Remains of US soldiers repatriated

By VNA April 16, 2024 | 11:50 pm PT

Soldiers get in position at Da Nang International Airport to carry remains believed to be of American soldiers back to the U.S., April 16, 2024. Photo by People's Army newspaper

A ceremony to repatriate two sets of remains believed to be of U.S. soldiers listed as missing in action (MIA) from the war in Vietnam was held at the Da Nang International Airport on Tuesday.

The ceremony, the 164th of its kind, saw the attendance of Deputy Defense Minister Hoang Xuan Chien, Assistant Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, representatives from the ministries of defense, foreign affairs and public security and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP). On the U.S. side were U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper, U.S. Defense Attaché to Vietnam Thomas Bouchillon and representatives of the U.S. MIA Office in Hanoi.

The remains were found as the result of the 154th joint field activity which lasted from February to April 2024. Vietnamese forensic specialists examined the remains and determined that they might belong to U.S. MIAs from the war in Vietnam.

The joint efforts of the two governments to search and account for U.S. MIAs since the late 1980s have to date identify over 720 U.S. MIAs.