Possible remains of US servicemen repatriated

Hanoi (VNA) – Four boxes of remains thought to be of US servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam were handed over to a US agency at a repatriation ceremony held at Noi Bai International Airport on December 12.

The remains were handed over by Vietnamese people and recovered by joint teams during the 121 st Joint Field Activities from October to December, 2015.

The remains have been jointly reviewed and concluded by Vietnam and US forensic specialists that they might be associated with the US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam and were recommended to bring to Hawaii, the US, for further review.

Attending the ceremony, for the Vietnamese side were representatives from the Board of Directors of Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and, for the US side, were US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, representative of the US Defense Attache Office, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the US MIA Office in Hanoi.

Addressing at the Repatriation Ceremony, the US Government representative expressed deep gratitude and appreciation for the steadfast humanitarian policy, good-will and the increasingly efficient cooperation of the Vietnamese Government and people.

The seeking of the remains of US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam is humanitarian cooperation between the Vietnamese Government and the US Government.

This is the 137th hand-over of American missing servicemen’s remains since 1973.-VNA