Vietnam repatriates American soldier’s remains in Hanoi

Representatives from the Board of Directors of Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP) handed over to the U.S. the remains recovered during a joint field activity from May 5 to June 23 this year, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi stated.

Vietnamese forensic specialists initially concluded the remains to be associated with a U.S. serviceman gone missing during the Vietnam War before transferral to the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's laboratory in Hawaii for further tests.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink, who attended the ceremony, vowed to continue supporting Vietnam in searching and gathering the remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in actions in addressing the consequences of war.

The search for the remains of U.S. servicemen lost during the Vietnam War involves humanitarian cooperation between the Vietnamese and American governments. This is the 153rd handover of American remains since 1973.

Vietnam and the U.S. mark 25 years of normalization of diplomatic relationships this year. The countries have worked together on MIA soldiers for over 30 years, serving as one of the major pillars in bilateral ties.

So far, American and Vietnamese investigators, excavators and scientists have participated in over 130 joint operations, locating the remains of 770 American soldiers.

There are an estimated 1,200 Americans still unaccounted for in Vietnam since the war.

Last week, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it would fund and assist Vietnam in improving its technical ability to identify the remains of soldiers found in its soil under an agreement signed with VNOSMP.