The issue was highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, head of the National Steering Committee for the Search, Recovery and Identification of Fallen Soldiers’ Remains, during a meeting with a delegation of the Vietnam Center and the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive (VNCA) from Texas Tech University in Hanoi on June 13.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the contributions of the Vietnam Center and the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, which serve as key partners in the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative (VWAI)

According to her, Vietnam is currently implementing an intensive nationwide “500-Day Campaign” aimed at recovering approximately 7,000 sets of fallen soldiers’ remains, conducting DNA analysis on around 18,000 samples, and completing sample collection from unidentified graves in military cemeteries as well as newly recovered remains.

To achieve these goals, access to information held by US institutions is considered especially important.

The Vietnam Center and the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive maintain extensive collections of photographs, historical documents and other records related to the Vietnam War, many of which could help identify burial locations and reconstruct wartime events.

Deputy PM Tra said information on battlefield locations, timelines and military operations could assist authorities in rebuilding operational maps, identifying former military positions and narrowing down areas that may contain the original burial sites of fallen soldiers.

Such information is expected to shorten verification processes and improve the effectiveness of field search operations, she told Dr. Stephen Maxner, director of the Vietnam Center and the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive.

Beyond the search and recovery of remains, archival records can also help verify and return wartime memorabilia to the families of fallen soldiers.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, these efforts carry profound humanitarian significance while also contributing to stronger Vietnam-US relations based on reconciliation, peace and development.

She called on the Vietnam Center and the Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive to further expand research support, provide additional relevant records and assist in verifying wartime artifacts that could be returned to relatives of fallen soldiers during a national tribute conference scheduled for July 2026.

For his part, Maxner praised Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to locate and identify missing war personnel.

He said the Center is working with the US National Archives and Records Administration to continue digitising declassified materials that may support search and recovery missions.

According to Maxner, the Center is also cooperating with Vietnamese agencies on a range of joint research projects aimed at developing increasingly comprehensive databases.

These initiatives are expected to enhance information verification efforts and improve the effectiveness of future searches, recoveries and identification activities for missing soldiers.

Vietnam and US prioritise cooperation on war legacy issues

VOV.VN - Addressing war legacies remains a key pillar of Vietnam–United States relations, as Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Hanoi on June 10.