~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam returns remains thought to be of French soldiers from 1954 battle

HANOI - Vietnam has handed to France what are thought to be the remains of 13 legionnaires killed at Dien Bien Phu, the 1954 defeat that marked the end of French rule in Indochina, the embassy of France said Wednesday. The remains were found in December in Dien Bien City, 500 kilometres (310 miles) northwest of Hanoi. They were buried a few hundreds metres (several hundred feet) from the headquarters of Colonel Christian de la Croix de Castries, head of the garrison at Dien Bien Phu. More than 50 years later, only a few bones and fragments of clothes were found. One soldier of the First Battalion of foreign parachutists, killed in late April 1954, was identified thanks to a bracelet.

"Theoretically, they are the remains of 13 legionnaires," said Lieutenant-Colonel Yves Santier, defence attache at the embassy. Documents belonging to a member of the Second Battalion were also found. "During the last days of the battle, the two battalions which had suffered great losses had merged into one," Santier said. It was therefore "historically possible" that they were killed around the same time and buried in the same place, he said.

The bodies were due to be sent back to France by a regular flight and to be displayed at the Invalides monument in Paris during June 8 ceremonies commemorating those who died in Indochina. About 3,000 troops under French command were killed or disappeared during the 56-day battle of Dien Bien Phu that precipitated the crumbling of France's colonial empire in Indochina. Around 10,000 Vietnamese were killed. No remains were repatriated to France at the time, and Dien Bien Phu currently hosts just a discreet monument to the French dead.

Agence France Presse - May 11, 2005