Hegseth gifts Vietnamese counterpart declassified reports that could lead to discovery of hundreds of remains

War Secretary Pete Hegseth gifted his Vietnamese counterpart a declassified report that may lead to the discovery of remains from more than 400 service members dating back to the Vietnam War.Hegseth met with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phan Văn Giang, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus on Wednesday in the Philippines.“As a continuation of our reconciliation process as our countries assist each other in respecting war remains, we have undertaken an effort to declassify information about the Battle of Dak To,” Hegseth said. “This is an after-action report in four parts, previously classified documents that we believe will lead to at least the finding the remains of missing 440 Vietnamese soldiers. So we hope this is helpful for you in this process.” Conversely, Defense Minister Văn Giang presented Hegseth with evidence of human remains of missing-in-action U.S. soldiers.“I had another meaningful exchange with Minister Giang as we continue to deepen defense cooperation,” Hegseth said on social media, along with a photo of the two of them shaking hands. “We are committed to accounting for those still missing, united in honoring the fallen, and steadfast in recognizing the families whose loved ones never returned.”The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency leads the Pentagon’s effort to track down, locate, and identify the remains of fallen service members all over the world. It operates in more than 50 countries.“Since 1973, the remains of more than 1,000 Americans killed during the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors,” the DPAA website reads. Additionally, more than 1,500 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, while “hundreds are believed to be in a ‘non-recoverable’ category, meaning after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains.”The office announced earlier this month that it identified a record 250 service members who had been unaccounted for from previous conflicts during fiscal 2026. Of the 250 identified remains, 198 were troops who fought in World War II, 51 from the Korean War, and one from the Vietnam War. Across the services, the breakdown was: 136 Army, 76 Army Air Forces, 20 Navy, 15 Marine Corps, one Air Force, and 2 federal civilians.“This is a deeply personal priority for me,” Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness, said earlier this month. “The Department of War will not rest in its efforts to bring home our unaccounted-for Service members and provide the fullest possible accounting of all mission personnel.”THE MILITARY’S $1 BILLION DRON PLAN TO TAKE ON CHINA — AND HOW IT HOPES IT NEVER HAS TO USE THEMThe previous record was 231, and the department set that mark in fiscal 2025.Hegseth, while in the Philippines, also met with his Philippine, Singaporean, Indian, Japanese, and Australian counterparts on the margins of the ADMM-Plus.