey to find the martyrs' remains. Though the information they have is scarce, they hold onto hope and express their profound love for the heroes.