Attending the ceremony, for the Vietnamese side, were representatives from the Board of Directors of Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP) and, for the US side, were Mary E. Tarnowka, US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Colonel Tuan T. Ton, Defense Attache of the US Embassy in Hanoi, representatives of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the US MIA Office in Hanoi.

leftcenterrightdel
A repatriation ceremony of remains of US servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam was held at Da Nang International Airport on July 8. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The Vietnamese side’s representative handed over to the US side two boxes of remains which were recovered by joint and unilateral excavation teams during the 131st Joint Field Activities from May to July, 2018.

The remains had been jointly reviewed and concluded by Vietnamese and US forensic specialists in Da Nang 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.

Addressing at the repatriation ceremony, the US Government’s representative expressed deep gratitude and high appreciation for the steadfast humanitarian policy, good-will, the full 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 144th hand-over of American missing servicemen’s remains since 1973.

Source: VNA