Based on information provided by three Cambodian citizens, Team K52 under the Gia Lai Provincial Military Command searched for and recovered the remains of six Vietnamese soldiers, along with numerous personal artifacts, between October 27 and 31.
On November 4, the Gia Lai Provincial Military Command announced that the remains were recovered in Cambodia's Rattanakiri, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear provinces.
Resident Seu Soen, 52, from Lam Village in Bo Nhay Commune of Rattanakiri Province provided information about a burial site for Vietnamese soldiers at Ia Chut Stream, about 4.5 kilometers east of the former Lam Village.
According to Seu Soen, his father had served as a local guerrilla fighter and fought alongside Vietnamese troops between 1966 and 1969. He had also helped bury several Vietnamese soldiers who were killed in a bombing in the area. Acting on the information, Team K52, under the Political Department of the Gia Lai Provincial Military Command, verified the site and recovered the remains of two soldiers.
In Stung Treng Province, Deng Keo, 67, from Phum Pha Bang in Thmo Keo Commune, said that around 1971, while fishing and setting traps with a fellow villager named In, who has since passed away, he discovered wooden stakes arranged in a rectangle marking a specific location.
The site was approximately 400 meters northeast of the Sekong River, near a former Vietnamese military trail. Based on that information, the search team verified the location and recovered the remains of two soldiers in Ochai Village, Sontepheap Commune, Siem Pang.
In Preah Vihear Province, Chay Ly, 67, from Chhep Kot Village in Chhep Muoy Commune, discovered two subsidence pits and fragments of a green military tarp while working on farmland near a former Vietnamese military encampment.
After learning that Team K52 was searching for fallen soldiers' remains, he voluntarily reported the information. Following verification and excavation efforts, the team recovered two more sets of remains in the area.
According to Team K52, none of the six soldiers has been identified. Artifacts found at the sites included rubber sandals, military tarps, hammocks, army boots, belts, buttons, penicillin medicine bottles, combs and other personal belongings. Biological samples were collected for identity verification and DNA testing.
From January 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026, Team K52 recovered the remains of 34 Vietnamese soldiers in Cambodia.
