Vietnam War - Soldiers Missing In Action

Following any War one major issue that arises is the fact that soldiers become identified as Missing in Action. This is especially the case with the Vietnam War as it is considered by any to be the only war that the Americans have ever lost. Statistics state that the original missing in action total was 1972, yet 711 soldiers were repatriated and identified but 1261 people remain missing. That being said since 2015 1618 Americans are currently not accounted for, those that have been accounted for have done so through recovering and identifying remains, returning alive or by recovering the remains of several individuals as a group whose remains are not separately identifiable.



Prisoners of War and Missing in Action is an issue that began with the Vietnam War because America did not have access to places in Vietnam where the soldiers went missing following the war. As a result of this man of the American people felt that America was trying to forget the war and therefore were forgetting the lost love ones of the war. However America takes great pride in remembering there Veterans therefore the return of solders dead or alive so is a mark of honour when they return on American soil. Yet successive administrations have dealt with this issue in different ways alternating between actively suppressing the families' requests for information and assisting them in publicising their cause. Consequently the results of this have been disappointing for the loved ones and diplomatically very misleading to the families. This shows that "It's been used both to justify foreign policy positions and it's been used as a scapegoat for failed policies as well" therefore it is an important issue which has seemingly faded away with time as people have lost hope of their loved ones being alive let alone being found. As more time passes this becomes increasingly more unlikely, therefore is one of Americas biggest issues that they have not dealt with.

Sources
http://www.jstor.org.winchester.idm.oclc.org/stable/pdf/40707185.pdf
http://www.miafacts.org/how_many_missing.htm
https://newrepublic.com/article/90232/pow-mia-vietnam-ronald-reagan