50 years searching for fallen soldier's information: Family seeks official confirmation

For half a century, the family of Lieutenant Tran Van Khoi, the commander of Sinh Ton Island in the Truong Sa archipelago who died in 1976, has been seeking concrete information about his fate. The absence of official records from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior, coupled with inconsistent accounts, has left them in prolonged uncertainty.

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My mother still asked about Mr. Khoi before she closed her eyes in 2010.

Mr. Truong Van Sa Tang, 59, a cousin of the late lieutenant, recounted how his aunt, Nguyen Thi Nhan, Khoi's mother, lived near Cam Ranh. Lieutenant Khoi frequently visited his aunt in late 1975 and early 1976 before being deployed to Sinh Ton Island. He even returned a borrowed motorbike to her before his departure.

In early 1977, a friend of Khoi informed Mrs. Nhan that the lieutenant had died on the island, promising further details that never materialized. Decades later, in 2012, Mr. Tran Van Hao, Khoi's elder brother, frail with age, visited the naval region command. He was taken to the Cam Ranh martyrs' cemetery, where a tombstone read "Martyr Do Van Khoi, Unit: Sinh Ton Island, died 1976." Mr. Hao questioned the name, stating his brother's surname was Tran, not Do, and wondered about the whereabouts of his brother's official martyr documents and benefits.

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My brother's surname is Tran, not Do. If this grave is accepted, how can we know if these are my brother's bones? As a martyr, why didn't the unit inform the family, and where are the martyr documents and benefits from all these years?

Naval officials assured Mr. Hao they would resolve the matter and inform the family. However, 14 years have passed without any definitive resolution or official confirmation, leaving the family in continued distress and demanding accurate conclusions from the relevant ministries.

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You can go back, and we will find a way to resolve this and report the news to your home!