Vietnam handed over the remains of an American serviceman who died during the war in the Southeast Asian country that ended in 1975 at a ceremony at Da Nang International Airport in the namesake central city on Wednesday.

The ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and representatives of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Da Nang People’s Committee, the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons, U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns, and leaders and employees of the U.S. MIA (Missing-In-Action) Office in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister Ngoc affirmed that Vietnam joined hands with the U.S. to look for the remains of American MIA soldiers as part of its policy to focus on humanitarianism and reconciliation in order to move toward the future.  

Vietnam greatly values U.S. cooperation in addressing the aftermath of the war, Ngoc added.

He said that war remediation was also part of the two countries' resolution to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in September last year.

The official affirmed that the enhancement of cooperation in the field was the best way to heal the wounds of war and contribute to expanding collaboration in more sectors.

Susan Burns expressed her gratitude to the Vietnamese government and people for seeking and handing over the remains of American MIA servicemen.

She said the activity had helped boost the two nations’ relations.

The U.S. administration commits to continue its support for Vietnam as it keeps working toward remediation.

The joint humanitarian operation to locate and identify American servicemen missing in the war in Vietnam has been conducted since 1973, two years before the end of the war.

To date, Vietnam has handed over the remains of more than 1,000 MIA American service members to the U.S..

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