The remains of a US soldier who died during the Vietnam War were handed over to the US at a ceremony held at Da Nang airport in the central city of Da Nang on Sunday. The repatriation ceremony was attended by representatives from the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP) and from the US Defense Attaché Office, the US Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), and the US MIA Office in Hanoi. After the remains were recovered during the 110th Joint Field Activity from March to April, 2013, Vietnamese and US forensic experts analyzed them and concluded that they might be that of a US soldier who died during the war in Vietnam. These experts had also requested that the remains be taken to the US’s Hawaii for further analysis and examination.
Speaking at yesterday’s ceremony, the US government’s representative expressed thanks to the Vietnamese government for goodwill and cooperation in looking for remains of US servicemen in Vietnam.
The seeking of the remains of US servicemen missing during the war is humanitarian co-operation between the Governments of Vietnam and the US.
The hand-over was the 126th repatriation since the Paris Peace Agreement was signed on January 27, 1973 to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam.
Since 1973, the remains of about 970 American servicemen listed as missing during the war have been repatriated. Of the number, around 680 was found in Vietnam and the rest in Laos, Cambodia and China.
Currently, nearly 1,680 Americans from the war are still considered missing, including about 1,300 in Vietnam, according to the US Government.