Mass grave of Vietnamese soldiers found

HANOI (AFP) Dec 28, 2003
A mass grave containing the bodies of 127 communist soldiers killed during the Vietnam war have been found in the central province of Kon Tum, state media said Sunday.

The remains were found in Dac Me village, the state-controlled Vietnam News Agency added.

"All the martyrs were buried in a bomb crater at a military base of the US army prior to 1972," VNA said.

All remains are expected to be reburied before the Lunar New Year, in late January.

As many as 300,000 of Vietnam's estimated three million killed during the war with the United States are listed as missing and mass graves are being discovered every so often, notably in the central highlands.

The United States continues to fund a major search mission here for its war dead still posted as missing in action.

But the absence of government money leaves Vietnamese families largely dependent on their own resources in the search for their loved ones.

WAR.WIRE