At the beginning of the dry season, the team conducted searches in Suong ward, Suong city of Cambodia’s Tboung Khmum province. After nearly 25 days working in difficult terrain and harsh weather, the team carefully searched the area and recovered 15 sets of remains.
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Members of Team K70 search for and recover the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors who sacrificed their lives during different periods of war in Cambodia. |
Sr. Col. Doan Dinh Tinh, head of Team K70, said that the search followed information provided by Cao Ngoi, a 66-year-old man in Suong ward. Years earlier, elders had told him that Vietnamese soldiers who died during the war had been buried in the area. Cao Ngoi kept the information in his memory.
The team subsequently worked with local authorities and residents to verify the information. The investigation found that the area had been used to bury Vietnamese soldiers who died between 1971 and 1973. The unit then surveyed the site, cross-checked records and narrowed down potential locations before excavating and recovering 15 sets of remains.
Col. Tinh said that the results reflected the efforts of the unit’s officers and soldiers and the support of Cambodian authorities, armed forces and people. He described their cooperation as valuable experience gained through years of conducting search and recovery missions in Cambodia.
During the 2025-2026 dry season, Team K70 operated across a large area in Kampong Cham and Tboung Khmum provinces. Col. Nguyen Ngoc Duong, Political Commissar of Team K70, said the passage of time and changes in the terrain were the unit’s biggest challenges. Former battlefields have become residential areas, farmland and rubber plantations, while many traces of the war have disappeared.
To identify possible burial sites, information had to be verified against archival records, operational maps and witnesses’ accounts. The team worked with 16 Cambodian agencies and units and held 25 meetings and working sessions, receiving 65 valuable leads.
Officers and soldiers traveled many kilometers along red-dirt roads to reach villages, meet witnesses and compare their accounts with records and maps. Col. Tinh said that the unit’s persistence, combined with the support of Cambodian authorities and residents, had helped improve the effectiveness of the search and recovery effort.
Cau Sa Ron, chairwoman of Kor commune, Tboung Khmum district, Tboung Khmum province, said Team K70’s members have maintained close and sincere ties with local residents and respected local customs and traditions. Through practical assistance and public outreach, they have raised awareness of the sacrifices of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who fought to help the Cambodian people escape the genocidal regime.
She said the local authorities have regularly encouraged residents, particularly witnesses and elderly people who experienced the war, to provide information about suspected graves for the team to verify and search.
In addition to searching for and recovering remains, Team K70 conducted mass mobilization activities in local communities. During the 2025-2026 dry season, the unit updated more than 400 residents on its mission, presented 155 gifts, worth VND 90 million, to disadvantaged families, and provided free medical examinations and medicines for more than 300 residents.
The activities helped support local residents, strengthen traditional solidarity and friendship between the two countries’ peoples and armed forces, and expand the network of witnesses and information sources supporting the search effort.
During the dry season, the team excavated 75 locations, moved and leveled more than 11,300 cubic meters of earth and rock, and recovered 61 sets of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and advisors.
As the 2026-2027 dry season begins, Col. Nguyen Ngoc Duong said that Team K70 will continue to collect information from veterans, relatives of fallen soldiers and people in both countries, while strengthening public outreach and encouraging residents to provide leads. The unit will also improve its personnel’s Khmer-language skills, strengthen mass mobilization activities, and survey suspected burial sites by combining archival records and battle maps with field investigations.
The team will further focus on educating and briefing its officers and soldiers and preparing equipment and facilities, with the determination to successfully fulfill its mission.
Translated by Tran Hoai