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                            Vietnam War
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 Vietnam War Accounting
 Vietnam-War
                                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.
                                    Of the nearly 1,600 Americans still unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War, 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. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status.
                                    DPAA and our partners continue to build on nearly three decades of Joint Field Activities (JFAs) with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations 
                                        in each country to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
                                
                             
                            DPAA-SEALProgress in Laos
                                                    Laos Flag

                                    Vietnam
                Laos
                Cambodia
                China
                TotalOriginal Missing
              1,973
                573
                90
                10
                2,646Repatriated and Identified
                  729
                  288
                  42
                  3
                  1,061 [1]Remaining Missing
                  1,241
                  286
                  48
                  7
                  1,5821 This number now includes the 63 Americans who were returned and/or identified from 1973 – 1975.
                                            
                                            
                                            Current Status of Unaccounted-For Americans Lost in the Vietnam War
                                            
                                            More than 280 Americans are still unaccounted for in Laos, with some of them in a “non-recoverable” category. This means that through rigorous investigation, we have conclusive evidence the individual perished, but do not believe it possible to recover his remains. On rare occasions, new leads can arise that bring a case back to an active status.
                                            Recovery Efforts in Laos
                                
                                DPAA-SEALProgress in Cambodia
                                                    Cambodia Flag
                                    Vietnam
                Laos
                Cambodia
                China
                TotalOriginal Missing
              1,973
                573
                90
                10
                2,646Repatriated and Identified
                  729
                  288
                  42
                  3
                  1,061 [1]Remaining Missing
                  1,241
                  286
                  48
                  7
                  1,5821 This number now includes the 63 Americans who were returned and/or identified from 1973 – 1975.
                                            
                                            
                                            Current Status of Unaccounted-For Americans Lost in the Vietnam War
                                            
                                            More than 40 Americans are still unaccounted for in Cambodia, with some of them in a “non-recoverable” category. This means that through rigorous investigation, we have conclusive evidence the individual perished, but do not believe it possible to recover his remains. On rare occasions, new leads can arise that bring a case back to an active status.
                                            Recovery Efforts in Cambodia
                                
                                DPAA-SEALProgress in Vietnam
                                                    Vietnam Flag
                                    Vietnam
                Laos
                Cambodia
                China
                TotalOriginal Missing
              1,973
                573
                90
                10
                2,646Repatriated and Identified
                  729
                  288
                  42
                  3
                  1,061 [1]Remaining Missing
                  1,241
                  286
                  48
                  7
                  1,5821 This number now includes the 63 Americans who were returned and/or identified from 1973 – 1975.
                                            
                                            
                                            Current Status of Unaccounted-For Americans Lost in the Vietnam War
                                            
                                            Of the remaining missing personnel still unaccounted for in Vietnam, over 400 are in a "non-recoverable" category. This information means that we have conclusive evidence that the individual perished due to rigorous investigation but do not believe it possible to recover his remains. On rare occasions, new leads can arise that bring a case back to an active status.
                                            Recovery Efforts in Vietnam
                                
                                DPAA-SEALVietnam War Identification Project (VWIP)
                                                    VWIP
                                    DPAA has identified more than 1,000 missing personnel associated with the Vietnam War conflict. This identification effort is called the "Vietnam War Identification Project" or VWIP.
                                            Vietnam War Identification ProjectDPAA-SEALU.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
                                USRJC on POW/MIAs
            U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
                    Joint Commision Support Division
                    Through its Joint Commission Support Division (JCSD), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) provides administrative and analytic support to the U.S. Side of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC) and conducts research in Russia on missing U.S. service personnel. JCSD also assists the Government of Russia with efforts to account for its missing.
                    USRJC POW/MIAsDPAA-SEALPersonnel Accounting Progress in China
                                China
            China Operations
                    Total Each Category
                    IdentifiedRemains repatriated through unilateral operations (2014)
                    1
                    0Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (1975)
                    2
                    2Remains recovered and repatriated through investigative and recovery operations since 1992
                    23
                    23Total remains identified 1975 to present
                    --
                    25
                    
                    
                    Personnel Accounting Progress in China
   
                                
                                Vietnam War Facts & Figures
                                        Dates
                                                July 8, 1959 – May 15, 1975
                                                Location
                                                North and South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
                                            
                                            Missing as of 1973*
                                                2641
                                                Accounted For**
                                                1065
                                                Unaccounted For
                                                1576
                                            See Also: Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam War
                                            
                                            *Casualty numbers are related to only those associated to our mission starting from 1973 to present and don't reflect the total number of missing from each conflict.
                                            
                                            **To respect the next-of-kin, individuals are only displayed as “Accounted For” in the grids and case profiles when (1) DPAA has made the identification, and (2) the next-of-kin has been notified.  
                                            
                                            Numbers that are not associated with individual names will continue to update as soon as an identification has been made.
  Search Missing Personnel
 DANIEL LEE NIEHOUSEFORD MOTOR CO, SGN
                                        
                                       
                                            SP4 ISMAEL LAUREANO-LOPEZCO A 2 BN 503 INF 173 ABN BDE
                                      
                                             LCpl MICHAEL JAMES PASTVACO C 1 BN 4 RGT 3 MA DIV
                                        
                                            Capt RICHARD LEE WHITTEKER480 TAC FTR SQD
                                        
                                             Col THOMAS THAWSON WRIGHT14 TRS
                                       
                                             1stLt LEONARD ADRIAN BIRDVMFA 115 MAG 13 1ST MAW
                                        
                                             SFC SAMUEL JOSEPH PADGETTC&C DET 5 SFG
 Search Vietnam War Missing Personnel Profiles
 
 Additional Lists:
 Prisoners of War, Returned Alive
                      Prisoners of War, Escaped Captivity
                      Foreign Accounted For
 Explore by Incident
 Temp ImageTet Offensive
                                            TET
 Temp ImageBattle of Khe Sanh
                                            Khe Sanh
 Temp ImageMayaguez Incident
                                            Koh Tang
 Temp ImageBattle of Ia DrangIa Drang
 Temp ImageLam Son 719Lam Son
 Vietnam War History
 Immediately after the Paris Peace Accords were signed on Jan. 27, 1973, Operation Homecoming returned 591 prisoners of war who had been captured in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (two Vietnam POWs and a Cold War POW were released from China). Some families and government officials expected a greater number of returnees, which gave rise to the urgency of the accounting mission. Although Article Eight of the Accord called for mutual assistance among the parties in accounting
                        for the missing Americans, immediate postwar hostilities limited access to many sites. In 1973, the U.S. listed 2,646 Americans as unaccounted for from the war, with roughly equal numbers of those missing in action, or killed in action/body not recovered. From February 1973 to March 1975, teams from the U.S. and the Republic of Vietnam conducted joint, but restricted searches for Americans missing in South Vietnam. These searches met with limited success, recovering and
                        identifying 63 personnel, 23 of whom had died in captivity in North Vietnam, and five of whom had been killed in Laos. On Dec. 15, 1973, U.S. Army Capt. Richard M. Rees was killed by guerrilla fighters while conducting search efforts,
                        which caused restrictions of the ongoing recovery work. On April 30, 1975, searches ended completely when the Communists took over Vietnam.
 Temp Image
 In the 1980s, the U.S. resumed its recovery efforts with high-level policy and technical meetings. Then in August 1987, President Ronald Reagan dispatched Gen. John W. Vessey, Jr. as a Special Presidential Emissary on POW/MIA 
                            issues to find ways to account for those still missing from the war. As a result of the Vessey meetings, the Vietnamese permitted American teams to search throughout the country starting in September 1988. Parallel arrangements 
                            were reached in Laos and Cambodia around the same time and occasional targeted investigations were done in China. Continuous joint searches began in April 1988 in Laos, and in October 1991 in Cambodia. In February 1992, the U.S. organized its accounting efforts into the large-scale field operations which continue today. Teams work during several periods each year in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, alongside their foreign
                            counterparts. They have interviewed thousands of witnesses and conducted archival research in all three countries regarding the fate of missing Americans, resulting in the discovery of crash and burial sites across the
                            region. Archeologists and anthropologists use meticulous site exploitation to find remains and material evidence, followed by a forensic process that often leads to the identification of our missing personnel.
 How You Can Help
 To learn about how you can submit documentation about a case, send us your loved one’s photo, contact your Service Casualty Officer, or help in any other way, please 
                         click here.
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