 Good morning everybody. I'd like to invite everyone to please take a seat. We have a jam-packed day-to-day like to and Good morning. My name is Nancy Lindborg. I'm the president here at the US Institute of Peace and I am delighted to welcome everybody here Including all of those watching online and those who are following the conversation on Twitter Which is hashtag USA Vietnam Thank you everyone for joining us today for a very important conversation And I'm especially pleased to welcome our very distinguished guest senator Patrick Leahy Thank you for joining us deputy minister of defense senior lieutenant general Wichi Ving Vietnam's current ambassador to the United States Hakem Yoke As well as former ambassador to the US Famuang Ving we're pleased to have you here and also happy to have with us from the US side deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia Joe Felter and Deputy USA administrator Bonnie Glick will be joining us a little bit later I also want to give a warm welcome to Bobby Mueller Fred Downs and Ann Mills Griffiths Three Americans whose lives and careers have been deeply intertwined with the war in Vietnam and whose Contribution to reconciliation and the welfare of veterans are indelible. So welcome to everyone It's fitting That the US Institute of Peace was asked by the US and the Vietnamese governments and by senator Leahy To host this event USIP itself was founded by members of Congress Who were veterans of World War two in the Korean War and seared by their battlefield? Experiences they determined that it was critical for the US to have greater capacity to understand how to wage peace as effectively as we wage war and so in 1984 Congress established US Institute of Peace as an independent nonpartisan National Institute dedicated to preventing and resolving violent conflict and so we link Research with policy options with training and work in partnership with people organizations and governments Around the world so they can prevent and resolve violent conflict and hold events like this For the opportunity to have additional reflection and discussion for joint learning So a lot has been written about the conflict in Vietnam Which was a war that saw the loss of more than two and a half million Vietnamese and more than 58,000 American lives more than 2,600 Americans and many thousands of Vietnamese soldiers Went missing or were otherwise accounted for What is not generally known and what is not fully appreciated however is the Important story of how these bitter enemies managed to overcome deep suspicion and lingering hostility to turn enmity into cooperation cooperation into partnership and ultimately partnership into peace That journey from war to peace is what we've gathered here today to discuss and to learn from And to help us with that conversation We are very fortunate to have a distinguished group of experts and speakers most of whom were deeply involved with the war or its aftermath After today's session everybody is invited to join us for lunch in the Great Hall just out here and with that Allow me to introduce our first speaker for the morning Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Defense senior lieutenant in general we achieving a native of Huy province General Ving has a long record of service to his country He began his career as a soldier in 1976 and he rose through the ranks To hold his current post of Deputy Minister of Defense a position. He's held since 2009 which means he has spanned several American secretaries and deputy Secretaries of Defense during that past decade and by the way general Ving's father was also a very distinguished soldier Wen Chi Tang who was a well-known general in the Vietnam People's Army and a former politician and today Those of you who have visited Hanoi will see a major boulevard in his name Please join me in welcoming general reaching Ving to the stage Madame Nancy Lindbergh president of the USIP Honorable senator Patrick Lehi ladies and gentlemen Let me begin by expressing a thanks to the SIP Madame president and I would like to thank Mr. Patrick Lehi senator for presence here and you as it in Vietnam Who are all of joint efforts to put together this very meaningful activity? I'd also like to thank you all for your presence here Especially the US veterans who have made contributions to the strong expansion of Vietnam-US relations Ladies and gentlemen War has been a thing of the past and our two countries have been working together For the past 40 years to overcome war legacies in that 40 years lots of been done With difficulties and even Sometimes we feel it's too hard, but with the efforts of the two government and the noble Fillings the values of humanity of both Vietnamese and Americans we have Reason above challenges and difficulties and as you see The results that we have achieved is Worthy a pride And the world could look at it as a model Our example of two countries the expo force coming together Now we can feel at peace Not though unexploded ordinances are still in Vietnam, but Vietnamese children's No longer die because of it 10 years ago. It was something hard to believe If we can look at the families of American war veterans missing in Vietnam They have welcomed their Children home those who have not But it is my belief that We will see the day when their children were coming back home with their families they're beloved one That's something that is so valuable They have died for 40 years 50 years But their children grandchildren go live happily becoming a better person Or in Vietnam we may see that the disaster of Asian orange chemicals because different types of matter or chemicals different stages at the war Because of different reasons not just dowsing But we can see that the being our project is an example of the Vietnam as cooperation such cooperation represents the political relationship the Advances of technology The contribution of both sides to peace to environment of the world That is a highlight of the world is not just Vietnam us in Contributing to the environment protection and to the Millennium course We have another record for checked the being how I want we will work together on that we've been Preparing heart So that by the end of April when the U.S. Senator Leahy leading a delegation to Vietnam, I will have the honor with Mr. Leahy to launch the Binh Hoa project after eight years we Launched the similar activity in Dhanong that launching with the joint government's efforts and those are the people 40 hectare The cold and land in Dhanong now become a land of development become an airport Where we welcomed President Donald Trump to Vietnam for the epic summit in 2017 We told the president that the place that we're sitting here was the one that Mr. Leahy and I launched The inauguration of the Dhanong Airport Remediation project people there were living in fear in bad shape But now they have the peace of mind to have a better life that is So precious and that would bring about trust to the Vietnamese people to the American people their trust to their government and to their Partner country Nothing is better than developing a ration by overcoming the legacies of the past. Mr. Bolbner told me just momentarily ago that the efforts of the U.S. in Vietnam have brought about happiness to the people including the special persons like Mr. Patrick Leahy the world veterans Those supported the Vietnam-Iu as relations Those embarked upon that road no matter a small or big efforts, and I think we all own them Words of gratitude. It's not only about bringing about happiness to the people but it's also about Raising trust of the two governments and forging the relationship. It is so good that we have today The most difficult part of the past now becomes the best part for cooperation for the future for the Vietnamese people the Vietnamese people are gratitude to those who have brought resources from the Vietnamese government and also from the American government in such a flagship projects like Danang or the Binh Hoa project Shots assistance to the people it's not just about the material resources not just the Dola and sense but the gratitude To the friendship To the compassion that the Americans the Vietnamese Have been working together to lessen the pains of the world the Vietnamese people They're willing to go to the sea to the mountains to help the joints Searching forces to account for the American Missings The Vietnamese people never denied such a support for Accounting for the remaining sub-american pilots who died Again, I thank senator Patrick Leahy a simple Noble heart coming to us with no condition Only the wish that the MIA families of the Americans the Families affected by diocese by unexploded ordinances in Vietnam We'll have a better life So I think we should talk more about the future Because That's a time when we will test it Through various activities of overcoming war legacies and go have the confidence That we need to have a attitude of peace cooperation and share development and mutual trust With that I would conclude and I'd like to thank madam president and I think thank you all for your presence And I hope that our seminar will be a highlight and Represent a contribution to Vietnam's relations in the war legacy overcoming efforts Thank You general in we look forward to hearing more from you on the panel a little later on this morning My name is Bill Taylor. I'm the executive vice president here at the United States Institute of Peace I spent a year and a half in Vietnam decades ago And so I've been looking forward to this discussion with great interest The next Part of our session today is a video produced by the government of Vietnam And it depicts the ongoing joint efforts that general bin has referenced. I would like to introduce the next speaker Delighted that the deputy assistant secretary of defense for south and southeast Asia. Dr. Joseph Felter can join us this morning Dr. Felter is Representing the Defense Department and as a former army special forces officer and foreign affairs officer for an area officer He served in a variety of diplomatic and other other other operations. Dr. Felter, please join me and please welcome Dr. Felter Well, thank you president Lindborg and senior lieutenant general Bing for putting this amazing and important event together I think it's especially fitting that it's hosted here at the US Institute for Peace given the mission of the Institute and the occasion That we're celebrating It is quite an honor to be invited to speak here today and represent the US Defense Department on such an auspicious occasion I'm truly humbled to be in the company of the many dedicated people here who have led the way in overcoming the painful legacies of war Promoting reciprocal humanitarian steps towards reconciliation And normalizing relations between our two great countries. There's so many Illuminators here who've done so much for this cause. I'd like to especially recognize a few of them Senator Leahy, of course his vision for resolving war legacy issues and promoting healing between our countries Have truly been instrumental in blazing the path towards the defense relationship. We have today I know our department was closely with Senator Leahy and his staff I see Tim Rees are here on so many other important issues and and we appreciate his leadership We'll be joined later today by our former secretary of defense and senator Chuck Hagel our former boss the Pentagon And we look forward to to his attendance a veteran of the war himself He ensured a focus on the past to create a bright future for the partnership Former ambassador to Vietnam Dave Shear. I saw him on the way in he presided over our first dioxin remediation project at Da Nang and his titles advocacy has been critical to building the relationship and cooperation. I See you the previous and current ambassadors to the United States from Vietnam Ambassador Ving and Ambassador Nock Personal friends and great friends the United States Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to build this relationship ambassadors and thank you for being here. I Also saw Ms. Ann Mills Griffith of the National League of POW MI families Ann served in leadership roles in the league for 40 years. So we know she must have been in elementary school when she started Significantly Ann's brother who kept tenant commander James Mills who you saw on the film went down to Vietnam in 1966 in his F4 Phantom James was finally brought home in August of last year providing Ann's family the closure that the league under her leadership Help bring to so many others and thank you. Thank you and your brother for your service and sacrifice On behalf of our department, thank you all And the many other luminaries for what you have done to help our country's overcome our difficult past and build the ever-expanding cooperative Partnership we enjoy today a half century ago to many Americans of Vietnam Was not a country. It was a war My own father was an army officer With extended service in Vietnam, and I was raised an army brat growing up on military bases and attending Defense department schools during those difficult years Young children of deployed service members hearts would stop when a solemn principal would come into their classroom and escort a student out To go down to the office to meet a grieving parent These same kids while playing in the neighborhood on these army posts across the country Would wait and in fear when when a staff car would roll into the neighborhood hoping that an Officer in chaplain in Chris dress green uniform would not get out and knock on their door I can only imagine what so many children and families were going through in Vietnam at this time as well If you were to describe to anyone during those dark times where US Vietnam defense relations would be today No one on either side would have believed it and yet here we are In the last two years alone the United States in Vietnam marked several historic milestones in defense relations Including the first aircraft carrier visit to Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War The first transfer of a major piece of defense equipment a US Coast Guard cutter The deployment of Vietnamese peacekeeping Unit to South Sudan with the support of the United States and other like-minded partners and An unprecedented level of senior engagement including two visits by President Trump and two by then Secretary of Defense James Mattis to Vietnam in just the past two years In short US Vietnam defense relations are at a high water mark and represent one of the strongest pillars in our multifaceted bilateral relationship While the progress we have made is remarkable None of it would have been possible without the strong foundation of bilateral cooperation Built through our efforts to account for American missing from the Vietnam War This incremental cooperation paved the way for reciprocal humanitarian efforts By the US government and non-government organizations to address other legacies of war Especially addressing the suffering of disabled Vietnamese citizens with the help of non-government organizations disposing of unexploded ordinance and cleaning up dioxin contamination As former Secretary Mattis would often say all wars end But past several decades dedicated people have worked hard to resolve these issues in a way That addresses the humanitarian concerns of both sides and builds cooperative partnership for the future The long process of crossing Vietnam self-described bridge to normalization began when President Reagan came into office with a known commitment To the return prisoner of war and resolved to account for those still missing a mission Which remains critical to the department and is being led by the steadfast efforts of the Defense POW MIA accounting agency Under the leadership of now director Kelly McKee Kelly's here today to thank you for all you and your team continue to do for the cause Kelly Active efforts commenced nearly 40 years ago when then Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Arminage in a small delegation traveled to Hanoi in 1982 to discuss cooperation on accounting for those missing Americans Through the tireless efforts of people like Richard Arminage Richard Childress of the National Security Council and Mills Griffith of the National League of POW MIA families And other defense and State Department officials in the Reagan administration The United States Made incremental but significant progress over the next decade to obtain answers for the families and count for the missing US personnel Because their dedication and the cooperation of forward-looking Vietnamese leaders like them Foreign Minister Wynne Kotak We began the process to bring our people home with honor Recognize their sacrifices and bring answers to their families a process that continues to expand with strong ever-increasing support and cooperation From the government of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people At the same time our two sides built patterns of cooperation and mutual trust that ultimately led to the normalization of relations in 1995 and the establishment of formal comprehensive partnership in 2013 Since the start of cooperation on accounting for the missing The United States has also made great strides by lifting legislative restrictions and working to address the legacies of war That's so tragically affected Vietnamese civilians and impeded and impeded Vietnam's development In 1993 the State Department and US Agency for International Development began a program to locate and dispose of unexploded ordinance Since then and with a backing of Senator Leahy and others the United States contributed more than $119 million for clearance operations risk education Victims assistance and capacity building for a national mine action program The United States has also been proactive in addressing soil contaminated by dioxin, which we all know is a hazardous byproduct of Agent Orange In 2016 the United States began a project to clean up contaminated soil at Dunang Airport a process that successfully concluded late last year Also in 2016 President Obama committed to partnering with Vietnam to clean up a larger dioxin hotspot at Benoit air base outside Ho Chi Minh City President Trump reaffirmed this commitment when he visited Vietnam in late 2017 I am pleased to say that the US Agency for International Development in partnership with Vietnam and with support from the Department of Defense Will break ground on this project next month. I Had the distinct honor visiting the site at Benoit with then Secretary of Defense James Mattis last October Where we saw firsthand the immense scale of this project and were impressed and moved by the close cooperation between our technical experts Moving forward on this project was very important to Secretary Mattis We saw it as a critically important step in the long process to finally exercise the ghosts of our past and Free our people's hearts and minds to focus on achieving a positive and cooperative future together Thank you to the American and Vietnamese patriots mentioned here and the legions of others who worked so hard to make this project And so many others possible The decades of close cooperation on legacy of war issues and accounting for the missing have paved the way for the United States and Vietnam Not only to grow our defense relations, but also to cooperate ever more closely in promoting regional and global security We consider Vietnam one of our most important partners as we work together to prove a free and open Indo-Pacific a Region where all nations large and small can prosper side-by-side in freedom peace and stability By free we mean that nations will be free from coercion and able to protect their sovereignty By open mean that all nations can enjoy Freedom of seas and airways and that all share a commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes Our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific Excludes no nation we seek to partner with all nations that respect national sovereignty Fair and reciprocal trade and the rule of law our aim is for all nations to live in prosperity security and liberty To be clear We do not ask countries to choose between the United States and any other power We do encourage states to choose to invest in the capabilities needed to defend their own sovereignty and to work with partners Who share a similar vision for the reason future and to work to achieve it together? We are committed to building partnerships with like-minded countries like Vietnam who share our commitment to global principles and norms Objectives for our relationship with Vietnam They're quite simple. We want a strong Prosperous and independent Vietnam that can work with us ASEAN and like-minded nations such as Japan Australia in India to contribute to both regional and global security We will continue to enhance our comprehensive partnership with Vietnam in the years ahead by focus on practical defense cooperation Especially in areas such as maritime security humanitarian assistance and disaster relief peacekeeping operations and search-and-rescue operations We are committed to assisting Vietnam build its military capabilities in the areas We have great respect for Vietnam's demonstrated commitment to uphold the rules-based order and welcome its increasing leadership role in promoting regional and global security I might mention that we look very much forward to ASEAN's 2020 ASEAN share a gentleman. We will look forward to working with you on that So United States and Vietnam have made extraordinary progress over the last several decades in overcoming our past differences and building a positive and cooperative Relationship in partnership that benefits our peoples as well as the broader Indo-Pacific region But how did this happen? I'll conclude with a brief attempt at an explanation. I spent some time in academia But before after the military and before coming to DOD Taught international relations at West Point, Colombia and more recently at Stanford in class. I do to explain to my students International relations theory that predicted that states would cooperate if they had shared interests that they were they were bound to cooperate In this dangerous and archival international system So academic theory I think can some can to some degree explain why states cooperate And I've highlighted this morning that the US and Vietnam have many common interests and a genuine shared vision for a free and open region We're all state support and are protected by a rules-based order, but I don't think these academic theories tell the whole story I don't think they really hold up outside the ivory tower shared interests are necessary but not sufficient condition for states to cooperate and work together to achieve these interests Cooperation at the level we see between the United States and Vietnam takes extraordinary people Dedicated individuals working tirelessly to harness the potential created by our common interests Building trust and relationships are critical. They are the connective tissue that really makes cooperation possible You know, I'm looking at Ambassador Ving. I know that if you join in for dinner and in toast the US Vietnam relationship over Scotch You can't help but feel good about the US Vietnam relationship and walk away Change with with national interest held constant It's that personal connection and that personal commitment to build this relationship that people like Ambassador Ving and so many others have helped contribute to The burgeoning USB in our relationship We enjoyed today would not have been possible without the solid foundation of cooperation that was built by many in this room Who worked diligently to address the painful legacy of war and promote humanitarian cooperation? Because of your tire's efforts, we have honored the sacrifices of the phone Improved the lives of future generations and built a strong partnership between our countries that is increasingly a pillar of stability and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and an example to the world. Thank you for the opportunity to join you here today Thank You dr. Felter for those remarks And I am now very delighted to welcome our next speaker senator Patrick Leahy The longest-serving Democrat in the Senate Senator Leahy from Vermont has been at the forefront of addressing some of our most critical Foreign policy issues for a long time and with his leadership on the judiciary and appropriations committees He has been a force for advancing peace and human rights And he brings conviction heart encouraged these critical issues that he champions he was instrumental in establishing programs to assist victims of landmines and to support humanitarian Demining and very importantly he played a key role in pushing for the international treaty to ban anti personnel mines Senator Leahy, we are grateful for your leadership on so many causes essential for peace For being a hero to so many of us. Please join me in welcoming senator Leahy Thank You Nancy. I appreciate that And thank you to the US Institute of peace For housing this very unique event Thanks to all of you being here, especially those who came all the way from Vietnam along with two disabled American veterans of the war in Vietnam had the opportunity to meet with Senior Lieutenant General Bing earlier this morning as Nancy and General Bing said he and I Have worked together for many years on Agent Orange and I have great respect and friendship for you general Back when we started I Didn't think any of us I would be here today. I Expect that Ambassador not probably everybody in this room Feels the same way Many of us know people who served in the war on both sides Some lost their lives the names of the Americans are etched in the black granite wall just a Few hundred meters from this building Others were grievously wounded words cannot Adequately describe the magnitude of the catastrophe The war was for the people of both countries Forty-four years later. We still struggle in this country With the remnants of the divisions in our society caused by the war as Do the people of Vietnam my involvement with post-war Vietnam began in 1989 former President George HW Bush and I talked about the need for reconciliation with Vietnam Something that many Americans including veterans of the war like Bobby Muller and John Kerry And John McCain were calling for in fact My friend President George HW Bush Agreed to use what was later named the Leahy war victims fund Because of organizations like the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation led by Bobby Muller that provided aesthetics and wheelchairs to Vietnamese who were severely Disabled from landmines and other unexploded bombs And I praised President Bush for doing that and I praise him today That assistance which continues today Has enabled thousands of Vietnamese to regain their mobility and their dignity Of course as we saw in the video others had been working on the MIA issue even earlier Their heroic work helped bring Closure to hundreds of American families It was made possible. Thanks for the invaluable help of the government of Vietnam at a time when the United States had an economic embargo against Vietnam as it was struggling To recover from the war as devastation For many years the United States has also been helping to locate and destroy the millions of landmines and other unexploded bombs that Continue to meme and kill innocent Vietnamese Fortunately thanks to that work The number of casualties is far fewer today than it used to be But more remains to be done Over the years. I've had many conversations with officials Of the government of Vietnam before and after Before and after diplomatic relations were reestablished in 1995 No matter what the subject of those conversations was The Vietnamese always brought up agent orange and its effect on their people At the same time American veterans who were exposed to agent orange in Vietnam And we're suffering from cancers and other illnesses We're also lobbying for help from their government in the United States In 1991 the Department of Veterans Affairs recognized these claims But it wasn't until another 15 years had passed that we finally began to address this issue in Vietnam A senior lieutenant general being described We started at Da Nang This is not in my script, but General I will never forget Driving out in your car to the spot Where we started the eradication of the agent orange and I thank you for that and the US agency for international development Deserves great credit for undertaking and completing such a complex difficult but ultimately successful project The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense and especially general being work closely with USAID And doing so the Ministry of Defense and USAID not only overcame many obstacles To complete the project. They also have to advance relations between our two countries to a higher level like the MIA and UXO issues before Agent Orange evolved from a subject of anger and resentment to one of cooperation and appreciation For four decades The Da Nang Airport was a health hazard to tens of thousands of people living in its vicinity But a little over a year ago Air Force One Landed there for the APEC summit meeting soon after USS Carl Vincent docked At Da Nang and sailors from that aircraft carrier Visited an orphanage for children who may have inherited their disabilities from parents or grandparents Who were exposed to agent orange? Look how far we've come None of that would have happened were not for the perseverance of USAID and the US Embassy and Their Vietnamese counterparts Ambassador not previously as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and today has been a strong supporter of this and ambassador. I thank you Throughout this period USAID has also expanded its health and disability Program to seven Vietnamese provinces. They provide medical rehabilitation Infrastructure and social assistance to serve severely disabled Vietnamese in areas There were heavily sprayed with agent orange or contaminated with dioxin in less than one month I am going to lead a delegation of 10 senators Democrats and Republicans to Vietnam It'd be my fourth trip there and this time we will travel to Benoit air base near Ho Chi Minh City Which was the largest US military base in Vietnam during the war Senior Lieutenant General Bing and I US Ambassador Daniel Clinton bring USAID mission director Michael Green and other Vietnamese officials would Nograte the dioxin remediation project at Benoit The largest remaining hotspot of contamination in Vietnam This will be a far larger project in Dane It'll be one of the largest environmental remediation projects in the world And at the same time I and my Senate colleagues will witness the signing of a memorandum of Intent between the United States and Vietnam spelling out a new five-year commitment To support health and disabilities programs For persons with disabilities in provinces. They were highly sprayed with agent orange Now these achievements were possible because of those first efforts by the government of Vietnam to help locate American MIAs and by the US government to assist persons with Disabilities in Vietnam But we should also recognize the indispensable role of US veterans that war and non-governmental organizations They on their own initiative years before the US government was ready or willing travel to Vietnam and began the process of building bridges between our two countries and The benefits of the humanitarian Cooperation and then so far reaching is Reunited The remains of US soldiers with their loved ones is enabled many people in Vietnam Who lost their mobility to become mobile again. It's helped Vietnamese Families and communities to care for the disabled. We are getting rid of the dioxin and we have begun to help the government of Vietnam Identify the remains of Vietnamese MIAs Just as important this cooperation has been the foundation of a growing relationship partnership Well, our two governments have strong disagreements and some important issues We share many interests From increasing academic professional and cultural exchanges to expanding trade Relations to combating climate change Our partnership with the Ministry of Defense The active support engagement the US Department of Defense and the US Department of State in these humanitarian efforts Have opened up new opportunities for cooperation on regional issues So let me conclude We cannot escape the fact The war was a disaster for generations of Vietnamese and Americans Each of us who have lived through that period have our own memories our own emotions our own opinions For me there can be no excuse in the folly of that war Nor diminishing the immense destruction and suffering that it caused But we can all be proud of the way our two countries have worked to overcome that tragic legacy And there's so many in this room who contributed to that effort Come a long way We have further to go And we'll go there together Thank you This is how Nancy she does it better than I do but I would like now to invite Ambassador Charles Ray To moderate today's first panel on foundations of the US Vietnamese post-war partnership In 1998 Baster Ray became the first US Council General Ho Chi Minh City He later served as our ambassador at Cambodia Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW Missing personnel affairs most recently as ambassadors in Bobway. I Don't know where you find the time, but please welcome Ambassador Ray Thank you very much senator Lehi You know any time any money introduces me like that. I really think I should be lying on a slab with with flowers on my chest It's more like a eulogy than an introduction I'd like to ask the other members of Panel one to please come up Ambassador from Gwangvin Director Kelly McKig Senior Colonel Nguyen Hu Luong Mr. Robert to start and Mr. Fred Downs if you would please come up and take your your seats Doesn't really matter you guys fight over it. I Thought that would add a little levity by letting them fight over play musical chairs No As previous speakers have said this forum Is an unique opportunity to bring together American and Vietnamese experts who've been intimately involved in important humanitarian efforts And in laying the groundwork for our bilateral election and that's especially so for this panel which brings together subject matter experts of Two of the earliest efforts of the US and Vietnam to move forward from the Aftermath of war one is a POW MIA accounting issue And the second is assistance to Vietnamese those affected by deoxyns And those prosthetics for those who were victims of unexploded ordinance My own involvement with Vietnam dates back many decades as well Beginning with two assignments there as a young captain in the army in 1968 69 1972 1973 My assignment as the first American Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City in 1998 to 2001 And as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for prisoners of war missing personnel affairs at the Department of Defense from 1996 from 2006 to 2009 Now the members of this panel I Include Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh the former Vietnamese ambassador to the United States Mr. Kelly McKee the current director of the Defense Prison of War missing persons accounting agency successor to the Defense Prison of War missing personnel office that I had the honor to lead from 2006 to 2009 Senior Colonel Nguyen Hu Luong of the Vietnamese office for the search for missing persons of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense Mr. Robert Dastott Vietnam analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency and Mr. Fred Downs former national director of the US Department of Veteran Affairs prosthetic and sensory aid service each of these gentlemen Brings to this forum decades of knowledge about Experience and involvement in this issue Their detailed bios are included in the package that you've been given So I won't go into a lot of that What I what we hope to gain from this panel Is how from a situation of bitterness and hostility as former enemies the United States and Vietnam have demonstrated That former enemies can in fact Put the past behind them to build a peaceful productive and mutually beneficial future The focus of this panel is to illuminate how you these humanitarian efforts I've mentioned Contributed to the strategic and vibrant US-Vietnam relationship we have today An interest of keeping to what is a full and very important schedule today Rather than have each of the panelists make introductory marks I will ask each of them and turn an initial question beginning with Ambassador Vin And during their response, I would hope that they can provide you with the background of their involvement in these important issues Then time permitting I will ask further questions of each panelist I would ask that each keep their responses to about three minutes to enable us to get through this This discussion will continue for about 20 minutes at which time we'll open the Florida questions from the audience We'll do that for a further 20 minutes. I Would ask that each audience member asking a question. Please identify yourself Your affiliation and keep your questions short and to the point so that everyone Possible in the audience gets a chance to ask a question So without further ado, I'd like to go directly into the Q&A Ambassador Vin From a diplomatic perspective How important was the POW MI accounting issue? To building trust and confidence between the United States and Vietnam I Happen to be that My first trip abroad was to the United States back in 1983 to the UN and channel channel assembly in New York and I have served Two terms in New York at our mission during the 1980s and 1990s and very lastly from 2014 and in the middle of 2018 as Vietnam ambassador to the US So from for as a diplomat I've been Watching part of the stories of how we work on the MIA issue in particular and on our normalization and development of relationship in general Point number one is we have a Joy humanitarian mission the human times that we observe especially through the video clips here So as the people involved have Compassion for each other they know that we have a tragic world There are lots of wounds and losses In Vietnam and in the US. So this is a time that we join together on a humanitarian mission point number two I observed that they are ordinary, but brave man and outstanding leader who have been working to To take the stewardship in in in the bridging of the gaps between our two nations who have been at work together So you have been mentioning Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator John MacKinn, Senator John Kerry, we have Bobby Miller here and many other Fred Dawson and Actually, we admire them but at the same time even before we have normalized ourselves in our relationship Still with the the embargo, but the efforts on MIA issue has been started Point number three. I want to raise here is that the enduring efforts and commitment in doing this issue as part of our common cause for the families of Those who have been suffering from the war So through that we understand more each other and we've been we're building trust with each other and that overall has been contributing Effectively and significantly to the development our relationship and more than that the understanding of the peoples. I take the advantage of being here to Express our appreciation To the viet vets who have been Vanguarding in in in preaching the gaps even at the very early states. Thank you very much for that. Thank you Our next director McKeeke Why was the POW MIA accounting mission so important to the building of a us-Vietnam relationship? And do you think this model is transferable to other countries or situations? I've had the privilege of serving the MIA accounting mission for four and a half years first beginning in 2012 as Air Force officer and then since 2017 here in this present position In this time, I have witnessed remarkable Progress to both the pace and scope of operations and the overarching bilateral relationship One cannot discuss the MIA accounting mission in the larger context of the us-Vietnam strategic relationship Without dimension and kudos to the National League of POW MIA families and in particular its chairman and Mills Griffiths the league in and in cooperation and coordination with the Reagan administration Took the first cautious yet very tangible policy initiative to use the fullest possible Accounting for missing us persons from the war as an opportunity to pursue a dialogue with Vietnam This led not only to the three decades of joint sustained operations and cooperation on the MIA Mission, but it laid a foundation for trust and cooperation that was the bridge to normalization and diplomatic relations Simply put the humanitarian nature of the POW MIA accounting policy initiative and mission as pointed out by Ambassador Ving and gender trust and goodwill and it allayed Vietnamese concerns That perhaps America had ulterior motives to the mission both sides put away and aside the animosity of the war and fellow warriors took the appropriate first steps of putting the past behind them a little-known fact The US had established its MIA office in Hanoi several years before the US Embassy There was a unique diplomatic engagement, but it's indicative of the creativity and cooperation Each side brought to the accounting mission From its humble beginnings the POW MIA mission this very day has 139 DPAA personnel Operating in Vietnam the largest number ever and together with its Vietnamese counterparts They are conducting seven excavations and three investigations in five provinces As for using the Vietnam model as a template for other countries or situations Yes Pursuing the humanitarian endeavor to account for our fallen personnel is widely recognized as a non-threatening means of building trust and confidence and Has it has been shown in Vietnam the remarkable cooperation and efforts by both countries Clearly demonstrate this mission can pave the way for better understanding Normalization a strong friendship and in the process contribute to peace security stability and prosperity Thank you Senior Colonel Luong Could you tell us please your perspectives as a Vietnamese dealing with the United States on this issue and the aftermath of war? What was that like for you? Annabelle Ray and the extinguished guest about perspective of Vietnam We always Consider the accounting for MIA as a humanitarian mission and we do not have any political conditions from the beginning right after the Paris Agreement site to finish the war in Vietnam the government of Vietnam established the Vienna SMP and we unilaterally Conducted the Accounting missions to hand over to the United States without any conditions. Meanwhile, we have a lot of difficulties and challenges With many people move in poverty and the hatred of Vietnamese people and the worrisome of The Vietnamese families who have their loved ones lost in the world But we're still carry out the MIA missions and in 15 years from 1975 to 1988 we unilaterally conducted and handed over three hundred and two sets of Remains to the US and after that We also Response to the requirement of the US to let delegations to investigate The American MIA cases in Vietnam and from 1991 to 1993 the special Committee of the US Senate on MIA cases confirmed that there's no POW cases in Vietnam and after that the Our joint missions have been conducted and so far as General Mention that we have been doing the 134 missions and this term we are doing the 134th mission with seven excavation sites and more than 139 DPAA personnel and we also have the Wow for 700 Vietnamese people joining in that mission and on site we recognize and find out several bones and artifacts and we plan to have the Repatriation several money on the 2nd of April after more than three months of the mission and to Vietnam even for the Very difficult MIA cases that we the US didn't have the conditions to approach like of the high mountains We also conduct our unilateral missions and there several very typical Cases like in quantum more than for 2,400 meters, but we also Did the unilateral missions and find out the two MIA Such as remains and clothes that case and other cases like in Kwang Ming Sea area or the Kwang Bing mountain area very difficult to rent but also conduct the unilateral missions and basically we have been able to found out the Remains of the US soldiers about the MIA cooperation. We have the common assessment that we have very positive Contribution to the overall relations between the two countries. It's not only about the labor material, but also, you know, the lives of experts of both sides like the helicopter crash in Kwang Bing in 2001 nine military and Leman-Matic staff of Vietnam and seven US military died in that case so they are sacrificed to the humanitarian missions and efforts for the reconciliation of the two countries are quits and we appreciate and The US Congress and the American people as well as the Vietnamese people Acknowledge that MIA cooperation is the model of cooperation for the two countries Which contribute not only for the cooperation between the two countries, but also the US and other countries relations That's quite a like to share to you. Thank you Go ahead Very veterans and ordinary citizens were key in the early days to accounting for our missing Americans I can't recall a single instance in which we have accounted for a missing American Where we were not led to the recovery site by a Vietnamese veteran or ordinary citizen of Vietnam Our records can tell us where a missing Soldier or Marine died in battle, but only Vietnamese veterans of that battle Can tell us if and where they buried the remains of that missing soldier or Marine Our records can tell us where an air pilot crashed in North Vietnam Vietnamese records can tell us the name of the unit that shot that pilot down and The name of the village nearest to the crash site, but only Veterans of that military unit or ordinary citizens of that village can lead us to the recovery site to give you an example In AC-47 Aircraft gunship with a crew of six disappeared over Laos on a combat mission on the December 24th 1965 Our searches of the last in the area of the last known location and along the plane's flight path Were not successful Nearly 30 years later in 1994 a retired Vietnamese senior colonel named Cao Dang Ninh Telephoned Colonel Luong's predecessor Senior Colonel John Behan and reported that he had information about a crash site in Laos And he wished to bring it to the attention of the American MIA office in Hanoi Colonel Behan brought Colonel Ninh to my office Colonel Ninh showed me his wartime diary in that diary. He had transcribed the names and Serial numbers from the ID cards that his men had found on the bodies of six crew members That they deceased crew members that they had retrieved from the wreckage of that aircraft Colonel Ninh described where that his men had buried the Remains near the craft site But most importantly 30 years earlier Colonel Ninh had just had Transcar or had written in his diary the map coordinates for that crash site his diary revealed That that aircraft had crashed 120 kilometers north of the last recorded location in our records without Colonel Ninh's And Colonel Ninh was the only person in the entire world who knew of the existence of that record of his diary and the information He had recorded in that diary 30 years earlier Without his assistance We may never have located that wreckage and we may never have recovered the remains of those six Americans who now rest Very near here in Arlington Cemetery. This is just one of many many examples of how Vietnamese veterans and ordinary citizens of Vietnam are helping the United States to account for our countrymen who became missing in Vietnam during the war Thank you Mr. Fred downs Can you describe for us what you discovered about Vietnamese amputees and the country's Rehabilitation facilities during your first trips to Vietnam. Yes. Yes, we When they first put the team together, I was a subject matter expert for prosthetics I've been responsible for thousands of veterans here in America for the amputee their amputees and Taking care of making sure they had prosthetic limbs so and going to Vietnam the question was Well, were the Vietnamese really serious about this this gesture on their part or not? So my responsibility was to Listen to what they had to say then turn the rehab centers Talk to some veterans over there and find out what was going on Frankly, there was a lot of mistrust our side didn't know whether they were really going to do it or not And I was in the position of being a of course a soldier But who had been wounded over there and lost his arm. So it was kind of a going back and forth as I Thought about how am I going to deal with this Vietnamese who was sitting across the table from me and Quickly learned that we had a lot in common and then I began to meet some of the soldiers Who had been wounded in the war and we developed a rep for because I was a soldier and he was a soldier And we were doing our jobs and so I quickly Looked at it from the point of view as an amputee. I needed my arm So when I looked at him and Saw his leg or his arm was gone I knew he needed that prosthetic device and so I began to make that transition from thinking of them as the as a distant enemy instead thinking them as a as a fellow soldier and what could I do to help them and so From that I began to develop a program and certainly when I went to the rehab centers They didn't have the equipment. They didn't have materials They were lacking in steel and metal and plastics And so one of the things that general Vessely had told us to do he said Fred Tell us the truth when you come back if they really need something we want to know it if they don't let us know that too So certainly wrote down. They needed everything. They needed training. They needed more prosthetics They had thousands of amputees and they didn't have the equipment and the materials to to take care of all of them So, yes, it was a very when we came back. It was the kind of thing where yes indeed we needed supplied Equipment material supplies everything else we can to the Vietnamese to help them in their rehab centers And from that we then then develop a program so that we could Live up to our end of the deal get that equipment and material to them first three or four trips It was a you know felt more and more got wider and wider the element of trust got tighter and tighter And I remember one of the old soldiers I met Had part of his jaw was missing and he was a leg amputee And he'd been wounded over 12 times during the course of the war he'd fought against the French and the Americans And so we're sitting there in rehab center talking back and forth through our interpreter and We both agreed that we were glad the war was over and it'd be better off if we just buy a beer and sort of fighting each other Thank you Back to you ambassador Vin And this is a this is a bit of a blue sky question here Could you please give us your view on the future of these two? Missions the PO a POW my accounting mission and the humanitarian assistance to Vietnam but in addition sort of your Prediction on the future of US Vietnam relations Thank you very much. Certainly. I would laugh that the missions on both sides the MIE issues and also the Happy of Vietnam's overcoming the war because he's including Toxic the remedification happy the people affected by the war and also The future project of being why would be going on very well The Vietnamese government and I know very committed to work Totally and fully with the US side on the MIE issue and we are encouraged that we have good sides on More support and more assistance from the US to To have Vietnam In the different areas of overcoming the worst so working together Bending trust and helping each other will be a connoisseur in our Normalization and relations, but at the same time I I see Especially during my time here last three years We see a lot of common interests in our bilateral relations and also in The relations beyond our bilateral ties that is operational and global cooperation and Very much hope that Our current comprehensive partnership in in be further deeper and I very much look forward to First the exchange of high-level visits There has been an invitation by President Trump last time when he was in Vietnam to invite the Secretary General of the party and President of Vietnam to be here this year and I think I'm about to knock when have a full year With heavy shop with a lot of exchange of visits, but I think that We have many other areas of our political About form political relationship Trade and it can make when be very much important Science and education will also be another one defense and security, but I wish to mention more on P2 people to people exchange. This should continue to be more and more We have the ties of the peoples over the past year, especially in overcoming the world because is we have the ties now other people in working together helping each other to develop and to better Preserve the region and the war in peace and prosperity. Thank you very much. Thank you director McKee Your second question How does our current relationship Facilitate achieving the fullest possible accounting and what's our current strategy for for doing this? We've made a tremendous level of cooperation and Progress with our Vietnamese partners in our current strategy the Vietnam War County is DPA's highest operational priority While we've made great strides toward achieving the fullest possible accounting We cannot rest on our laurels There's still much to do and with witnesses aging and dying as as was pointed out earlier soil acidity and Vietnam's development time is our greatest enemy But I'm confident that the relationship we have forged the bonds we have formed will lead to even better initiatives Greater progress and increased results such that the fullest possible accounting can be achieved in Vietnam in the coming years You heard senior Colonel Luong talk about the unilateral efforts of the Vietnam Vietnamese government and people That's an extraordinary development that's occurred over the last few years. There are two Vietnamese recovery teams That go about doing this work. There is one unilateral team last September They went to an inaccessible island That took two and a half hours to get to two and a half hours to walk to on the side of a mountain and this Vietnamese unilateral team was able to recover the remains of Lieutenant Richard Lanham Thank you very much senior Colonel Luong What is your view on the future of the Vietnamese US cooperation in the accounting mission? Ladies and gentlemen as for the steps forward in the cooperation between our two countries in the MIA efforts I think there are a lot of advantages, but of course we have challenges in terms of the advantages It is our policy that will continue to provide support to the US side for the full fullest possible accounting of the MIA secondly The support of the Vietnamese people They always have unconditional support for this effort and they will help us in this effort and thirdly The cooperation from the Vietnam DPA has been working with the US counterpart for 30 years We have over 200 days working together at different localities in Vietnam we have established campsite in the mountainous area we shared the good days and bad days Give advantages to the other and take difficulties to ours as children of my kids said Decides are becoming more and more difficult They're in remote and areas of In the sea the witness are aging the weather the conditions are changing The remaining are also eroded. So we have to Accelerate the efforts those are the challenges at present Vietnam have The necessary technologies to conduct survey at sea we mobilized technical equipment and ships and technicians and our divers who could die for 40 or 50 meters deep into the sea to support the American site for Investigation at the seabed And we are also ready to enhance our unilateral efforts at the mountainous areas while its two sites May not work together. We will mobilize the on-the-spot forces the military the police the people We may conduct unilateral search We are thankful to the American site have who have supported us in dealing with the war legacies, especially the Veteran organizations who provided information to us the artifacts We have accounted for over 1,000 missing Vietnamese soldiers now. We still have 200,000 Vietnamese missing soldiers still not yet accounted for we hope that the American veterans organizations organizations Persons individuals If we can have a organization to collect our information so that we can continue to Accounts of Vietnamese missing soldiers and the two sites will pull resources We may organize our mobilize more human resources for the American MIE says you say as you see in the eclipse one over 1,000 MIA sub-americas are still There and we have we have to race against the time. Thank you Mr. Distot You are familiar with a number of people on both sides of the accounting mission from the early days Do any of these people stand out in your mind as having made a particularly significant contribution to the mission or To building a constructive bilateral relationship between our two countries well During those early days many of the people involved in the accounting mission both in the Vietnamese and the American side Were veterans of the war and I think our shared wartime experiences made it easier for us to communicate and relate to each other I think that was a significant issue But I would begin by mentioning Mr. William Bell and Mr. Holschlund dick They led the earliest joint field operations in the late 1980s Mr. Bell became the the chief of the first US MIA office that opened in July of 1991 in Hanoi and that was as Mr. McKee Mentioned was the first official US representation in Vietnam after the war. Mr. Dake was the first director of the Vietnam MIA agency and during those very difficult first days of our joint work They laid the groundwork for the cooperation in goodwill that came after I Would also have to mention General Thomas Needham. He was the first commander of the joint task force that Took The major responsibility for the accounting mission on the American side in January 1992 and Colonel Jack Jack Donovan Who became the first commander of the joint task force office in Hanoi? These two officers Expanded our operations in Vietnam Exponentially and they put in place mechanisms that ensured that future operations would run efficiently and effectively and They led the way on the American side in establishing that Constructive relationship and goodwill that continues to exist today My boss at here in Washington, DC Charles Trowbridge His support and patient guidance were indispensable to me Lieutenant Colonel Paul Mather Paul began working on the joint mission With the four-party joint military commission in 1973 he took part in the earliest Negotiations and returns of missing Americans in the 1970s Mr. Wittenshwun Fung mr. Witten Chi Gong See I'm a wu Chi kong Wu Chi kong and mr. Witten Bahung these three gentlemen were among the first directors of the Vietnam MIA agency and they led the way on the Vietnamese side in establishing those Common understandings and goodwill that exist today There are many others I would mention Mr. Fomf Fomf Zung from the Ministry of Interior Colonels Witteng O'Bick and Leakey from the Ministry of Defense on the US side Marine officer Tony Banks Army veterans Gary Seedow and Steve Thompson Air Force veteran Ronald Ward mr. James Coyle these and so many other Specialists Vietnamese and Americans contributed greatly to our early efforts but I would reserve special mention for Senior Colonel John Bean John senior John Bean and Colonel Fomf Dale Right and These gentlemen spent enormous amounts of time in the field far away from their families To assist and guide our field teams Colonel Dale worked with our special teams and led many of the joint teams in the field work Colonel Bean was the first deputy director of the Vietnam MIA Agency representing the Ministry of Defense Colonel Bean and his Staff of military officers worked key to the successful joint field operations records research and Excavation work that was done in those early years Unfortunately Colonel Fomf Dale Suffered a massive stroke while in the field with one of our joint teams in 1997 He has since passed away Colonel Bean He was among the 16 Americans and Vietnamese Officers who lost their lives on a helicopter crash while on a POW MIA mission in 2001 These were very fine gentlemen who made very significant efforts to our joint efforts and it was a honor to work with them I'm all of the Officers that I've mentioned They stand out in my mind because they demonstrated not only their government's commitment But their personal commitment to doing everything reasonable to help the United States resolve the MIA issue On a humanitarian basis as quickly as possible and without linkage to other issues And as I said, it was an honor to have the opportunity to work with these gentlemen Thank you. My final question to the panel before we open it to the audience Q&A Mr. Downs you've written a Number of outlook articles in the Washington Post about your trips to Vietnam. Could you could you briefly? Tell us what has the reaction to your articles been from American veterans and from the American public? Yes, well, I wrote the for the outlook section of the Washington Post and it was after discussing with General Vessie We need to let people know what we were doing. What was the use of the humanitarian? teams how was it going to affect the MIA and teams that were also working I wanted to work and so I wrote the article and what I Basically said was the war is over and it's time that we need to begin thinking about Working together and I listed all the different humanitarian areas in prosthetics wheelchairs prosthetic limbs And braces and the people I had met in the rehab centers and so when I wrote that article and then it was published Who is like a bomb went off? Because there were a lot of Vietnam vets who were still very angry and Very much against any relationship of Vietnam. There were they they had The P they were all wrapped up in the POW MIA issue They didn't believe a thing that the Vietnamese was going to tell us they thought that we were being led astray and But on the other hand that was a small group of Vietnam vets a larger group of Vietnam vets They came forward and said y'all Fred, you're right. It's time that we get over this It's time for us to go forward and so yes, we do support the humanitarian effort We support what you're trying to do what you and the teams are trying to do and so that was a a big relief I caught a lot of flak from a couple of key people for quite a long time in fact still one person still doesn't like me because of that stance, but This is a episode. This is a time in which you got to stand up and and you got to say to people Okay, I've changed my mind and how I think and here's what I now think and it's the right way to go Humanitarianism is a Universal kind of thing. We're normally talking about men. We're talking about women. We're talking about children There are people I saw in the rehab centers They needed this help and we as Americans who were greatly involved in that war. We could do it You know, I felt that I felt that myself I I'd left I put blood in the soil of Vietnam. I felt like I had a part of it It's a part of me and so whatever I can do to help Vietnam move forward I was very passionate about doing that and I still feel very strong about it to this day Thank you. Okay. No, no, we're gonna open it to the audience for Q&A Once again, I'd like to ask that each of you if you would please state your name and affiliation and keep your question Brief so that as many people as possible get to ask questions. I'm gonna let the monitors there pick people Because you're probably gonna get upset with me if I cut you off. I'll hold off on that Great. Thank you, Ambassador Ray. I'm Jim Paris. I work in the USAids Asia Bureau here in Washington And I just would like to hear Ambassador Ving and maybe Fred expand on his what he was just talking about in terms of the Role of the organizations that weren't really connected to the war effort or post-war effort I know John McAuliffe is here the US Indochina reconciliation project did a great Contribution and others but I'd like to hear Ambassador Ving sort of reflect on those that don't we're working on the road to reconciliation How are they mixed and working with the effort to overcome more legacies? How maybe they were clashing or any other reflections you may have and same for Fred. Thank you Well, we wrote that report about our first trip and we made a presentation to a large group of NGOs and But the purpose of that was first NGOs wondered what what are you trying to do here America State Department Department of Defense? And what we were trying to do is tell them even though America has restricted you for years some being involved with Vietnam We now are going to open the door and say you can now apply for going into Vietnam and Assisting the Vietnamese there was a lot of distrust at first of course that we really believe that we really mean that and But there were some groups that were already in there I think World Vision. I think the Quakers are a couple of them who I can recall and so those groups They continue to be advocating for more involvement in Vietnam. Is that the question you were asking? Yeah, they big they were always supportive because they Wanted to be involved with Vietnam anyway And it wants America started lowering the restrictions Enable them to apply and then go ahead and be free to go into Vietnam and use their money and resources to help Build up these humanitarian areas if I may add that In the early days of our two countries relations Especially after the war, I think the the people and the organizations have becoming to Vietnam first for Contacts and for assistance. I remember when I was first posted in New York back in the 1980s, I know John McClelley was over there. He's working hard on reconciliation But for nowadays many American NGOs and organizations have been working still in Vietnam on different areas humanitarian areas certainly Then my clearing The peace tree the rules of peace and many other organization, but also there are other Organizations are working in helping the people especially the people in the rural area and mountainous areas to overcome poverty, hunger and others and many others also bringing technology and and Skillness of an education to the people so many American NGOs together with other Foreign NGOs are working in Vietnam We have Ambassador Ngoc who used to be the chairman of our national committee on Foreign NGOs and he knows very specifically how much effective the NGOs have been working in Vietnam assisting Especially the people with these fun teachers. Thank you very much So let's go over here, then we'll come back here. You have someone there Keep it fair I'm John McAuliffe that really was not planned it was Totally coincidental and the organization became the fund for reconciliation and development So he began to work on Cuba as well I wanted To pick up a stream of my memory that in the first discussions There was a reference of the US promising to provide data about Vietnamese MIAs and Then that seemed to fall apart because the software Where all the data was contained was no longer readable even in the Pentagon did that information That the US had about where there had been mass burial grounds of Vietnamese in the south ever get produced has there been from the Vietnamese perspective sufficient support for the 10 what hundred times larger problem of Vietnamese missing in action I can't speak at length on that, but I think one of the first gestures in that regard Dr. Lou Stern who was in the DOD staff Arranged to have the what we call the C-deck files the combined documents Exploitation Center that operated in Saigon during the war all captured documents documents captured on the battlefield went to C-deck for exploitation and those documents that were considered of intelligence value recorded on Actually 35 millimeter film stock and I think there was a hundred and forty some reels large reels of that were evacuated to the US in 1973 well Lou had those records copied on micro fish and Were transferred to the Vietnamese while I was there on I believe it happened in I My memory is not clear on this. I think it was 1992, but it was about that time frame Now I had personal knowledge that within that group of documents Were many many records that were created by Vietnamese units That provided details about the dates of death the name dates home of record Personal information dates of death cause of death, but there's a large roster long rosters of that It would be it would take quite a bit of time but Vietnamese specialists could go through those documents and they could because they're all written in Vietnamese because they were prepared by Vietnamese military officers usually the Juan Lee the admin officer for a unit would carry would compile these documents and So in that sense, but it would be a lot of pick and shovel work But if Vietnamese specialists could go through those records and dig out Very useful information that would be helpful on the accounting issue on the Vietnamese side That's about the extent of my knowledge about the the transfer of information I do understand however that there are American veterans groups who have Got together in our trying to help Vietnamese veterans groups Accomplice those recovery missions I would add a current day addendum to what Bob said in that a few years ago Vietnam's Establish an interagency committee to Expand their ability to find locate and recover their missing and to wit the DPAA and the Department of Defense have offered the access to our archives as well as war to other wartime records an Anecdote that I think is very heartwarming is because of Vietnam's Access to those archives a couple of years ago. They found a squadron commander from Benoit Airbase who pointed out the location of a mass grave outside of the base's borders And it ended up being over 100 Vietnamese Servicemen who were recovered and returned to their villages and their families and Something that if you don't Read Vietnamese you may not be aware of but on the on the internet the Vietnamese have established quite a few websites that Provide the opportunity for families to make inquiries about the Fate of their missing family members and Locations where they might have died or been buried and it's a very robust program that the Vietnamese have going on that We had this gentleman here been very patient the yellow tie right there. Yeah, Ryan Wayne Valles, I'm on the International Advisory Council the Institute of Peace and I was a political aid the President's Nixon Ford Reagan and Herbert Walker Bush my question is to the any of the Vietnamese guests or the ambassador What do you think and it's a slightly different quest? What do you think are the main interests in common? Defense and security interest between the United States and Vietnam. I think that I As a diplomat, I mean we say we have a program of cooperation between our two countries, especially in humanitarian assistance in my time security in peacekeeping and in the Medicines these are and also in many others in training as well so that has been put into an MOU and a plan of action for For the two countries, and I think that would be but one common thing as the diplomat that I must point out that we have common interests in Working together for peace and prosperity in the region and in the war and between ourselves as well So I think that we have been working together in our son We have been working together bilaterally and globally as well in the U.N So peace and prosperity will be the common interests of ours. So in in in security is the same thing Thank you. We have time for one more question. Hello. We should go. Okay. Hi My name is Sandy Dang and I'm the former executive director of the Vietnam Education Foundation So my question is that it's wonderful that we have a lot of Vietnam veterans who are really advocating for this effort in Humanitarian and helping to build rebuild Vietnam One of my question is that how can we continue to look forward because as you know The war had affect a lot of many children and many children in Vietnam with a lot of disability as a result of the war So how can we keep this effort going? I know that a lot of Vietnam veterans are getting to the age where you know They are older now. So how can we keep this effort going for the next? 15 20 years in order to help Vietnam and the children of Vietnam to recover from these this not recover But how can help them to forward to maximize their potential when they have a lot of disability as a result of the war? Thank you Or is that a softball the only thing I I'm no expert there, but I can only suggest that the websites and such that they The veterans are setting up. They're both here in America and in Vietnam. Those are going those are the Genesis of the kind of information databases going forward at these ideas of how you take care of the children in the future And how you're going to deal with these kind of problems I think that's one of the ways that that's going to happen, but like I said, I'm not an expert in that area So I don't know what what what the institutions out there are already working on that As a veteran, I'm 80 years old. So I'm not going to be able to do that much longer But I I Would explain it this way. I I have I Traveled throughout the country for four years in the early 1990s everywhere. I went is whether I was sitting at a street side Fossand or meeting with the the head of a Military region wherever I went I was received with genuine warmth and welcomed by the Vietnamese people whether they were farmers or there were diplomats and And I've never met an American tourist who's gone over there and did not have the same experience. So I think just the The fact that more and more Americans are going to Vietnam and more and more Americans are seeing that warmth that with which they're received I think that alone the The the the warmth and generosity of Vietnamese people towards Americans in America will actually keep this Going All right. Thank you I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our panel members for their contributions to a greater understanding of our bilateral Relationship from the perspective of implementing mutually beneficial programs in the post war period I'd also like to thank you and members of the audience for your questions to help to further Highlight the importance to both sides of this partnership I'd now like to invite all of you to join us downstairs upstairs upstairs. Okay, I'm I Am directionally challenged inside anything with walls to join us for a short break and be back here at 1050 where we will hear the honorable Bonnie Glick deputy administrator of the US agency for international development Thank you all for your kind cooperation