170th Repatriation Ceremony of U.S. Servicemen's Remains

The Vietnamese side has handed over three caskets containing remains to the United States. This is the result of a joint Vietnamese-American search operation in the waters off Khanh Hoa province.

The 170th annual repatriation ceremony of the remains of U.S. servicemen.

On July 25th, in Da Nang City, Vietnam and the United States jointly organized the 170th ceremony for the repatriation of the remains of U.S. servicemen missing in action (MIA) in the Vietnam War.

The event took place precisely on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the 40th anniversary of the first joint operation to search for American servicemen missing in action during the war, and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

The handover ceremony was attended by the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Agency for Searching for Missing Persons (VNOSMP), and representatives from the Ministries of National Defence , Foreign Affairs, and Public Security.

On the US side, the participants included US Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Courtney Beale, representatives from the US Embassy, ​​the US MIA Office in Hanoi, several US veterans, and US MIA specialists participating in the 159th joint search operation (May-July 2025).

At the ceremony, the Vietnamese side handed over three caskets containing remains to the US side. This was the result of a recent search effort by a joint Vietnamese-US search team in the waters off Khanh Hoa province.

Previously, on July 23, these remains were examined by forensic experts from Vietnam and the United States, who preliminarily concluded that they may be related to US servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam War. They will be transferred to a forensic laboratory in Hawaii for analysis and identification.

During her visit to Vietnam from July 8-12, DPAA Director Kelly McKeague also expressed her deep gratitude to the Vietnamese Government, the Vietnam Office for Searching for Missing Persons (VNOSMP), and the local authorities and people for their dedicated assistance in searching for missing US servicemen from the war. She also affirmed that she and the DPAA will continue to contribute their voices to ensure that Congress, the Government, and US officials continue to support the stable development of Vietnam-US relations and maintain and expand programs to address the consequences of war in Vietnam.

Humanitarian cooperation in searching for and cataloging US servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam War, launched by the two countries immediately after the Paris Agreement was signed in 1973, has yielded positive results to date, helping the United States identify and return the remains of nearly 750 US servicemen missing in action in Vietnam to their families.

This is a very significant outcome for the American people and the American government, contributing to the promotion of cooperation in addressing the consequences of war between the two countries in general.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/le-trao-tra-hai-cot-quan-nhan-hoa-ky-lan-thu-170-322252.html