Vietnam, US step up cooperation in search for missing Vietnamese soldiers

The meeting aimed to accelerate cooperation with the US in receiving data and mobilising resources for the search for and collection of remains of fallen Vietnamese soldiers under the 500-day campaign.

At the meeting, VWAI researchers presented the delegation with some documents on mass graves of Vietnamese soldiers in the Con Tien area of Quang Tri province following a battle in 1967, as well as at Fire Base Blue in 1971.

More than 50 dossiers on battles and war memorabilia have been sent to Vietnam by the VWAI in recent years, including those on mass graves at K67A Hospital and Tan Son Nhat Airport. Vietnamese forces are studying the materials and conducting field investigations based on the information.

The VWAI is a US Government-funded programme launched at Vietnam’s request in 2018 to support the search for, collection and identification of Vietnamese military personnel missing in action. The project is coordinated by the US Department of War through the US Defence Attaché Office in Hanoi, with Texas Tech University playing a key role in researching, digitising and analysing wartime records. Mission: POW-MIA supports the exchange of information, artefacts and images, as well as technologies for identifying burial sites. Meanwhile, the US–ASEAN Business Council Institute serves as a private-sector partner in the mobilisation of financial and technological resources, training and technical assistance.

Many VWAI members are children of US veterans who served in Vietnam and some of whom remain missing. This personal connection has motivated project members to actively contribute to the initiative and make numerous trips to Vietnam to verify and cross-check information.

VWAI representatives asked National Steering Committee 515 to continue supporting and facilitating a planned return trip by a group of US veterans to former battlefields in Vietnam later this year, with the veterans bringing along valuable information and war memorabilia.

On behalf of National Steering Committee 515 and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Gau thanked the US Government, organisations and individuals, particularly VWAI members, for their effective support for the humanitarian work.

He proposed that the US continue increasing resources for dioxin remediation at Bien Hoa and Phu Cat airbases, expand the projects supporting people with disabilities, enhance the sharing of historical data, provide DNA technology assistance and continue close coordination in the search for missing US service members and Vietnamese soldiers.

Earlier, the delegation held a working session with US Representative Chrissy Houlahan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, who voiced support for efforts to address war consequences in Vietnam not only as a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, but also as the daughter of a US veteran who served in Vietnam.

She pledged to proactively raise Vietnam’s funding proposals for discussion by the subcommittees of the House Committee on Appropriations to seek additional financial resources for the projects on addressing war consequences in Vietnam, including dioxin remediation and support for war victims.

Houlahan expressed her belief that maintaining close US–Vietnam cooperation, as well as collaboration within the ASEAN framework, will be key to ensuring security, peace and sustainable development across the region.

Later the same day, the Vietnamese delegation had a meeting with Michael George DeSombre, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, on coordination in the search for, verification of information and collection of remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in the war.

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