Relatives of war martyrs in Anh Son district, Nghe An province, receive the DNA test results from the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs on July 26 (Source: VNA). Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on July 26 announced the DNA test results verifying 99 war martyrs who died in the field of jars in the Lao province of Xieng Khouang.
This is the fourth batch of war martyrs whose names were known owing to DNA tests. The first, second and third DNA tests together identified 143 war martyrs.
In 2012, the national liaison board for families of volunteer soldiers and military experts who died in the jar fields in Xieng Khoang submitted a request for forensic tests on 1,179 remains of volunteer soldiers and military experts died in Xieng Khoang. The remains were repatriated and reburied in the Vietnam-Laos Friendship War Martyrs Cemetery in Anh Son district, central Nghe An province.
Between November 29, 2012 and January 5, 2013, forensic workers had collected DNA samples taken from 1,804 remains of volunteer soldiers and military experts at the Vietnam-Laos Friendship War Martyrs Cemetery and analysed 696 set of remains. The DNA work will continue on the rest of remains in a bid to return the correct names to the martyrs.
At the ceremony, MoLISA Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep said the DNA tests is a practical work of paying respect to those who died for the nation-building cause and for international missions as well.
There are more than 1 million martyrs laid to rest in 3,077 war cemeteries across Vietnam, of which over 300,000 remains have yet to be fully identified.
An estimated 200,000 martyrs, including volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Laos and Cambodia, have yet to be found.
Dao Ngoc Loi, Deputy Head of the Department of National Devotees, said the project to identify the remains of unknown martyrs has been carried out since 2011.
The MoLISA has been coordinating with ministries and sectors to complete the database on martyrs and cemeteries with a view of identifying around 20 percent of the remains of unknown martyrs by 2020.-VNA
