MIA Search Team Deploys to Laos ON 73RD JFA (02-3L) MISSION

CAMP H.M. SMITH, HAWAII – A Joint Field Activity consisting of four recovery teams and one investigation team will deploy April 22 from Hawaii with hopes of recovering remains leading to the identification of Americans still unaccounted for from the war in Southeast Asia. The teams consist of 50 mostly Hawaii-based U.S. military specialists from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting and the U.S. Army's Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii.

On arrival, team members will be joined by technical representatives from the Lao People's Democratic Republic to begin investigation and remains recovery operations in three Lao provinces.

Since 1973, the remains of 653 American service members, formerly listed as unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, have been identified and returned to their families. There are currently 1,932 Americans still unaccounted for from the war in Southeast Asia, 409 in Laos.

The recovery teams consist of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps members as well as Department of Defense civilians.