As long as there is information about teammates, they will continue to search.

The series of articles "Journey to bring you back to your motherland" was awarded the B prize of the 17th National Press Award - 2022.

A meaningful "back to the source" trip

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day, the leaders of the People's Electronic Committee decided to launch two series of articles on the work of searching, excavating, and gathering the remains of Vietnamese martyrs and the work of gratitude of the Party and State towards the relatives of martyrs and people with meritorious services to the revolution.

The group of reporters from the People's Electronic Newspaper was divided into two groups to head to the hot spots. One group went to Quang Tri to write a series of articles on gratitude, while the other group, including journalist Nguyen Van Toan and his colleagues, proposed to go to the hot spot of An Giang and was approved by the leaders. Before leaving, Van Toan and his group made a detailed outline and proactively contacted information providers/witnesses in An Giang as well as the Ministry of National Defense.

A group of reporters from the People's Electronic Newspaper offered incense at the Doc Ba Dac martyr cemetery.

The series “Journey to bring you back to your homeland” consists of 5 articles, which are a combination of articles (reportage), videos, and photo reports, in order to take full advantage of the strengths of the modern electronic newspaper genre. With this presentation, the group of authors hopes to create a good effect on readers, thereby improving the quality and spread of the articles.

Journalist Van Toan shared that this was not the first time he had gone to the locality to write an article, but for him and his group members, the trip to An Giang had a very special meaning. It was not just a business trip, but also a "return to the source" trip to find the hot spot where thousands of soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army heroically fell to protect the southwestern border of the Fatherland.

“The group’s ultimate goal is to help readers gain an overview of the efforts of officers and soldiers in An Giang in particular to search for and collect martyrs’ remains, as well as the determination of the Party and State in general to bring heroes and martyrs back to their homeland,” said journalist Van Toan.

The series was completed after a trip lasting more than a week, but to do so, the group of authors had to go through many difficulties. Journalist Van Toan recounted: “When we arrived in An Giang, the contact with the leads and witnesses did not go smoothly as planned, forcing us to change the entire work program, including traveling hundreds of kilometers by motorbike to the border district of Tinh Bien early in the morning, and then another journey of hundreds of kilometers back to the city that same night. Although we were tired from the long journey, the good news is that the group completed the set work goals.”

Coincidentally, the day journalist Van Toan and his colleagues arrived in An Giang coincided with the K93 search team returning from a nearly 6-month journey in Cambodia, with the result of collecting 41 martyrs' remains.

The Nhan Dan Newspaper reporters focused on exploiting the characters and historical witnesses. That was Lieutenant Colonel Le Dac Thoa - Political Commissar of Team K93, listening to him recount the emotional stories of the K93 search force since its inception. Colonel Pham Quang Trung (Tu Trung) - former Captain of Team K93, who has been with K93 since the beginning; along with Colonel Huynh Tri (Hai Tri) - former Political Commissar of the Military Command of An Giang Province, who spent 20 years after retirement searching for... his comrades. In the past nearly 20 years, Mr. Huynh Tri and Team K93 have found 2,533 sets of martyrs' remains, of which 275 have named martyrs' remains.

Burning incense to pay tribute to heroes and martyrs who fell for peace, independence and freedom

The journey to the Doc Ba Dac martyrs' cemetery in Thoi Son commune, Tinh Bien district, An Giang province is probably the trip that left the deepest emotions in the hearts of journalist Van Toan and his group of reporters. Known as the Truong Son cemetery of the Bay Nui region of An Giang, this place gathers more than 8,000 graves of soldiers from all three regions of the North - Central - South who sacrificed their lives during the wars; most of them were Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died in the war to protect the southwestern border and the war against the Pol Pot genocidal regime.

For journalist Nguyen Van Toan - the field trip to An Giang has a very special meaning.

“Coming to Doc Ba Dac martyrs cemetery in the last days of the historic July, we stood still in the vast afternoon wind. As far as the eye could see were the gold-painted tombstones, densely packed and neatly arranged. Next to the incense burner were plastic lotus flowers solemnly displayed. All around, rows of frangipani and white Champa flowers were blooming, making everyone feel more clearly the pain and loss of war,” journalist Van Toan recalled.

Mr. Van Toan said that it was heartbreaking that out of more than 8,000 graves, nearly 5,000 graves bore the inscription: "Martyrs with unknown information" . More than half of the heroes, even though they had been brought back to their homeland, still shared the same anonymous fate. Many martyrs had names but no hometown, unit name or vice versa. Many martyrs had relics but no names, addresses... In addition, the cemetery also built hundreds of empty graves. This is the place ready to welcome martyrs back to their motherland.

Journalist Van Toan was moved: “The war has been over for more than 40 years. And for the same number of years, you guys are still “sending your lives” to a friendly land. At this cemetery, hundreds of remaining comrades and comrades are still building “ready-made houses” to wait for you to return to the arms of the Fatherland. The fragrant scent of incense, the pure white Champa flowers, and tens of thousands of tombstones lying close together in neat rows… have truly left an unforgettable impression and emotion.”

As the person in charge of the images for the series, photojournalist Thanh Dat said that there have been many articles and research reports on the issue of searching for the remains of Vietnamese martyrs, so he needs to change his perspective and exploit images from a different angle about the search and collection of martyrs' graves in An Giang in particular and Vietnam in general today.

“Standing in front of Doc Ba Dac cemetery to record, my brothers and I could not hold back our tears before the image of thousands of tombstones lying densely and in a row, most of them died when they were only nineteen or twenty years old, but sadly, half of them have nameless tombstones. Some left their old mothers in their hometowns during the harvest season, some put down their books and put aside their youthful dreams to go on the road” , Thanh Dat shared.

The series of articles “The Journey to Bring You Back to the Motherland” carries a great message to all the public and readers: Our peaceful life today is exchanged for the bones, blood, and youth of hundreds of thousands of fallen heroes and martyrs. There are heroes and martyrs whose names have been recorded, but there are also heroes and martyrs whose identities have not been determined, still lying somewhere deep and cold underground…

The responsibility of today’s generation is to never forget the great sacrifices of previous generations, and at the same time to do a better job of repaying the gratitude to the families of martyrs and those who have contributed to their cause, in order to somewhat comfort and ease the pain of losing their loved ones. As for soldiers in peacetime, they still have a painful feeling in their hearts: “As long as there is information about their comrades, they will continue to search” !

Hoa Giang

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chung-nao-con-thong-tin-ve-dong-doi-se-van-di-tim-post252184.html