Vietnam, US cooperate in Vietnam War POW/MIA issue

Member of the Party Central Committee and Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang received a delegation from the Prisoners of War/Servicemen Missing In Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Agency (DPAA) under the U.S. Department of Defense, led by Director McKeague Kelly Kahalewai, on June 7th, in Hanoi.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Luong Tam Quang highlighted that the two countries are boosting cooperation in the fields of national security and defense, as well as coordinating prioritized humanitarian issues and overcoming war consequences.

Regarding the search for United States servicemen reported as missing in action during the war in Vietnam, several MIA search campaigns have been done in Vietnam’s localities including those in Vietnam – Laos and Vietnam – Cambodia border areas.

The Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam has found and handed over 3 sets of human remains of possible US servicemen to the US side for further analysis and identification, showing remarkable effort of both sides in this field. 

Currently, joint search missions for MIA have been implementing in provinces including Nghe An, Quang Binh, Khanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, which has achieved positive results, finding remains of possible servicemen.

In the coming time, the Government and people of Vietnam in general and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam in particular hope that the US side will continue strengthening cooperation with the Vietnamese side by providing information about the locations of US servicemen missing in action and documents on locations of Vietnamese martyrs, as well as returning Vietnamese fallen soldiers’ belongings to their families, clearing unexploded ordnance, conducting dioxin decontamination projects and other humanitarian activities.

On behalf of the DPAA delegation, Director McKeague Kelly Kahalewai sincerely thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security for its practical assistance in searching MIA, and affirmed that the US never forgets its responsibility for, and always attaches great importance to overcoming the consequences of war. 

Director McKeague Kelly Kahalewai shared that the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and 35 years of joint operations to search for US servicemen missing in action (MIA) mark an important milestone in the two sides’ cooperation in overcoming war consequences, contributing to enhancing the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.