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| Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: DK) |
With the approval of the Prime Minister and implementing the direction of the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Public Security, on the afternoon of June 8, the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) coordinated with the US Prisoner of War and Missing Persons Accounting Agency and the US Embassy in Vietnam to organize a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment (1973-2023) and the 35th anniversary of the joint search for US soldiers missing in action (MIA) (1982-2023).
Attending the event were Deputy Minister of National Defense Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper, Director of the US Prisoner of War/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Kelly McKeague and former leaders of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Public Security, etc.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed that during 50 years of existence and development, 35 years of implementing joint MIA search activities, with the close attention and direction of the Party and State leaders, and the consensus of the leaders of the three Ministries of National Defense - Public Security - Foreign Affairs, with the close coordination of local authorities at all levels, VNOSMP has always excellently completed its assigned political tasks, contributing to healing the wounds of war, normalizing and promoting the relationship between Vietnam and the United States.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that VNOSMP could not have achieved such results without the support, cooperation and assistance of the people, many of whom overcame their own loss and grief, with a compassionate and tolerant heart, wholeheartedly contributing to MIA activities in the locality. The touching story shared by Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi's family is one of many such touching stories.
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| US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper. (Photo: DK) |
Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc, who has worked for many years in MIA activities, shared: "We cannot rewrite history, but with goodwill and effort, we have been working together to build a bright future for the two countries. Today, Vietnam and the United States have become comprehensive friends and partners, in the spirit that President Ho Chi Minh mentioned in his letter to President Truman in February 1946.
Together we build and strengthen our cooperative relationship, while overcoming the consequences of war. That is the best way to heal the wounds on the land, on the body and in the soul. And more importantly, it helps us build trust, an important foundation for “our two countries to be friends forever,” as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said during his historic visit to the United States in 2015.
Looking back over the past 50 years, it can be affirmed that MIA cooperation is an official activity with a scale, scope and implementation time that no other bilateral cooperation field in the Vietnam-US relationship has achieved. Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said that in the coming time, MIA activities will face many difficulties because the remaining crime scenes are at risk of being lost or changed due to socio-economic development, impacts of nature; witnesses die or get old, information gradually dries up over time...
The Deputy Minister believes that under the attention and direction of the two sides' senior leaders, with the consensus of the three Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, and Public Security and US partners, the close coordination of relevant agencies and local authorities at all levels, and the support of the people and veterans of the two countries, MIA cooperation between the two countries will continue to achieve many positive results, successfully completing humanitarian missions, contributing to maintaining a solid foundation, bringing the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership to new heights.
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| Delegates take souvenir photos at the ceremony. (Photo: DK) |
At the ceremony, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E. Knapper said that from a history of conflict and division, the two countries have become Comprehensive Partners. The United States strives to support a strong, prosperous, independent and self-reliant Vietnam. This relationship spans across politics, security, economics and people-to-people ties.
Ambassador Marc E. Knapper said, “I am truly amazed by what we have achieved. It has been 27 years since the normalization of relations between the two countries, and the U.S.-Vietnam partnership has never been better. However, the Ambassador affirmed that this is thanks to the enduring relationship between the two countries' MIA cooperation agencies, a relationship established before the normalization of relations, which has helped create a solid foundation for promoting the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Cong Tien, Director of the Vietnam Agency for Searching for Missing Persons, said, “During the 35 years of implementing the MIA joint activities, the two sides have conducted 150 joint field activities and currently, four joint teams are present in three regions of Vietnam to implement the 151st Joint Field Activity. Over the past half century, Vietnam has returned more than 1,000 sets of remains, helping the US identify more than 730 cases of soldiers missing in action during the war.”
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| Delegates visit the exhibition area of relics found during the search operation. (Photo: DK) |
“Of the 45 countries we work with around the world, Vietnam is one of only two that can conduct unilateral investigation and recovery operations. These operations are often conducted in the most difficult of places. VNOSMP has played a vital role in helping 729 families of American service members get the final answer to their prayers: the return of their loved ones,” said Kelly McKeague, director of the US POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
In his touching story, Mr. Tran Khanh Phoi, Deputy Director of the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, representative of the provincial MIA Team, recounted his family's sad story and shared: “Since 1993, I have participated in MIA activities (although at that time I still had a lot of hatred for the Americans) and have continued until now. Thirty years is almost my entire life as a civil servant. After those 30 years, many of my thoughts have changed. I was educated about compassion and tolerance. I know the humanitarian principles in wars. I also understand why we must "close the past and move towards the future". Ordinary Americans are not at fault. Therefore, I no longer hate anyone. If anything, it is only hatred for war, hatred for war, with the wish that there will never be war anywhere, with anyone, and for any reason...".
At the ceremony, delegates took time to commemorate the nine Vietnamese officers and seven US officers and soldiers who died in a helicopter accident in Quang Binh while on MIA duty on April 7, 2001.
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