Archived documents to help find Vietnam MIAs

Today, Feb 2001

Document management played a behindthe-scenes role in President Clinton's November visit to Vietnam. While in Hanoi, the President delivered computer files containing 350,000 pages of documents that will help the Vietnamese government search for soldiers listed as Missing in Action.

The military records, known as command chronologies, show where and when American military engagements occurred during the Vietnam conflict. Air and ground battlefield coordinates listed in the documents will indicate to searchers where they should look for the remains of Vietnamese and American MIAs.

The documents were compiled by the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington, D.C., which has records of American military actions worldwide, dating back to World War II. The files were converted electronically to CD storage, using the Information Management Research, Inc. (www.imrgold.com/303689-0022) Alchemy document database software. The Windows-compatible CDs can be accessed on notebook computers that search parties can carry into the field.

The document conversion project is ongoing at the Marine Historical Center. President Clinton indicated that the U.S. will hand over another million pages to Vietnam before year's end, in an attempt to provide the fullest possible accounting of those still listed as MIA.