In late April 2022, Team K71 under the Tay Ninh provincial Military Command went to the open forest in Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meancheay province, Cambodia to search for remains of martyrs on an area of more than 1,500m2. According to the information provided, the martyrs’ graves were located deep in the remote, mountainous area where automobiles could not reach. Therefore, the team’s members had to both ride motorbikes and walk there. Moreover, the scorching sun made the soil dry and hard. However, after many hard-working days, the team’s members dug nearly 600 cubic meters of soil and rocks to collect 83 sets of remains.
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Team K72 under the Binh Phuoc provincial Military Command repatriate home remains of martyrs collected in Cambodia. |
Colonel Phan Van Long, Political Commissar of Team K71, shared that the result came from the information provided by local people, especially Mr. Kha Dit, born in 1960, in Banteay Ampil district. Thanks to him, Team K71 could position the martyrs’ grave exactly.
In any visits to localities in Cambodia, troops of Team K71 always actively build good relationships with the local authorities and people. As a result, since November 2022, in all searches for the remains of martyrs, the team have received effective information and guidance from local people. In early March this year, Mr. Xien Chanh, aged 52, in Chong Kal district, Oddar Meancheay province guided the team to the grave of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who sacrificed in 1985 in the battle against the enemy in the commune and whose bodies were buried by local people. With this valuable information, Team K71 found eight sets of remains. Also in March 2023, the information from 66-year-old Khon Dra Kheo in Thma Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province helped the team find nine sets of remains of fallen troops of Division 5 under Military Region 7.
According to Col. Long, though it is difficult to find remains of fallen troops in mountainous areas due to the difficult terrains and harsh weather, it is more convenient to locate them than that in the plains which are changeable due to the rapid urbanization. Therefore, without the Cambodian people’s guidance and timely information, many sets of remains of troops who died in small battles could not have been found easily. He mentioned the case in Serei Saophoan district, Banteay Meanchey province. When the team came, this area was covered by a number of machines used to construct industrial and civil works. Thanks to the guidance of Ms. Brull Sray, aged 66, in Serei Saophoan district, the team found two sets of remains.
According to Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Political Commissar of Team K72 under the Binh Phuoc provincial Military Command, since March 2023, the team has found 83 sets of remains thanks to information collected during meetings with witnesses and forest and field owners, and others. In addition, the improvement in command of the Khmer langague, knowledge of local people’s customs and practices, and skills in detecting and clearing mines, reading coordinates on maps, experience and others of the search and collection teams’ members have made the work effective. Regardless of day and night, they have been united to collect all sets of remains of martyrs at each search point.
Performing the duty for the second time, Nguyen Nghiem Thuong, a member of Team K72, said that although the work is hard since they often walk, carry, and move through many localities in a distance of tens of kilometers, “we are always determined that the search for martyrs' remains is a sacred task.” Thuong shared that “every time we found the remains of a martyr, we burst in joy and emotion, giving us strength to overcome all difficulties and hardships,” adding that it is their honor and happiness to contribute small efforts to the finding of remains of martyrs to meet the wishes of the martyrs’ relatives and families.
Given that the search and collection of martyrs' remains is a major policy of the Party and the State with new requirements particularly in terms of implementation progress, the Party committee and Chain-of-Command of Military Region 7 have always paid attention to leading the close coordination with Cambodian units and localities, the development of specific programs and plans, the effective implementation of assistance activities in the host country, and the assurance of policies for search and collection teams. Military Region 7 have regularly drawn lessons, promptly given commendations and rewards to troops and multiplied creative and effective models.
Translated by Mai Huong