Journey To Laos

In July 2004, I traveled to Laos for a news story on a POW/MIA recovery mission.

At one particular site more than 35 years ago, a U.S.A.F. F-4 aircraft (on a bombing mission over the Ho Chi Minh trail) crashed into a mountainside. Throughout the year, Recovery Teams from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command deploy from Hawaii in search of the remains of servicemembers from America's previous wars. Each recovery mission last between 35 and 60 days. Until recently, the United States even conducted missions to several sites in North Korea.

To my knowledge, America is the only nation that actively searches for its missing troops.

The photo above is of two locals hired to assist the U.S. troops sift through tons of dirt. The second photo shows the screening and bucket process used for finding human remains.



View the complete story:[Google Video]



If you'd like to learn more about this Southeast Asia country, just type Laos into the Google search engine provided below: