POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremonies
Today, Sept. 17, is POW/MIA Recognition Day!
The U.S. Department of Defense conducted a POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon this morning that can be viewed on our Facebook page and Livestreams page of our website.
The DPAA ceremony will be live in Hawaii at 10 a.m. HST/4 p.m. EDT, and can also be seen on our webpage and on our Facebook page, which can be reached from the following links.
Virtual Vietnam War Government Briefings
DPAA hosted our Annual Government Briefings virtually for families whose loved ones are unaccounted from the Vietnam War Sept. 15 -16, 2021.
During the event, U.S. government officials updated family members on current and future accounting efforts through various briefings that provide strategic, operational, and scientific overviews as well as fielded questions from those viewing.
You can still watch recordings of the briefings on our website's livestreams page or on our Facebook page at the following links.
Laos Repatriation Ceremony
Members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency completed the second Joint Field Activity of the year in Laos with a ceremony honoring the repatriation of possible remains of U.S. service members lost during the Vietnam War. Dr. Peter Haymond, United States Ambassador to Laos, and Mr. Bounleua Phandanouvong, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, served as the guest speakers for the ceremony on September 10th, 2021. The U.S. has conducted POW/MIA operations in Laos since 1985, the longest enduring example of bilateral cooperation between the two countries (photos courtesy of Phonesavanh Sangsomboun, U.S. Embassy).”
Vietnam Tech Talks
Senior leaders with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) meet virtually during the annual technical talks at the DPAA facilities on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sep. 9, 2021. The annual meeting is an opportunity for DPAA and the VNOSMP to reflect on the previous year’s personnel accounting activities and look for ways to improve recovery operations in the coming year. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan McElderry)
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Taylor Slater
Service Before Self
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jeffrey Tremel, Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency independent medical technician, examines an evacuee’s mouth at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 31, 2021. Ramstein provides safe, temporary lodging for evacuees from Afghanistan as part of Operation Allies Refuge operations over the course of the next several weeks. Medical technicians from various units within the European theater aided with providing medical care to evacuees.
Photo by Ashley M. Wright
Final Salute
DPAA Director Kelly McKeague comforts the family of Naval Reserve Seaman 1st Class James C. Williams, 20, of Portland, Oregon, killed December 7, 1941 on the USS Oklahoma. Williams was buried September 9, 2021 at Arlington National Cemetery. The U.S. Navy sailor is one of the 352 identifications of Unknowns of USS Oklahoma that DPAA has accounted for since 2015.
Ambassador visits Laos Joint Field Activity Sites
Dr. Peter Haymond, United States Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, visited two DPAA Joint Field Activity sites in Northern Laos on Aug. 23, 2021. The Provincial Vice Governor along with senior representatives from the Lao Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs joined the Ambassador for the visit. Ambassador Haymond thanked the Lao government for its continued support to the DPAA mission, and highlighted how DPAA’s activities in Laos are the longest-enduring example of U.S.-Lao cooperation.