The Provincial Steering Board for searching, gathering, along with identifying martyrs’ remains recently held a conference on reviewing the tasks carried out in 2026 coupled with assessing the first phase progress for the “500 Days and Nights” campaign, an initiative designed to intensify efforts in the aforementioned mission.

In 2026, Dak Lak province focused on providing leadership, direction, in coordination with mobilizing the entire political system to carry out searches, gathering, collecting biological samples from the remains of fallen soldiers to help identify those whose identities are unknown. As of October 21st, a total of 48 sets of martyrs’ remains had been recovered; particularly, 30 from within the country combined with 18 from Cambodia.

The biological sample collection across all 33 martyrs’ cemeteries has been completed, finishing nearly four months ahead of the deadline set by Military Region 5. Efforts in public outreach, coordination with local authorities as well as mission implementation in Cambodia have also been prioritised, yielding positive outcomes.

Comrade Dao My, the PPC Vice Chairman, presenting the Certificates of Merit to collectives.

Addressing the conference, comrade Dao My, the PPC Vice Chairman, requested the Provincial Steering Board to strengthen supervision alongside urge its members to fulfill their assigned responsibilities within their respective sectors combined with jurisdictions. He emphasized the need for regular progress evaluations in conjunction with targeted guidance to localities that have not yet met the required objectives. Furthermore, the Provincial Military Command is responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies to urgently finalize the documentation along with procedures for transferring 1,472 biological samples, currently stored at the Dak Lak Provincial Forensic Center, to the Military Forensic Institute in accordance with established regulations; while counselling on the process returning biological samples to the martyrs’ graves after they have been recovered.

People’s Committees of communes together with wards must accelerate the “500 Days and Nights” campaign progress, shifting from a passive approach, waiting for information, to a proactive one, seeking out information directly at the grassroots level. Team K51 needs to actively coordinate with local authorities province-wide alongside relevant Cambodian agencies to verify leads, conduct field surveys, organize the search for together with repatriation of martyrs’ remains, both domestically and abroad. Furthermore, they must rigorously manage records, personal items, remains; strictly adhere to reporting protocols, while ensuring absolute safety throughout their duty execution.

On this occasion, the PPC awarded Certificates of Merit to 18 collectives combined with 12 individuals for their outstanding achievements in searching, gathering, identifying martyrs’ remains, specifically regarding cases with insufficient information in 2026 alongside the “500 Days and Nights” campaign (Phase 1).

Translated by TRINH THUY