Before beginning, the entire sampling team solemnly offered a ceremony and incense at the site of worship for the martyrs, asking permission to carry out their mission. Major Bui Quang Hieu, Deputy Political Officer of An Cuu Ward Military Command and head of the sampling team, directly supervised the operation. He checked each section again and reminded everyone to work carefully and follow the proper procedures.

The sampling team consists of 36 personnel from the An Cuu Ward Military Command, Martyrs’ Grave Recovery Team 192 (Team 192) under the Hue City Military Command, the An Cuu Ward Police, and various agencies and sectors of An Cuu Ward. Each person is responsible for a specific task, including sampling and digitization, excavation and restoration of the site, and maintaining security and safety. The different units coordinate closely at every stage.

Hue City Martyrs’ Cemetery has nearly 1,460 graves for which identifying information has yet to be established. (Photo: VGP)

Hue City Martyrs’ Cemetery has nearly 1,460 graves for which identifying information has yet to be established, distributed across 14 areas. These are part of the more than 7,200 graves across the city that require sampling for DNA testing. The workload is substantial, and the process cannot be prolonged, so the forces involved must make use of every day and every hour. Accordingly, from the moment they began work, everyone maintained a high level of concentration and close coordination, ensuring both progress and accuracy at every stage, with no room for error.

After the samples were collected, the martyrs’ remains were carefully wrapped and secured in accordance with regulations by personnel from Team 192 and the An Cuu Ward militia soldiers. They were placed back into the burial containers, the reburial procedures were carried out, and the graves were restored to their original condition. As soon as one grave was completed, the sampling team moved on to the next. Everything was carried out in the prescribed order, because behind the information recorded on each grave marker was a person who had sacrificed their life and a record whose accuracy had to be ensured.

Major Bui Quang Hieu said that, for the officers and personnel carrying out the mission, every grave from which a sample was successfully collected for DNA testing brought special emotions, because they had contributed to fulfilling a sacred mission entrusted by the Fatherland and the Army. Everyone hoped that these biological samples would help identify the fallen heroes and martyrs. That was also why the entire sampling team constantly reminded one another to carry out their responsibilities with the utmost care.

At 5:30 p.m., the workday ended. Samples had been collected from 11 graves. The forces involved put away their equipment, rechecked each stage, completed the documentation and prepared for the following day. Every action was performed carefully and in accordance with regulations. It was precisely this spirit that the forces maintained throughout the implementation of the mission at cemeteries across the city.

According to leaders of the Hue City Military Command, thanks to the close coordination and sense of responsibility of the forces involved, the collection of biological samples from martyrs’ remains has been accelerated. By mid-August 2026, Hue City had completed sampling at 42 cemeteries, exceeding the target set.

Thanh Hoa Collects DNA Samples From over 1,000 Martyrs’ Graves At Ham Rong Cemetery Collecting biological samples from more than 1,000 unidentified fallen soldiers’ remains at Ham Rong Martyrs’ Cemetery began on August 3, 2026, and is expected to be completed before August 25, 2026.

500-Day-and-Night Campaign: 1,863 Martyrs’ Remains Recovered, Identification Efforts Accelerated After the launch of the 500-Day-and-Night Campaign to intensify the search for, recovery of, and identification of martyrs’ remains, as of August 22, the forces involved had recovered 1,863 sets of martyrs’ remains. Of these, 839 were found in Vietnam, 174 in Laos, and 850 in Cambodia.