VietNamNet Bridge – The relics of several Vietnamese martyrs in battles with soldiers from Australia and New Zealand from 1966 to 1971 will be returned to their families through the Wandering Souls Project of Australia.

One of the 37 sketches in a manual of a Vietnam soldier who died in the battle at the Long Tan rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy Province (now the province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau).

The project called “Wandering Souls” is conducted by the research team of Dr. Bob Hall at the University of New South Wales. Throughout the years, Dr. Hall and his colleagues who are veterans have learned about Australian battles from 1966 to 1971 in Phuoc Tuy (now the province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau) and Bien Hoa (Dong Nai province at present).

According to Dr. Hall, in the Vietnam War, six Australian soldiers were missing. Thanks to the help of the government of Vietnam, the remains of these people were found and brought home. Stories of the families of Australian veterans who searched for and received the remains of their relatives have many similarities with many Vietnamese families who are also looking for the remains of their relatives. There are about 300,000 to 600,000 Vietnamese martyrs whose remains have not yet found.

Though they cannot help all, but Dr. Hall and his colleagues wish to help Vietnamese families find their relatives who died in battles with Australian and New Zealand troops. The “Wandering Souls” project gathers the relics of Vietnamese martyrs which are collected by Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The relics consist of many letters, sketches, poems, certificates or merit or the portraits of Vietnamese martyr ... which have been well preserved.

The letter by Mrs. Do Thi Dao, in Can Hau Village, Binh Dinh Province, to her son - Nguyen Ngoc Hung, martyr V1063 mailbox.

Among the relics, there is the portrait of a Vietnamese soldier whose name, age and hometown are still unknown. This soldier sacrificed in the battle on August 12, 1968.

Besides the above photo, a gold ring is one of the relics that Australia wants to return to Vietnam. The ring belongs to a soldier who sacrificed in the battle on December 9, 1970, in Xuyen Moc village, Xuyen Moc District, Phuoc Tuy Province (now Ba Ria-Vung Tau).

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Australia – Vietnam relations, the Wandering Souls project wants to send back the relics to their relatives in Vietnam, particularly those in Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

In 2012, the project returned a lot of relics to the families of many martyrs and the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense.

Currently, the team is holding 90 letters from the battlefields in Binh Dinh (the letters are not collected by Australian soldiers). If they cannot find the families of these martyrs, the relics will be handed over to the Government of Vietnam.

P. Lan