Vietnam recovers thousands of soldiers' remains in national campaign

Vietnamese authorities have recovered the remains of 3,611 fallen soldiers as part of a nationwide 500-day campaign to locate and identify those who died during wartime.

The government launched the initiative to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the country. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung described the mission as a vital political task to fulfill the tradition of honoring fallen soldiers. To date, the campaign has reached 51.59 percent of its overall target.

Teams have successfully retrieved 2,374 remains within Vietnam, 217 in Laos, and 1,020 in Cambodia. The operation involves 32 search and recovery teams with 1,588 personnel currently deployed across three countries. These teams work in difficult terrain and harsh weather to locate sites such as the Vi Xuyen battlefields and Le Thi Rieng Cultural Park. Authorities have already held 24 ceremonies to lay 1,118 of the recovered remains to rest in military cemeteries.

To identify the remains, officials have reviewed over 211,301 graves and collected more than 265,000 biological samples from relatives. These efforts aim to provide closure to families who have waited decades for news. One 95-year-old mother was recently reunited with her son's remains 53 years after his death. The campaign also includes clearing unexploded ordnance to make search areas safer.