US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink has expressed gratefulness to Vietnam for the country’s efforts to account for missing personnel during the Vietnam War.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink addresses a ceremony in Hanoi last week to recognize National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Photo: US Embassy in Hanoi

“We are grateful for Vietnam’s partnership in this noble endeavor. …What I witnessed is the dedication and cooperation between American and Vietnamese teams, partnered in some of the harshest conditions, to return our fallen,” said the ambassador at a ceremony in Hanoi last week to recognize National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

The United States and Vietnam started to work together on accounting for missing personnel in the 1980s, and the cooperation on this humanitarian work laid the foundation for the normalization of bilateral ties in 1995.

For over 30 years, the United States and Vietnam have sustained strong cooperation to provide the fullest possible accounting for those Americans still missing from the war in Southeast Asia.

At the end of the war, 1,973 US military and civilian personnel were unaccounted for in Vietnam. Since then, the remains of 727 personnel have been identified and repatriated. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel continue their pursuit to account for the remaining 1,246 personnel.