American naval ship joins Vietnam MIA search

VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time Vietnam has allowed a US Navy ship to be deployed to the country’s coast to search for the remains of US servicemen missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War.

The USNS Bruce C. Heezen oceanographic survey ship, with representatives of the US Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons on board, joined the 95th search mission in Vietnam on Thursday.

The search mission began on May 25 and is scheduled to last until June 24.

Manned by a civilian crew, the ship provides oceanographic capabilities in coastal and deep ocean waters and is ideally suited to detect aircraft crash sites on the ocean floor, according to a press release from the US embassy in Hanoi Friday.

This will be the first time Vietnam has allowed the use of a US naval ship for underwater searches, although joint search teams of the two countries have investigated and excavated underwater sites off Vietnam’s coast using Vietnamese boats before.

"The use of a US Navy oceanographic survey ship on JPAC’s search operations in Vietnam could significantly expedite the discovery of underwater crash sites,” said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Emoto, commander of JPAC’s Detachment in Hanoi.

“Vietnam’s cooperation in allowing the ship to operate in her waters is a big step forward and greatly appreciated by the US government and the families of those Americans still missing," he said.

JPAC currently only has accurate enough data to effectively search for a small percentage of these cases.

The US hopes the addition of the ship’s capabilities will increase both the speed and effectiveness of the search for underwater sites, according to the press release.

The US and Vietnam have cooperated during POW/MIA accounting missions since the 1980s, with both countries recently recognizing the 20-year anniversary of regularly scheduled joint search operations.

Humanitarian missions receive strong support from both governments, and the humanitarian search missions signify the growing bilateral relationship.

According to JPAC, several families from the US are enthusiastic and feel encouraged that Vietnam is playing such a pivotal role in facilitating humanitarian operations that could ultimately result in bringing closure to families of missing American service members.

VietNamNet/TN