U.S. Receives Remains of 26 Thought to Be MIAs

Vietnam on Wednesday turned over what may be the remains of 26 Americans missing in the Indochina war that ended 10 years ago.

It also indicated acceptance of a U.S. proposal that senior American officials visit Hanoi as a means of resolving the emotional issue of MIAs, Americans still listed as missing in action.

An American delegation took custody of the remains and after a brief, solemn ceremony, they were flown from Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport to the U.S. Joint Casualty Resolution Center in Honolulu for analysis.

If nearly all are identified as being of Americans, it would be Communist Vietnam’s largest single delivery of the remains of missing Americans.

Evidence on 6 More

Vietnamese officials also gave the Americans what they called “material evidence” about six other servicemen missing in action, including identification tags.

The officials said Vietnam agrees in principle to a U.S. proposal, made last week, that a high-level delegation visit Hanoi later this month for talks on speedy resolution of the emotional issue of MIAs.

Vo Dong Giang, minister in the Foreign Ministry, told foreign journalists that Vietnam sees no reason to reject the proposal, although Hanoi has not made a formal response. A date for the visit has yet to be discussed, he said, “but I am confident in telling you that the proposal is acceptable.”

The U.S. proposal of a visit was in response to Hanoi’s suggestion in July.

Diplomatic sources in Bangkok said the U.S. delegation would be led by Paul D. Wolfowitz, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Richard L. Armitage, assistant defense secretary, and National Security Council member Richard Childress.

Armitage led a team that visited Vietnam on the MIA issue in February, 1984.

No Diplomatic Ties

Washington and Hanoi do not have diplomatic relations. Although the visit would not involve U.S. recognition of the Hanoi government, diplomatic sources said it would have symbolic significance.

Giang said Vietnam would try to resolve the MIA issue in the next two years, exerting “our greatest efforts to find the remains until we believe that no matter what (further) efforts, no more remains will be found.”

He said the United States should refrain from “hostile” statements about Vietnam so it can resolve its security problems and concentrate on economic development.

Before Wednesday, Vietnam had handed over the remains of 99 MIAs, but 2,464 American servicemen and civilians are unaccounted for in Indochina, more than half of them in Vietnam. The previous largest single delivery of remains was 22 sets of bones in 1977.

The bones given to the American delegation Wednesday were packed in 26 small, numbered wooden crates. A neatly folded American flag was placed on top of each and they were carried one by one onto a C-130 transport plane as 18 U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen saluted.

‘Very Certain’ on 17

Dr. Vo Thu, the Vietnamese expert who made a preliminary analysis of the remains, said he was “very certain” that 17 of the remains were those of MIAs. He said three others were “probably” those of MIAs, but he could not be certain because no photographs were available in those cases.

Tests on five remains proved inconclusive, and the remaining set belonged to an Asian who was probably not an American national, he said.