58-year-old Truong Van Chong, who was declared dead in 1985, shocked his whole family after returning home during Tet Holiday.

Truong Van Chong (right) and his mother (in glasses) at their home

On February 22, Thoi Lai District Department of Labours, Invalids and Social Affairs in Can Tho Province, announced that they are working with related agencies to clarify Chong's identity and his declaration of death. The city Department of Labours, Invalids and Social Affairs also said that they would help register Chong for preferential treatments if his identify was proven real.

Chong is the sixth son of Huynh Nia and participated in the fighting in Cambodia in 1983. He was declared dead two years later and was declared a martyr in 1993.

Nia, Chong's mother who is 87 years old, said, "It was midnight when we heard a man asking for Tu Cao, Chong's brother, in the front yard. When I went out, he cried and told me that he was Chong. I looked at Chong's photograph on his altar and backed at the man in shock. I couldn't believe it until my daughter confirmed to me that he is Chong."

Chong said he could no longer remember his parents' name. After 33 years, he only remembers his brother' name. He was injured in a battle in Cambodia and suffered from memory loss. He was saved by a local woman who then became his wife.

Since then he has married three times and has two children. Eight years ago, he left Cambodia and returned to Tay Ninh Province and started looking for his hometown.

Dtinews