For more than 50 years, Vũ Tiến Dũng, of Tân Giang village, Tuần Giáo commune, has carefully preserved the timeworn photographs of his two uncles, martyrs Vũ Kim Hoa and Vũ Tiến Thu, treating them as treasured family heirlooms.

Gently straightening the corners of the faded photographs, Dũng recalled: “In 1965, my uncle Vũ Kim Hoa volunteered to join the army and fought on the southern battlefield before sacrificing his life in February 1968. Less than six months later, his younger brother, Vũ Tiến Thu, followed in his footsteps, enlisted in the military, fought on the western front, and was killed in action in November 1969.”

More than half a century has passed. Dũng’s family has repeatedly returned to the places and battlefields where their relatives once fought, hoping to locate their graves, but their efforts have yet to yield results.

“What our family has always hoped for is that one day we will find the remains of our loved ones so that our uncles, who were heroic martyrs, can return to their homeland and family. We only wish that the words “Unidentified martyr” will no longer appear on their gravestones, and that their true names will finally be engraved there,” Dũng shared.

In Điện Biên Phủ ward, the family of Nguyễn Thị Lai has also endured a search spanning generations. Two of her relatives, both martyrs, have yet to be located. They are Nguyễn Văn Chức, who died on April 16, 1954 during the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign, and Nguyễn Văn Cẩm, who sacrificed his life in 1970 during the resistance war against the United States.

For Lai’s family, the wait has not been measured in days or years, but in lifetimes. It began with her grandmother - the mother of Nguyễn Văn Chức and Nguyễn Văn Cẩm - was passed on to her mother, and now continues with the younger generation. For years, the family has searched tirelessly for information, sought out former comrades, and followed every possible lead in the hope of bringing the martyrs home.

Sitting quietly beside unidentified graves at Tông Khao Martyrs’ Cemetery, Lai became emotional when speaking about the 500-Day Campaign to intensify the search, recovery, and identification of unidentified martyrs’ remains.

“My family, like many others, places great hope in this meaningful campaign,” she said. “We hope that more martyrs will be identified so they can return with their names restored and be reunited with their homeland and loved ones after so many years apart.”

The longing felt by the families of Dũng and Lai is shared by tens of thousands of martyrs’ families across the country. Although the war is long over, many mothers still wait for their sons, wives still hope for the return of their husbands, and children continue searching for news of their fathers.

Alongside efforts nationwide, Điện Biên province is urgently implementing the 500-Day Campaign to accelerate the search, recovery, and identification of martyrs’ remains. To date, authorities have completed DNA sample collection from 1,940 graves at four martyrs’ cemeteries: Tuần Giáo, Tủa Chùa, Him Lam, and Tông Khao. Despite the enormous workload and difficult conditions, every officer and soldier involved considers the mission both a responsibility and an act of gratitude toward those who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s independence and freedom.

The collection of DNA samples from martyrs’ relatives is also being expanded across the province. In Quài Tở commune, local authorities identified 15 martyrs through a review process. Of these, four graves have been located, one grave has been identified but no remains remain, and the burial locations of ten martyrs are still unknown. Based on these findings, the commune has proposed collecting DNA samples from 20 relatives of martyrs, including 17 residents of the commune and three living elsewhere.

Nhữ Duy Đông, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quài Tở commune, stated: “The commune is urgently completing preparations to collect DNA samples from relatives of unidentified martyrs. According to the plan, sample collection will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on July 24, 2026, at Tuần Giáo commune Police Station. The samples will be added to the national DNA database to support matching efforts and help identify martyrs’ remains that still lack information, thereby fulfilling the hopes of families searching for the identities of their fallen loved ones.”

After decades of waiting, the campaign to search for, recover, and identify martyrs’ remains is renewing hope that long-awaited reunions may finally become reality. Through these efforts, the wounds of war can gradually be healed, allowing those who fell in service of the nation to return home with their full names restored, while transforming the hopes of those left behind into reality.