War Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized his department‘s priority of working to amend the legacies of the Vietnam War in a state visit to the Southeast Asian country this weekend.
Hegseth reassured Vietnamese leaders that the United States would continue its efforts to rectify the damages of the war, including continuing U.S. aid in identifying missing Vietnamese soldiers and cleaning up persisting, highly toxic defoliants that the U.S. military used to identify ground soldiers.
“We’re also addressing the legacies of the Vietnam War. That remains the foundation of our defense relationship and is a top priority for this administration and the Department of War,” Hegseth said. “Recently, the United States and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding to continue these ongoing and important efforts.”
Hegseth made the comments during a meeting with Vietnamese military leaders, including Gen. Sec. To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and Minister of Defense Phan Van Giang. Hegseth announced the memorandum of understanding as an exchange between the nations to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
“It is essential to achieving the fullest possible accounting on U.S. service members lost during the war,” Hegseth said. “In return, and with the support of our Congress, we’re scaling up efforts to help Vietnam search for and identify remains of Vietnamese people still missing from the war as well.”
The agreement addresses efforts to clear unexploded weaponry in the country, help Vietnamese citizens with disabilities in areas that were heavily sprayed with defoliants, such as Agent Orange, clean up dioxin-contaminated areas such as the Bien Hoa Air Base, and locate the remains of missing American and Vietnamese soldiers, according to the Hanoi Times.
When the Trump administration slashed the U.S. Agency for International Development’s budget in early 2025, it temporarily froze funds for dioxin cleanup at the Bien Hoa Air Base, a heavily contaminated site where the U.S. military stored barrels of defoliants, and laid off the workforce administering the aid, according to the Associated Press. The uncertainty surrounding the efforts made Vietnam cautious, but Hegseth eased tensions this weekend.
During his trip, Hegseth committed another $130 million in funds to clean up the dioxin-contaminated lands, according to the New York Times.
A Department of War readout of the trip, obtained by the Washington Examiner, said the agreement addresses “war legacy issues and exchanged artifacts from the Vietnam War.” It also said Hegseth “reaffirmed that addressing war legacy issues remains a top priority of the United States.”
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The two countries also exchanged artifacts that veterans of each country obtained during the war and belonged to the other, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the opening of postwar diplomatic relations between the two countries, which was initiated in 1995.
“In three decades, the U.S. and Vietnam have gone from enemies to partners, comprehensive, strategic partners,” Hegseth said during the visit.
