A particularly industrious dealer brought in 11 small heat-sealed plastic bags, each containing a broken bone fragment and a dog-tag rubbing. Based on the extremely small size and age of the individuals represented by the remains, it was clear that all of the remains were Vietnamese. In fact, the anthropologist could tell that many of the bones came from the same skeleton–another case of partitioning remains. A check of the dog-tag rubbings revealed that none was an American service member listed as missing in action.

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The mistaken belief that bones can be exchanged for money will probably persist despite the best efforts–including announcements on television and in newspapers–by the Vietnamese government to discourage the idea. Some Vietnamese citizens simply continue to hope that there is money to be made by turning over American MIA remains. In fact, we have heard rumors of rewards ranging from a few hundred to a million dollars. But unscrupulous dealers duping innocent people of their hard-earned money is not the only problem. The misconception that the United States will pay for remains not only hinders U.S. efforts to repatriate remains, but it also increases the cost of the MIA program. It is difficult and costly enough to find, identify and repatriate American MIA remains, much less wasting time and money on retrieving and examining animal and Vietnamese remains.

Perhaps soon the word will get out that taels of gold for American remains lead only to tales of woe.

This article was written by Robert W. Mann and Thomas D. Holland and originally published in the December 1998 issue of Vietnam Magazine.

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