Can Tho (VNA) – A memorial and burial ceremony for 120 sets of martyrs’ remains was held at the Can Tho city Martyrs’ Cemetery on October 15.
Representatives from central and local agencies and organisations, including Le Minh Tri, Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs; and Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Gau, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defence and deputy head of the National Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains, attended the ceremony.
The remains were recovered in Dong Phuoc and Thoi Lai communes by a temporary search and recovery team under the Can Tho Military Command and Team K90 of the Political Department of Military Region 9.
In his eulogy, Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Cong Ly expressed deep sorrow and gratitude to those who had sacrificed their lives for national liberation, reunification, independence and freedom, as well as peace and happiness of the people.
At the ceremony, delegates laid wreaths, offered incense, and performed rituals before the remains were transferred to their final resting places.
The recovery efforts have been carried out in line with the Party and State’s policies, particularly the 500-day campaign to accelerate the search, recovery and identification of martyrs’ remains.
The municipal steering committee has asked relevant forces to work closely with local Party committees, authorities and residents to collect information about fallen soldiers and their graves. The work includes field surveys, verification, document consolidation and searches at temporary wartime burial sites.
A specialised research team has also been established to speed up the compilation of records, gather information, organise verification workshops and support search and recovery operations.
With the coordinated efforts, the temporary search and recovery team under the Can Tho Military Command has recovered 158 sets of martyrs’ remains, exceeding its assigned target. Of these, 38 sets had previously been reburied, while the remaining 120 were laid to rest on October 15.
In the coming period, Can Tho will continue its efforts, including collecting biological samples for DNA testing to identify martyrs’ remains as soon as possible./.
