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    Santa Rosa Native searches for Missing in action Service Members in Laos

    California native assist with recovery efforts

    Photo By Sgt. Jack Rigsby | U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kevin Phong, a weapons armament apprentice assigned to...... read more read more

    LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

    09.14.2021

    Story by Cpl. Jack Rigsby 

    Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

    HONOLULU — U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kevin Phong, a weapons armament apprentice troop with the 335th Fighter Squadron, recently attached to attached to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) as part of recovery team in search of a missing U.S. service member lost during the Vietnam War in Houa Phong Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic.

    Phong, a native of Santa Rosa, California, volunteered to help DPAA fulfill its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.

    “DPAA’s mission is important because it shows that our POW/MIA are never forgotten,” he said. “Also, that we are willing to do whatever it takes to bring our service members home to their loved ones.”

    For decades the U.S. has conducted joint field activities with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover the remains of Americans missing during the Vietnam War. Throughout these countries, field teams continue to work with locals to investigate and excavate crash and burial sites to provide the most fullest accounting of our missing servicemembers and to build relations with the host nations.

    Phong said being a part of DPAA recovery mission is an honor because he gets to use his bilingual language skills that he learned from his parents who are Lao natives. He added one of his best memories was being able to make new friends with those who came from the U.S. with him and the local Lao people.

    “Being able to learn more about my family's heritage has been very memorable,” stated Phong. “Getting to see the rural areas of Laos and how the local people live is great. It shows that no matter where people are or what they do, the most important thing is being happy and able to smile.”

    DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation. When American personnel remain unaccounted-for at the conclusion of hostilities, the DoD personnel accounting community becomes the responsible agent for identifying and accounting for those missing.

    News media looking for more information about DPAA or Senior Airman Phong, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or email Maj. Leah Ganoni at Leah.M.Ganoni.mil@mail.mil.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.14.2021
    Date Posted: 09.17.2021 14:01
    Story ID: 405361
    Location: LA

    Web Views: 211
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN