Diminishing Remains

The Vietnam war came to an end 26 years ago this month, but it continues to take too many lives. The latest victims were seven Americans and nine Vietnamese killed in a helicopter crash on April 7, not far from the old dmz.

There is bitter irony in the way these men died. They were on a mission to search for the remains of six airmen presumed to have been killed more than a quarter century ago. The U.S. and Vietnam have worked together for over a decade in a remarkable effort to find out, conclusively, what happened to more than...