Congressman Wilson and Congresswoman Bordallo visited Vietnam

August 10, 2012

Delegation prepares to depart Phu Bai airport by helicopter to visit MIA recovery site.

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) visited Vietnam August 9 and 10 to encourage continuing close cooperation on joint efforts to recover remains of servicemen missing in action during the U.S. – Vietnam War.  The highlight of their visit was a trip to observe field operations in A Luoi District of Thua Thien-Hue Province—a remote, mountainous area accessible only by helicopter—where a F-4B aircraft crashed during the war and two personnel remain unaccounted for.  The operations are being conducted by U.S. Military’s Joint Personnel Accounting Command (JPAC) Detachment 2 (based in Hanoi) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP), together with the support of the local community.  The teams sleep in shelters constructed from local materials at the site.  Congresswoman Bordallo praised the efforts of the Vietnamese and American team members to bring comfort to the families of the lost soldiers and said she admired their willingness to endure living and working in difficult conditions to achieve their mission.

The two members of Congress also met with leaders of relevant ministries and their counterparts from the Vietnamese National Assembly in Hanoi during their two day visit.

In the photo, from left to right: Hue External Relations Office Representative; Congressman Wilson; VNOSMP Deputy Director Senior Colonel Dao Xuan Kinh; Congresswoman Bordallo; Office of National Assembly Deputy Chief of Bilateral Relations Division Tran Kim Chi; VNOSMP Standing Deputy Director Tran Thanh Tam.