On May 8, the Vietnam Youth Federation of Gia Lai Province awarded a certificate of merit to A Hai, 32, from Ia Ly Commune for his contributions to the search and recovery of martyrs’ remains at Chu Pa Mountain.
A representative of the Gia Lai Province chapter of the Vietnam Youth Federation presents a certificate of merit to A Hai on May 8 (Photo: Hoang Long).
Speaking to Dantri/Dtinews, Do Duc Thanh, chairman of the federation in Gia Lai Province, said A Hai had discovered a network of caves on Chu Pa Mountain where numerous remains of fallen soldiers were later found.
After making the discovery, A Hai also guided members of the Army Corps 34 martyr remains recovery team to the site and assisted their search operations in the area.
In recognition of his contributions, the provincial youth federation decided to award him a certificate of merit as encouragement and appreciation.
Around 2020, while herding cattle on Chu Pa Mountain, A Hai entered a cave to catch bats and found raincoats, medicine bottles, rubber sandals, metal bowls and other items believed to belong to wartime soldiers.
Suspecting the cave had once been used as a military shelter during the war, he informed local villagers and, together with a friend, temporarily buried what they believed were human remains near the cave entrance.
In 2021, when the Army Corps 34 recovery team arrived in Ia Ly Commune to collect information, A Hai led authorities to the cave system on Chu Pa Mountain.
Team 34 searches for fallen soldiers' remains inside a cave on Chu Pa Mountain (Photo: Pham Hoang).
Over the past five years, based on the information and locations provided by A Hai, military authorities have recovered and repatriated the remains of 24 martyrs from the area.
