The top Vietnamese leader stressed that more than half a century after the war, Viet Nam and the U.S. have overcome the pain of the past together, gradually built trust, elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and turned them into a model of international relations.
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General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and President To Lam speaks at the event. |
In this journey, cooperation in addressing war consequences is not only a practical area of cooperation, but also a vivid symbol of humanity, tolerance and the shared determination to heal historical wounds, build trust and look towards the future.
He spoke highly of the goodwill and efforts of the U.S. Government, organizations, businesses and people in supporting Viet Nam in addressing war aftermath, particularly the search for, recovery and identification of the remains of Vietnamese fallen soldiers.
He also recognized the active and proactive role of the USABC in encouraging the U.S. business community to contribute resources, equipment, technology and technical expertise to the VWAI, as well as the active role of the Viet Nam Center and Sam Johnson Viet Nam Archive at Texas Tech University in researching and analyzing documents.
The General Secretary and President expressed his appreciation for U.S. veterans who, despite their advanced age and declining health, have returned to Viet Nam to share memories and provide information on the burial sites of Vietnamese soldiers. He affirmed that Viet Nam will continue to fully cooperate with the U.S. in the search for U.S. service members missing in action, as it has done for more than half a century, demonstrating Viet Nam’s humanitarian spirit, sense of responsibility and consistent policy of working with the U.S. to heal the wounds of war.
Sharing Viet Nam’s efforts, the leader emphasized that the search for, recovery and identification of the remains of fallen soldiers is a major and consistent policy of the Party and State, as well as a political task and sacred responsibility towards people with meritorious services, martyrs’ relatives and hundreds of thousands of families that have waited for decades for information about their loved ones.
Every set of remains recovered and every identity established represents not only the return of a fallen son to his homeland, but also solace for families that have carried pain and longing across generations. Viet Nam currently has an estimated 175,000 sets of fallen soldiers’ remains yet to be found and nearly 300,000 graves whose identities have yet to be established, he said.
As the “window of opportunity” is gradually closing, with historical witnesses becoming fewer, battlefield traces constantly changing and many remains samples deteriorating over time, General Secretary and President To Lam said that making use of records held by the U.S. and applying next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology are highly meaningful efforts amid the nationwide implementation of the “500-day campaign to step up the search for, recovery and identification of fallen soldiers’ remains”.
This is a race against time, but also a journey of conscience, responsibility and humanity, aimed at bringing more fallen sons home to their homeland and families, he emphasized.
Looking towards the 80th anniversary of Viet Nam's Wounded Soldiers and Martyrs' Day (July 27, 1947 – 2027), General Secretary and President To Lam asked the USABC to further play its role as a bridge, encouraging its member businesses and the U.S. private sector to share records, information and memorabilia to support the search. He also called for support in strengthening DNA testing capacity, with a focus on providing NGS systems, specialized supplies and chemicals so that Vietnamese laboratories can operate at full capacity.
Representatives of the USABC and U.S. businesses briefed the Vietnamese leader on the results and future direction of the VWAI.
The business community has mobilized equipment, technology and financial resources, working with the Viet Nam Center and Sam Johnson Viet Nam Archive to collect, digitize, verify and share wartime records, while supporting improvements in data management, search operations, DNA testing and the identification of Vietnamese service members whose whereabouts were lost or who went missing during the war.
Highlighting the profound humanitarian and reconciliation significance of the VWAI, the USABC pledged to continue playing a key role in mobilizing technology companies, the private sector, researchers and U.S. veterans, helping more Vietnamese families obtain information about their loved ones, heal war wounds, strengthen trust and further deepen relations between the two countries.
Source: VNA