Remains identified of 12 Vietnam MIAs

The remains of 12 servicemen listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War have been identified and are returning home, 37 years after they died in a fierce battle near the Laos-Vietnam border, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

The 11 Marines and one Army soldier are the largest group of MIAs identified since the war, according to the military. Pentagon spokesman Larry Greer said the Marines were killed during a battle on May 9, 1968.

He said villagers, former Vietnamese soldiers and American survivors helped investigators narrow their search to three excavations in 1998 and 1999, where they recovered the remains. They identified the remains through DNA and other forensic tools.