Mr. Nguyen Cong Quynh at the grave of his uncle, martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa - Photo: QH

From the news on the internet

Mr. Nguyen Cong Quynh, 40 years old, who called martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa his uncle, has completed the procedures to bring martyr Hoa's remains back to his hometown in Van Thanh commune, now Dai Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province. It is expected that on the afternoon of April 3, the People's Committee of Dai Dong commune will hold a memorial service and bury martyr Hoa at the martyr cemetery in his hometown.

Martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa was born in 1951, enlisted in the army in 1969, and died on the Western Front on June 26, 1973 while on an international mission in Laos. Mr. Quynh said that his uncle's death certificate included a lot of information about the martyr, but did not state his burial place. Since 1975, the family has tried to find martyr Hoa's grave but to no avail.

For decades, whenever they heard any relevant information, the family would pack up and contact them to search for him, hoping to soon bring martyr Hoa back to his homeland. Once, when they heard that the martyrs' remains collection teams of Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces were retrieving the remains of martyrs who died on the battlefield in Laos, Quynh's mother went to look for her husband.

Mr. Quynh said that at that time, his mother cycled to the Vietnam - Laos International Martyrs Cemetery located in Anh Son town (Anh Son district, Nghe An province) and the Nam National Martyrs Cemetery in Son Chau commune (Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province) with the hope of seeing a name but there was no information about martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa.

Half a century of searching in pain and weariness has never made the family lose patience, they always wait for the day martyr Hoa will return. And the "miracle" has come, starting from the news on the internet. That was at the end of 2022, from information about a photo of a martyr's tombstone named Nguyen Cong Hoa, Mr. Quynh quickly arranged his family affairs and traveled to the National Martyrs' Cemetery on Route 9 to verify.

Mr. Quynh contacted the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An province, Division 968 and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Tri province to coordinate the search. However, because the martyr's grave was gathered before 1990, the information file is no longer complete, so we have to wait for the results of DNA testing to determine.

And the "miracle" from DNA testing

In December 2023, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Tri province sent DNA samples for comparison with the martyr's mother and sister. At the end of February 2025, the Department of Meritorious People (Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs) announced the results of DNA testing to identify the martyr's remains. Accordingly, the person whose sample is named Nguyen Thi Dung (the sister of martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa) is related to the martyr's remains on the mother's line.

Receiving the DNA test results, the family of martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa in Nghe An burst into happiness because their arduous journey of more than half a century finally had results. The happiest person was martyr Hoa's mother. Mr. Quynh shared that his grandmother, the mother of martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa, Mrs. Pham Thi Lai, is 104 years old this year. For many years, Mrs. Lai has always kept her faith in finding her son. When she was still able to walk, every full moon and the first day of the month, Mrs. Lai stood in the yard to burn incense and pray for her son's soul, hoping to find his remains.

Since the DNA results came out, she has been looking forward to welcoming her son back to his homeland. “My grandmother is still conscious and lucid. She cries all the time, missing her son day and night. Since the appointment to go to the National Cemetery for Martyrs of Road 9 to retrieve the remains of martyrs and bring them back to her hometown for burial, she has become more excited and anxiously awaits the moment of seeing her son again after 52 years apart,” Quynh shared.

So after 52 years of separation, martyr Nguyen Cong Hoa has returned to his family and his motherland. That long period of time, which was also an arduous journey of searching and the weary waiting of the martyr's family, finally yielded results.

The story is a reminder of the great sacrifices of those who heroically fell for peace, national independence and the happiness of the people; of the mothers who devoted their children to the cause of protecting the Fatherland. It is also a reminder of the responsibility of today's generation to show gratitude and repay their kindness.

Quang Hai

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/hon-nua-the-ky-xa-cach-liet-si-ve-voi-dat-me-193317.htm