Vietnam repatriates US soldier's remains

The Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons and Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) under the U.S. Department of Defense held the 161st repatriation ceremony to transfer the remains thought to be associated with a U.S. service member missing in action (MIA), at Da Nang International Airport.

The remains were found as a result of a joint field activity from recovery operations in central Vietnam, which were launched in mid-May and will conclude late next month, the U.S. Embassy said.

Vietnamese and U.S. forensic specialists examined the remains on Monday in Da Nang and determined that the remains likely belonged to a U.S. soldier.

The U.S. side will transfer the remains to DPAA’s laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii, for further verification.

The joint humanitarian effort intent to locate and identify U.S. service members who went missing in the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975, has been implemented for 35 years by the two governments.

MIA cooperation is one of the longstanding pillars in the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship that seeks to settle the war legacies between the two countries.

To date, 733 MIA U.S. service members have been identified.