Repatriation of U.S servicemen's remains
In the morning of October 18th, 2004, the Repatriation Ceremony of the 5 sets of remains of U.S. servicemen died during the war in Vietnam was held at Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam. Attending the Ceremony, for the Vietnamese side were Representatives from the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) and, for the U.S. side, Representatives from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.
After signing the Process - Verbal, the Vietnamese Government Representative handed over to the U.S. Government Representative 05 (five) boxes of remains and personal effects. Those remains and personal effects will be sent to Hawaii, United States for further examination. This is the 94th hand-over of American missing servicemen’s remains since 1973, making a total of 827 sets of remains repatriated so far.
The remains and personal effects repatriated this time were the results of the 78th Joint Field Activities (JFA) in the central provinces of Vietnam during the months of June and July, 2004 and the efforts made by the local people. 3 among recovery efforts of the 78th JFA have found remains. Additionally, local people from Hamlet 3, Long Thoi Village, Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, while working on the farm land, have discovered and turned over 02 more sets of U.S. servicemen’s remains.
Addressing at the Repatriation Ceremony, the U.S. Government Representative expressed deep gratitude and high appreciation to the humanitarian policy, good-will and the increasingly efficient cooperation of the Vietnam Government and people.