The Da Nang Military Command says its search team has recovered the remains of five fallen soldiers from a wartime shelter in Quế Sơn commune, VOV reported on 2 November.

The find was made in the Bà Hội shelter in Thuận Long village. The team worked together with the Quế Sơn commune Military Command, according to VOV.

What led searchers to the shelter

VOV reports that a local resident, Nguyễn Thái Quá, born in 1951, recalled seeing three soldiers run into the shelter in 1967, just before it was hit by enemy artillery. He believes they suffocated inside. Another villager said he had come across human bones when he opened the entrance years earlier, then sealed it again.

Items recovered

Alongside the remains, the team found two infantry shovels, two lidded pots, a spoon, two hammocks, two ponchos, backpack straps, 20 shirt buttons, kerosene lamp parts and an AK rifle. They also found a set of grey clothing, fragments of parachute cloth and green fabric, and a gold-plated earring engraved with the letters "NT", according to the report.

Identification still to come

Biological samples are being collected from the remains so the soldiers can be identified. VOV says records suggest Regiments 31 and 38 of the 2nd Division fought in the area, and investigators will use that to verify units and identities. Search teams are continuing deeper into the shelter, so the final count may change.

Thanh Niên also carried the news of the discovery on 2 November. This is a developing story and Danang Voice will update it if the Military Command announces identification results.

Sources

This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.