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Restored Portrait of Fallen Soldier Returned to Family After Nearly 60 Years
🇻🇳 Vietnam /Conflict & Security

Restored Portrait of Fallen Soldier Returned to Family After Nearly 60 Years

From Thanh Niên · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • The family of fallen soldier Huỳnh Văn Quên received his restored portrait nearly 60 years after his death.
  • The event was part of a televised program commemorating Vietnamese war veterans and martyrs.
  • The program highlighted efforts to locate and identify the remains of fallen soldiers.
  • The restored portrait brought emotional closure to his wife, Nguyễn Thị Lệ, who had waited decades for news.

After nearly six decades of waiting, the family of fallen soldier Huỳnh Văn Quên emotionally received a restored portrait of him during a televised event titled 'Finding His Name.' The ceremony, held on July 23, was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the Day of War Invalids and Martyrs.

The program, broadcast live on HTV9, connected multiple locations including Ho Chi Minh City, Côn Đảo, Đồng Tháp, and Quảng Ngãi. Its central theme was the ongoing responsibility of the current generation towards those who sacrificed their lives for the nation's independence and freedom. The event showcased the persistent efforts to locate, repatriate, and identify the remains of soldiers who died during the war.

At the Lê Thị Riêng Park, the search and collection of martyrs' remains were recreated through documentary research, military map comparisons, witness interviews, field surveys, and the use of detection equipment.

— Article textDescribes the process of searching for and identifying remains of fallen soldiers.

One particularly moving story shared was that of Nguyễn Thị Lệ, the wife of Huỳnh Văn Quên. Her nearly 60-year wait for information about her husband, who died in the Xuân Mậu Thân battle in 1968, finally found a measure of peace. During searches at Lê Thị Riêng Park, authorities discovered remains and personal effects bearing Huỳnh Văn Quên's name, offering a glimmer of hope to his family.

During the broadcast, Major General Vũ Văn Điền, Commander of the Ho Chi Minh City Military Command, and Major General Tạ Văn Đẹp, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, presented the restored portrait to Quên's family. For decades, the family had honored him with a 'State Commendation' plaque in lieu of a photograph. The return of his image provided a tangible connection to the husband, son, and brother they had long awaited, embodying the Vietnamese principle of 'drinking water, remember its source.'

For decades, due to the lack of a photograph of the martyr, the family placed the State Commendation on the altar to commemorate him.

— Article textExplains the family's situation before receiving the restored portrait.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Thanh Niên in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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