News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: Vietnam Doing Great

Date: August 10, 2000

Propaganda from DPMO courtesy of AP -

Finding Soldiers Said Top Priority
The Associated Press
By PAUL ALEXANDER

"HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Pursuing reports of American soldiers still alive a quarter-century after the end of the Vietnam War remains the top priority even though 21,000 alleged sightings have failed to pan out, a US official said Wednesday.

Robert L. Jones, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the POW/Missing Persons Office, said all the reports have been investigated. ``None has borne fruit,'' he said. ``There still remains a lot of work to do in that area.''

The number of reports has steadily shrunk since 1973, after Vietnam said it returned all American prisoners of war, with only one alleged sighting for all of last year, he told reporters at the end of a four-day visit.

Jones echoed the praise that Defense Secretary William Cohen gave to Vietnam when he visited in March and toured a site where US military forsenic experts were working.

``I thank the Vietnamese government and people for everything they have done,'' Jones said. ``We could not have had the success we have had without their assistance.''

Washington is urging Vietnam to conduct more unilateral searches, particularly in central Vietnam where some of the fiercest fighting took place. Those would supplement monthlong joint operations now held five or six times each year.

Jones said the US presidential election would not affect Washington's commitment to account for the 2,014 still listed as MIA - 1,514 in Vietnam; the rest in Cambodia, Laos and China.

``Our methods may change, but we will continue to seek missing Americans until all of them are accounted for,'' he said.

Since January 1993, 249 sets of remains have been repatriated and returned to their families, including 28 since Jan. 1, 1999.

Vietnam has recovered the remains of 2,500 of its 300,000 MIAs with US assistance, including 800 in the past year after being given access to US military archives, Jones said."