A joint repatriation ceremony at Danang International Airport, after Vietnam handed over remains believed to be of American soldiers who died during the war in the 1960s and 70s.

The ceremony was held by the POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, in conjunction with the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons.

U.S. military honour guards and JPAC officers transferred the remains into a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft ahead of repatriation to the United States.

The remains will be flown to a lab at JPAC headquarters in Hawaii for identification.

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Keane said this is an important process for the families of soldiers who disappeared during the war.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) LIEUTENANT COLONEL PATRICK KEANE, SAYING:

"It's closure. For those families, their love ones have been missing this long time. We have, I have family members regularly come to our office where we speak to them about their cases and it's truly a closure for them to know that we brought their lost one home."

To date, 968 missing Americans who fought in the Vietnam War have been identified since 1973.

But 1,678 are still unaccounted for.

Travis Brecher, Reuters