Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Laos Turns Remains Over to U.S. Military

Aired November 24, 2003 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is an emotional day for Howard Dean. Remains believed to be those of his brother and two U.S. soldiers have been handed over in Laos. Now, his long-lost brother is finally heading home.
Let's go live to Laos now and Tom Mintier, who joins us live by videophone.

Tom -- are you there? Are you coming back? Tom?

Well, as you can see, Tom Mintier stepped out. He's back now, though. Should we...

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're having some audio problems. Yes, I'm back.

COSTELLO: Oh, good. Tom -- take it away.

MINTIER: There was, as you said earlier, a very somber ceremony this morning at the Laos International Airport here in Vientiane, as the remains of two American soldiers and two civilians -- one from the United States and one from Australia -- were handed over by the Laos government to U.S. authorities.

Now, as you were saying earlier, Charles Dean was a young man when he came to Laos in 1974. He and his Australian companion were apparently arrested on the Mekong River that borders between Laos and Vietnam. He was then taken about four miles away, and both men apparently shot by the soldiers.

Now, just in the past month, the U.S. military on a search team here found the gravesite of the two men -- the Australian and Mr. Dean. And they have recovered those remains. And they're on their way back at this hour to the Central Identification Laboratory, both of them, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Hickam Air Force Base, expecting to land there probably in the next 12 to 15 hours.

It is our understanding that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean will indeed fly with several other members of his family to Hawaii for the repatriation ceremony that is expected there in the next 24 hours.

But the work does continue here in Laos. One team is leaving. Another will be coming in shortly to begin the work where the others left off. So, there have been 182 Americans repatriated from Laos in the last decade, but there are still more than 300 that are listed as missing in action -- Carol. COSTELLO: Tom, I was just wondering where the Dean family was as the remains were turned over, and how that ceremony took place.

MINTIER: Well, they were not here in Laos. There was no representative of the family. The word from the Dean family was that they were going to Hawaii for the repatriation ceremony that will occur at Hickam Air Force Base there when the C-17 U.S. Air Force cargo jet that is carrying the remains of the four repatriated people today will be in Hawaii. It went to Udapow (ph) on a C-130 from here, and then was transferred to a much larger aircraft for the flight over the Pacific Ocean.

So, it's believed the Dean family will probably respect and ask for privacy surrounding that ceremony in Hickam Air Force Base, but as of right now we really don't know what the plans are.

COSTELLO: Yes, Dean doesn't speak of his brother much during the campaign -- or on the campaign, I should say. Tom Mintier live from Laos this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired November 24, 2003 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is an emotional day for Howard Dean. Remains believed to be those of his brother and two U.S. soldiers have been handed over in Laos. Now, his long-lost brother is finally heading home.
Let's go live to Laos now and Tom Mintier, who joins us live by videophone.

Tom -- are you there? Are you coming back? Tom?

Well, as you can see, Tom Mintier stepped out. He's back now, though. Should we...

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're having some audio problems. Yes, I'm back.

COSTELLO: Oh, good. Tom -- take it away.

MINTIER: There was, as you said earlier, a very somber ceremony this morning at the Laos International Airport here in Vientiane, as the remains of two American soldiers and two civilians -- one from the United States and one from Australia -- were handed over by the Laos government to U.S. authorities.

Now, as you were saying earlier, Charles Dean was a young man when he came to Laos in 1974. He and his Australian companion were apparently arrested on the Mekong River that borders between Laos and Vietnam. He was then taken about four miles away, and both men apparently shot by the soldiers.

Now, just in the past month, the U.S. military on a search team here found the gravesite of the two men -- the Australian and Mr. Dean. And they have recovered those remains. And they're on their way back at this hour to the Central Identification Laboratory, both of them, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Hickam Air Force Base, expecting to land there probably in the next 12 to 15 hours.

It is our understanding that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean will indeed fly with several other members of his family to Hawaii for the repatriation ceremony that is expected there in the next 24 hours.

But the work does continue here in Laos. One team is leaving. Another will be coming in shortly to begin the work where the others left off. So, there have been 182 Americans repatriated from Laos in the last decade, but there are still more than 300 that are listed as missing in action -- Carol. COSTELLO: Tom, I was just wondering where the Dean family was as the remains were turned over, and how that ceremony took place.

MINTIER: Well, they were not here in Laos. There was no representative of the family. The word from the Dean family was that they were going to Hawaii for the repatriation ceremony that will occur at Hickam Air Force Base there when the C-17 U.S. Air Force cargo jet that is carrying the remains of the four repatriated people today will be in Hawaii. It went to Udapow (ph) on a C-130 from here, and then was transferred to a much larger aircraft for the flight over the Pacific Ocean.

So, it's believed the Dean family will probably respect and ask for privacy surrounding that ceremony in Hickam Air Force Base, but as of right now we really don't know what the plans are.

COSTELLO: Yes, Dean doesn't speak of his brother much during the campaign -- or on the campaign, I should say. Tom Mintier live from Laos this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.