AKP Phnom Penh, March 28, 2025 -- 

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh on Mar. 27 held a ceremony to mark the repatriation of osseous material recovered from the crash site of a U.S. aircraft lost over Rattanakiri province 55 years ago during the Vietnam War.

The U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Ms. Bridgette Walker and the Vice Chair of Cambodia POW/MIA Committee, H.E. Sieng Lapresse, presided over the event.

According to the U.S. Embassy’s press release, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), assisted in the excavation by DPAA support teams from Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. and Golden West, hopes the recovered material will lead to the positive identification of two missing service members and ultimately provide answers to their families.

This was the first repatriation ceremony in Cambodia since 2015 and marks a milestone in the research and investigation into the circumstances of the lost aircraft and whereabouts of the service members.

The recovered material will be transported back to the DPAA Laboratory in Honolulu for further analysis at DPAA’s state-of-the-art facility.

With the strong support of the Cambodian POW/MIA Committee, DPAA has been conducting activities with the goal of accounting for the 48 U.S. personnel still unaccounted for in Cambodia.

‎DPAA routinely conducts investigations and recovery efforts around the world, supporting efforts to account for more than 82,000 U.S. service members who are still missing from conflicts dating back to World War II.

By Phal Sophanith