39 years later, Australia finds last Vietnam War missing

      An Australian search team has found the remains of the country's last two missing Vietnam War servicemen, 39 years after their aircraft crashed into a thick jungle, officials said Thursday.
Investigators uncovered the remains after combing rugged and mountainous terrain near the Laos border where a wrecked Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plane was found in April, Defense Personnel Minister Greg Combet said.
"Relatives of the two crew members have been advised of the discovery and Air Force will continue to keep them updated," Combet said.
" I hope finding the remains of the airmen will bring some comfort to the families."
The aircraft, flown by Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver, both 24, went missing on November 3, 1970.
"This is an excellent result for the investigation team, and the cooperation of the Vietnamese authorities has been exceptional and highly valued by the team and the government of Australia," Combet said.
"Invaluable assistance has been given by a number of [Vietnamese] soldiers and their commanders, as well as many local villagers.
"Their compassion and commitment to assisting this vital mission is greatly appreciated."
Herbert and Carver had completed a mission and were returning to base when their Canberra bomber disappeared over the central province of Quang Nam, never to be seen again until an investigative team found its wreckage in April.
Australia this month sent a team including a forensic dental expert, an air crash investigator and a pathologist to carry out an archaeological dig at the remote and heavily wooded site.
Combet said details on returning the remains had not been worked out with the Vietnamese government.
He added that the families of Herbert, from Glenelg in South Australia, and Carver, from Toowoomba in Queensland, would decide on their burial.
More than 500 Australians died in the war, which also cost at least three million Vietnamese and 58,000 American lives by the time it ended on April 30, 1975.