Remains believed to be associated with one case involving unaccounted-for Americans recovered in Laos were formally transferred to the United States at a repatriation ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 1, 2005, at the Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos.
U.S. Ambassador to Laos Patricia M. Haslach represented the United States at the ceremony, and His Excellency Mr. Phongsavath Boupha, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, represented the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The remains were recovered in Xiang Khoung Province, at a site associated with a 1961 crash near the Plain of Jars, by joint teams composed of members of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The remains have been sent to JPAC's Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu for forensic testing.
The remains of 197 Americans have been recovered in Laos to date, with 372 Americans still unaccounted-for.JPAC's mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of our nation's previous conflicts. This was the fourth recovery operation in Laos this year and the 90th since 1985.
For Lao translation, click on our audio files above.