Vietnam ramps up DNA sampling to identify unidentified war dead

Provincial authorities in Cà Mau have intensified DNA sampling at Phước Long war‑memorial cemetery, aiming to collect specimens from all 761 unidentified graves and complete sampling for a total of 3,382 war dead by the end of 2026. The effort is part of the nationwide “500‑day‑night” campaign launched to locate, exhume and identify missing soldiers.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the People’s Committee has ordered city‑wide collection of DNA from relatives of unidentified martyrs, integrating the results into a national database linked to the citizen‑identification system. The move is intended to speed up identification and provide closure for families.

Meanwhile, in Dong Nai Province, field teams have uncovered 21 complete sets of remains and numerous personal artifacts, including weapons, ammunition and personal items, after intensive metal‑detector searches. Earlier, a separate excavation in the same province reported 26 remains recovered from a single site.

All activities are coordinated under the “500‑day‑night” campaign overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Military Command’s Ban Chỉ đạo 515, emphasizing a unified national drive to honor fallen heroes.