A repatriation ceremony was held on Tuesday at the Danang International Airport to hand over the remains thought to be associated with a US servicemember missing in action (MIA) from the war in Vietnam.
A ceremony to repatriate American servicemember’s remains takes place at Danang International Airport on June 27. (Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Vietnam)
The ceremony was organised by members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP).
At the ceremony, the VNOSMP representatives handed over one set of remains to the DPAA. The remains were found as a result of the 151st joint field activity (JFA) from recovery operations in Nghe An, Quang Binh, and off the coast of Khanh Hoa Province. The 151st JFA started in mid-May and will conclude at the end of July. Dignitaries from the US Embassy, Hanoi, and Consulate in HCM City, and other embassies attended the event. Consulate General Susan Burns from HCM City and VNOSMP Director Le Cong Tien presided over the event.
Vietnamese and US forensic specialists examined the remains on June 26, 2023 in Danang and determined that the remains might belong to a US servicemember missing in action from the war in Vietnam. The US side will transfer the remains to DPAA’s laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii for further verification.
The joint humanitarian effort intent is to locate and identify US servicemembers who went missing in the war in Vietnam. These sustained efforts have been implemented for 35 years by the two governments since 1988. To date, 733 US servicemembers MIAs have been identified.