Vietnam's 500‑Day Night Campaign Finds Over 1,500 War Hero Remains

The National Steering Committee, led by Vice‑Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà, is accelerating the 500‑day night campaign to locate, collect and DNA‑identify the remains of Vietnam War martyrs. By the end of July 2026 the effort had recovered 1,563 individual remains – 539 from within Vietnam, 174 from Laos and 850 from Cambodia – and uncovered nine collective graves, including five in Tuyên Quang and four in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the week of 24‑30 July, an additional 81 remains and two collective graves were added. DNA sampling was carried out at 88,889 graves, with 61,887 suitable for testing, achieving a 69.6 % sampling rate. The campaign is supported by the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, local governments, VTV, VNA and private partners such as Vingroup. Broad SMS outreach through Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone is used to solicit information from the public. A detailed implementation plan for August and the remainder of 2026 is to be submitted by 7 August.