The United States and Vietnam have exchanged artifacts of war, including a U.S. soldier’s written account of life under fire before his death and a Vietnam trooper’s diary held for over 40 years by an American GI. At a ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnamese defense minister Phung Quang Thanh delivered the letters to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who in turn gave Thanh the small maroon diary taken from the body of the Vietnamese man by a U.S. service member who brought it home with him.

Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.