The Vietnamese Embassy in Washington DC on March presented a documentary on the search of remains of US naval officer James B. Mills, who died during the war in Vietnam, to his sister Ann Mills-Griffiths. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to US Ha Kim Ngoc (left) and  Ann Mills-Griffiths, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families

The handover took place when Vietnam’s National Steering Committee on the Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences and the US Institute of Peace (USIP) are preparing for a seminar on the settlement of war consequences and the path towards reconciliation and cooperation between Vietnam and the US. 

The 12-minute documentary tells about the search for Mills, who died in the central coastal province of Nghe An. His remains were found after many years thanks to tireless efforts of both Vietnam and the US. 

In his remarks, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said the successful excavation manifests close cooperation between Vietnamese and US competent forces in healing war wounds and overcoming post-war consequences, contributing to building mutual trust. 

This is also a highlight of the path toward a comprehensive partnership of the two countries, he said. 

The diplomat stressed that the film signals the Vietnamese Government’s acknowledgement of efforts of Griffiths, who is also  Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families and the league itself in addressing war consequences and building friendship between the two countries. 

For her part, Griffiths said the event is meaningful to her family and other families searching for US servicemen missing in action in Vietnam.

She said the remains of her brother were found after many failures and her family had lost hope. Therefore, the event has given hope to prisoners of war/missing in action families for the possibility to find the remains of their loved ones. 

Griffiths described the gift as a symbol of friendship between the two countries, bringing them closer to continue with cooperation in post-war consequence settlement. 

Over the years, Vietnam has suggested the US side seek new methods to improve search operations. Thanks to joint efforts, hundreds of sets of remains of US soldiers have been repatriated. 

The war left millions of Vietnamese dead and wounded, including more than 300,000 soldiers missing in action. The remains of some 200,000 Vietnamese martyrs have yet to be found. 

On the US side, more than 58,000 solders were killed, 2,000 went missing and hundreds of thousands of others were injured during the war.-VNA