| English.news.cn 2014-04-02 12:36:33 |
 
 
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PHNOM PENH, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Possible remains of three missing
U.S. soldiers recovered in Cambodia was repatriated to Hawaii on
Wednesday for testing, officials said.
During a ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport, American soldiers carried three white coffins draped with U.S. flags onto a C-17 military cargo plane.
The possible remains were found in eastern Kampong Cham province, U.S. embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh told reporters.
If the remains are prove to be U.S. servicemen, 40 of 90 U.S. soldiers lost in Cambodia will have been found.
In Hawaii, the remains will undergo DNA tests, dental analysis, forensic identification, and other tests to determine their origin, he said.
Sieng Lapresse, Vice-Chairman of the Cambodia Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Committee, formally turned over the remains to U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William E. Todd.
"Cambodia is pleased to assist a U.S. recovery team in search for missing American soldiers," Sieng Lapresse said at the ceremony. "This humanitarian mission will further contribute to developing our military ties and people-to-people relations."
He also pledged cooperation with the U.S. in search for other missing U.S. servicemen.
William E. Todd said the U.S. formally requested the assistance of the Cambodian government in conducting joint recovery operations in Cambodia in 1992.
According to the U.S. embassy, 90 American soldiers were originally missing in Cambodia during the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Thirty-seven of them have been recovered and identified.
Besides the U.S., Cambodia has also allowed Vietnam to search for the remains of its troops who had lost their lives in the country.
During a ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport, American soldiers carried three white coffins draped with U.S. flags onto a C-17 military cargo plane.
The possible remains were found in eastern Kampong Cham province, U.S. embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh told reporters.
If the remains are prove to be U.S. servicemen, 40 of 90 U.S. soldiers lost in Cambodia will have been found.
In Hawaii, the remains will undergo DNA tests, dental analysis, forensic identification, and other tests to determine their origin, he said.
Sieng Lapresse, Vice-Chairman of the Cambodia Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Committee, formally turned over the remains to U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William E. Todd.
"Cambodia is pleased to assist a U.S. recovery team in search for missing American soldiers," Sieng Lapresse said at the ceremony. "This humanitarian mission will further contribute to developing our military ties and people-to-people relations."
He also pledged cooperation with the U.S. in search for other missing U.S. servicemen.
William E. Todd said the U.S. formally requested the assistance of the Cambodian government in conducting joint recovery operations in Cambodia in 1992.
According to the U.S. embassy, 90 American soldiers were originally missing in Cambodia during the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Thirty-seven of them have been recovered and identified.
Besides the U.S., Cambodia has also allowed Vietnam to search for the remains of its troops who had lost their lives in the country.
Editor:
Lu Hui
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