Podcast: Play in new window | Download
DPAA Repatriation Ceremony in Laos
Episode 3220 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the repatriation of MIA remains in Laos. The featured story appeared on the DPAA website and is titled: DPAA Conducts Repatriation Ceremony in Laos. It was submitted by Staff Sgt. Dallin Wrye of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Public Affairs office.
Wrye reported that on Feb. 23, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), its Detachment 3 recovery team, and officials from Laos held a repatriation ceremony marking the conclusion of a joint field mission to recover possible remains of U.S. personnel missing from the Vietnam War. The ceremony represented the formal transfer of the remains to U.S. custody after weeks of challenging recovery operations.
Deputy Foreign Minister Maythong Thammavongsa noted that the excavation work took place under difficult conditions, including steep mountainous terrain and unfavorable weather. Despite these obstacles, he emphasized that strong cooperation between Lao and American teams, along with support from national and local authorities, made the mission successful. Thammavongsa highlighted that the handover symbolized more than four decades of humanitarian collaboration between the two countries and reaffirmed Laos’ ongoing commitment to helping locate and recover American service members missing from the war.
Michelle Outlaw, chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane, underscored the depth of the bilateral partnership. Since 1985, the United States and Laos have conducted 174 joint field activities and recovered 295 of the 576 Americans originally listed as unaccounted for in Laos.
During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Carl Hodgson, commander of the Laos Detachment 3 team, and Bounchanh Xayalath of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed the official memorandum documenting the transfer.
The remains will be transported to the Daniel K. Inouye DPAA Center of Excellence at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for forensic analysis and possible identification. DPAA officials reaffirmed their commitment to continuing recovery efforts for the 281 Americans who remain missing.
Listen to Episode 3220 and discover more about the repatriation of MIA remains in Laos.
