January 23, 2018 | 18:23 (GMT+7)
VVA members’ contributions to Vietnam-U.S. relations acknowledged
PANO – Vice- President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Don Tuan Phong on January 22 awarded certificates of merit to the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and “For peace, friendship among nations” insignia to several of its members in recognition of their contributions to the normalization and development of the Vietnam-US relations.
The honored individuals included VVA President John Rowan, VVA Vice-President Marsha Four, Chair of the POW/MIA Committee Grant Towsend Coats, and VVA Public Relations Director Margaret Pratt Porter.
Since 1994, through the veterans’ initiative program, the VVA has handed over 300 files on 12,000 Vietnamese soldiers who died and went missing during the Vietnam War to aid the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense to search for and retrieve remains of about 1,500 Vietnamese martyrs.
In addition, the VVA worked with U.S. television channels to screen documentaries on the results of the search for missing in action (MIA) soldiers of both Vietnam and the U.S., war aftermaths and the situation of Vietnam at present.
Many VVA’s members have contributed to normalizing and developing Vietnam-U.S. relations through the program.
Translated by Chung Anh