Cambodia Agrees to Return Remains of 6 U.S. Missing

Cambodian officials and U.S. experts agreed Wednesday to repatriate six sets of remains, including four found in a Khmer Rouge “killing field.” All are believed to be Americans missing since the war in Indochina.

The remains will be flown out today. The first return of possible American remains follows a change in U.S. policy ending American diplomatic support for the Khmer Rouge-dominated resistance coalition, but officials said Wednesday’s decision was “purely humanitarian.”

Cambodian Deputy Foreign Minister Sok An said that an American team was given 28 sets of remains to inspect, including 18 from provinces near Phnom Penh and two from the Tuol Sleng prison and torture center that was operated by the Khmer Rouge in the capital.

He said two sets of remains to be repatriated were found in the provinces and four in the mass grave at Choeung Ek where the Khmer Rouge dumped thousands of bodies of victims--mainly from Tuol Sleng prison--during their harsh rule from 1975 to 1979. The Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge regime was ousted after Vietnam invaded Cambodia in late 1978.

Lt. Col. Joe Harvey, leader of the U.S. delegation and commander of the U.S. Joint Casualty Resolution Center, said it was not clear whether the remains inspected were those of military personnel or civilians. The remains will be flown to Hawaii for inspection at a military laboratory.

The visit of the U.S. delegation was the first official U.S. contact with the Hanoi-backed government that was installed following Vietnam’s invasion.