Mr. Kelly McKeague wrote that over the past 40 years, the US has been steadfast in its commitment to do its utmost to search for and verify as fully as possible information about the missing soldiers in the war. This humanitarian effort is maintained thanks to the long-term cooperation of the Vietnamese Government.
This cooperation began a decade ago when the two countries re-established official diplomatic relations and continued to be the foundation for the strong partnership that the US and Vietnam have established today.
Thanks to that persistent and essential cooperation, the US has inventoried 752 cases of Americans missing in war, brought their remains back to their families, thereby providing long-awaited answers and somewhat helping to ease the pain. For the 1,157 cases that are estimated to still be found in Vietnam, the US can fulfill its moral responsibility in searching thanks to the study of archival documents, investigation of the scene and excavation conducted jointly with Vietnam - Mr. Kelly McKeague wrote.
According to him, since 2015, DPAA has deployed more than 97 investigation teams and 167 excavation teams to Vietnam to work with Vietnamese partners. Even during the 2020-2021 travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam conducted 30 independent investigations and excavations.
The necessary funding for this meaningful work includes aviation support to access remote areas, building camps at those locations, carefully reviewing unexploded bombs and mines, hiring local human resources on a large scale to effectively carry out excavation work, restore the current state of the land and specialized excavation equipment for complex locations.
Over the past 10 years, cooperation between the US and Vietnam has helped identify 35 missing soldiers: 19 cases from joint field work, 1 case from the US partner mission and 15 cases from Vietnamese sources.
Mr. Kelly McKeague said that the US will continue to make efforts to search, excavate and identify missing cases during the war, and that most of these efforts are achieved with the support of the Vietnamese Government and people.
VNA said that within the framework of his visit to Vietnam, on July 10, in Hanoi, Mr. Kelly McKeague visited the National Archives Center III, the State Book and Archives Department, and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Sharing here, he said that 2025 is an important year when it marks the 50th anniversary of Vietnam's reunification, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the US and especially the 40th anniversary of the US sending its first search team to Vietnam to search for missing soldiers.
Immediately after the Paris Agreement (1973), Vietnam established a search agency for missing people during the war. Vietnam has been proactive in supporting the search for missing US soldiers during the war in Vietnam.
After 10 years of working in the field of searching for prisoners and missing people, Mr. Kelly McKeague said he has witnessed many moments, cooperation, and information exchange between the two countries. He shared his gratitude and thanked the Vietnamese archival industry for supporting access to information and documents that the US side is interested in.
