Attending the ceremony, on the Vietnamese side were Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission, and Deputy Minister of National Defence; Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Vietnam Office for Searching for Missing Persons (VNOSMP); and representatives from various units under the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Security . On the US side were US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper, Director of the Prisoner of War and Missing Persons Accounting Agency (DPAA) Kelly McKeague, and representatives from the US Embassy and the US MIA Office in Hanoi.
At the ceremony, Vietnam handed over a casket containing remains to the United States. This was the result of Vietnam's recent unilateral search efforts in Lao Cai province. Previously, on December 5th, the remains were examined by forensic experts from Vietnam and the United States, who preliminarily concluded that they may be related to a US soldier missing in action during the Vietnam War. The remains will be transferred to a forensic laboratory in Hawaii for analysis and identification.
On behalf of the Government and people of the United States, Ambassador Marc Knapper expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of Vietnam for its strong and enduring commitment to this humanitarian effort, affirming that this is a testament to the close cooperation between the peoples of the two countries, laying the foundation for the normalization process and promoting bilateral relations.
DPAA Director Kelly McKeague also expressed gratitude for the Vietnamese agency's sense of responsibility in this humanitarian mission, particularly emphasizing that Vietnam is one of only two countries out of 46 where the DPAA is conducting searches for missing US servicemen from the war, and has the capacity to carry out unilateral search operations in the most difficult and challenging terrains.
Speaking at the ceremony, General Hoang Xuan Chien shared that, overcoming the pain of war, from the very beginning, Vietnam has fully cooperated in the search for missing US servicemen in a humanitarian spirit. Quoting General Secretary To Lam's statement: "We do not choose the past, but we can choose how to look at the past – and from there, choose the future," General Hoang Xuan Chien expressed confidence that with goodwill and effort, both sides will overcome the consequences of war and expand cooperative relations, which is the best way to heal the wounds on the land, in bodies and souls, and build a bright future for Vietnam-US relations.
General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that Vietnam will continue to cooperate closely and create the most favorable conditions for the search for missing US servicemen from the war, as it has done for nearly half a century; at the same time, he requested the United States to further increase resources and expand the deployment of projects supporting Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of landmines, dealing with dioxin contamination, supporting people with disabilities and war victims, searching for, collecting, and improving the capacity to identify the remains of missing Vietnamese soldiers.
Humanitarian cooperation in searching for and cataloging U.S. servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam War, initiated by both countries immediately after the signing of the Paris Agreement in 1973, has yielded positive results, helping the United States identify and return the remains of approximately 740 U.S. servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam War. This is a highly significant achievement for the U.S. people and government.
The 171st repatriation ceremony of the remains of US servicemen is one of the important events concluding 2025, marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995-2025), the 40th anniversary of the first joint operation to search for US servicemen missing in action (1985-2025), and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War (1975-2025). It signifies a long journey of promoting healing, normalization, and development of Vietnam-US relations, transforming former enemies into comprehensive strategic partners as they are today. This contributes to promoting cooperation in addressing the consequences of war between the two countries in general, including US efforts to support the search, collection, and identification of the remains of missing Vietnamese soldiers; demining; dioxin decontamination; and support for people with disabilities.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/hoi-huong-hai-cot-quan-nhan-hoa-ky-mat-tich-trong-chien-tranh-viet-nam-20251213105838994.htm
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