PRESS RELEASE

June 16, 2006

JPAC, VNOSMP to hold Repatriation Ceremony on June 19, 2006 in Da Nang

Detachment Two, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), in conjunction with the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP), will hold a Repatriation Ceremony on Monday, June 19 2006, at Da Nang International Airport.  United States Consul General Seth Winnick will attend the ceremony, where VNOSMP will transfer the custody of remains believed to belong to Americans who remain unaccounted-for in Southeast Asia.  A U.S. military honor guard will transfer the remains to a United States Air Force aircraft for repatriation to the United States.  Joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams recovered the remains from five battleground sites in central Vietnam during the recently concluded 85th joint field activities.

The first stop in the United States will be the JPAC, Central Identification Laboratory (CIL), at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The JPAC/CIL is the executive agent of the United States Department of Defense for identifying the remains of all servicemen and servicewomen.

To date, 841 Americans have been identified since 1975 -- 601 from Vietnam, 208 from Laos, 29 from Cambodia, and three from China.  There are 1,805 Americans still unaccounted-for from the War in Southeast Asia, including 1,380 in Vietnam.  Seeking the fullest possible accounting of is a matter of the highest national priority for the United States.  The U.S. welcomes and appreciates the cooperation and assistance of the Vietnamese government in both past and future field operations.

Members of the news media interested in attending the June 19 event in Da Nang should obtain permission from their usual contacts within the Government of Vietnam to cover this event.

Members of the news media with questions about this event may contact the Detachment Two Deputy Commander, Major Jay Rutter, at Tel (04) 734-3927.

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