The Vietnam-Era Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Database

1. BACKGROUND: The Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Service, and the Department of State report the current numbers of Americans who are unaccounted for in Southeast Asia: 

Figure 1
AMERICANS UNACCOUNTED FOR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
COMPONENT                                 COUNTRY OF LOSS

	NORTH  VIETNAM	SOUTH  VIETNAM	LAOS	CAMBODIA	CHINA	TOTALS
ARMY	10	486	105	35	0	636
NAVY	278	92	28	1	8	407
MARINE  CORPS	24	202	18	8	0	252
AIR FORCE	220	165	258	16	0	659
COAST  GUARD	0	1	0	0	0	1
CIVILIANS	0	22	12	5	0	39
TOTALS	532	968	421	65	8	1994*
		PURSUIT    STATUS
Further Pursuit	231	499	365	48	4	1147
Deferred	58	110	30	2	1	201
No further pursuit	243	359	26	15	5	646
TOTALS	532	968	421	65	8	1994

* INCLUDES 459 AT SEA/OVER WATER LOSSES 

2. U.S. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS: Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, the U.S. Government has acquired  21332 reports pertaining to Americans in Southeast Asia: 

Figure 2
SUMMARY OF REPORTS

FIRSTHAND LIVE SIGHTINGS	1908
HEARSAY SIGHTINGS REPORTS	4831
CRASH/GRAVESITES	5247
DOGTAGS	9745
TOTAL	21731

 

a. Of the 1908 firsthand reports received since 1975, 1832(98.48%) reports are resolved. 

    -- 1309(68.61%) reports were equated to Americans who are accounted for (i.e., PW returnees, missionaries, civilians jailed at various times for violation of Vietnamese codes). 
    -- 45(2.36%) reports were correlated to wartime sightings of military personnel or pre-1975 sighting of civilians who remain unaccounted for. 
    -- 525(27.52%) reports were determined to be fabrications. 

b. The remaining 29(1.52%) unresolved firsthand reports represent the focus of the U.S. Government's analytical and collection efforts: 

    -- 26(1.36%) pertain to Americans reported in a captive environment. 
    -- 3(0.16%) reported sightings of Americans in a non-captive environment (i.e. working as truck drivers; married with a Vietnamese family). 

Figure 3.
TIMELINE: UNRESOLVED LIVE SIGHTING REPORTS

Pre-76	76-80	81-85	86-90	91	92	93
22	3	0	2	0	0	0

 

94	95	96	97	98	99	Total
0	0	1	1	0	0	29

3. ACCOUNTING FOR U.S. PERSONNEL: The Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, reports that since 1973, the U.S. has accounted for 518 Americans from Southeast Asia. 
 
 

Figure 4
AMERICANS ACCOUNTED FOR POST-1973

VIETNAM	423*
CHINA	2**
LAOS	148
CAMBODIA	16
TOTAL	589***

NOTES: 
*      34 remains from the Official Died in Captivity Lists provided by the Vietnamese in 1973
**    2  ashes returned from China 
***  4  remains were recovered and turned over to the U.S. by indigenous personnel; 1 from North Vietnam and 3 from Laos. They are included in the country count. 

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KEY OBSERVATION ABOUT REPORTING:   A Vietnamese Government misinformation program has been associated with recent reporting on missing Americans. Those reports all pertain to the alleged recovery of remains and identifying data (i.e., dog tags) by Vietnamese citizens.
 
a.       Since mid-1982, 9745 "dog tag" reports on 8275 individuals reveal the following trends:

b.       In all instances, dog tag reports receive thorough investigative attention, to include informing the military services of those reports with valid names so next of kin can be advised as appropriate.