ARLINGTON, Va. — More than five decades after the Vietnam War ended, the search for America’s missing service members continues, bringing together families from across the country to receive updates on recovery efforts and the ongoing mission to bring their loved ones home.

During the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s annual government briefing, military leaders met with families of those still missing from the Vietnam War, reaffirming the nation’s commitment to accounting for every service member who never returned home.

Anthony Tata, undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness, acknowledged the decades of uncertainty many families have endured, saying that while the war ended years ago, the wait for answers has never truly ended for those whose loved ones remain missing. He said the Department of Defense remains committed to supporting recovery efforts around the world and praised the field teams and forensic scientists working to identify recovered remains.

The mission has a direct connection to South Dakota. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 10 South Dakota service members remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. Their cases remain active as recovery teams continue searching former battlefields, aircraft crash sites and other locations throughout Southeast Asia.

DPAA Director Kelly K. McKeague said recovering missing Americans is both a moral obligation and a promise to military families. He said the agency has worked to recover Vietnam War remains since 1985 and continues to partner with Vietnamese recovery teams to locate and recover missing personnel. McKeague noted that Vietnam War cases remain the agency’s highest priority because witnesses with firsthand knowledge of wartime events are becoming fewer with each passing year.

Families attending the briefing shared stories of loved ones who never returned home. Among them was Justin O’Connell, whose grandfather, Marine Corps Maj. Francis Edward Visconti, disappeared after his helicopter crashed during a storm in South Vietnam in 1965. Susan Lilly Harvey also attended the gathering, continuing a tradition she said has spanned four decades as she waits for answers about her brother, Army 1st Lt. Lawrence Lilly, who went missing when his helicopter was lost in Southeast Asia. Raymond L. Echevarria Jr. remains hopeful that one day his father’s fate will be known after Army Sgt. Maj. Raymond L. Echevarria Sr. disappeared during combat operations in Laos.

According to the DPAA, 231 previously missing U.S. service members from past conflicts were accounted for in 2025, including eight from the Vietnam War. Today, 1,565 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, with recovery missions continuing throughout Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and surrounding areas.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency maintains that every recovery mission brings the possibility of providing long-awaited answers to families and fulfilling the nation’s commitment to never leave a fallen service member behind. The agency also maintains a searchable database of missing personnel, including those from South Dakota, as recovery and identification efforts continue.