WASHINGTON – On Friday, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) joined eight of his Congressional colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to use his upcoming trip to Laos to address the Lao government’s restrictions that are impeding recovery efforts for U.S. service members Missing in Action in that country.

“There are 301 U.S. service members who remain unaccounted for in Laos,” Blunt said. “Returning the remains of these brave Americans to the families who have sacrificed so much should be a priority for this administration. I appreciate the assistance the Lao government has provided to date, but we cannot rest until all of these MIA personnel are accounted for. I urge the president to use his upcoming trip to Laos to address the obstacles that are delaying excavation efforts, and help return these service members to the country they selflessly and courageously served.”

Blunt has led efforts to recover the remains of Air Force Capt. Thomas Hubert Wolfe of Monett, Mo., who was killed in a mission over Laos in 1966. On March 1, 2016, Blunt sent a letter to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency requesting they expedite the process for excavating Capt. Wolfe’s crash site. In his response, DPAA Director Michael S. Linnington outlined the Lao government’s restrictions that have impeded excavation efforts, which are addressed in the members’ letter to the president. Blunt held a meeting with Linnington in May to again urge the DPAA to prioritize excavation efforts at Capt. Wolfe’s crash site, and the DPAA subsequently announced that it has reclassified the site from an alternative site for FY 2017-2018 operations to a primary site for FY2017. Excavation operations are now slated to begin later this year.

Capt. Wolfe’s daughter, Valarie K. Wolfe, continued, “I want to thank Sen. Blunt, who has been instrumental in breaking through 50 years of gridlock to make my father’s case a priority. My father made the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, and I’m grateful for the recent progress that’s been made toward recovering his remains. I hope the president will use this opportunity to help more families like ours bring our loved ones home.”

The full text of the letter to President Obama is available here.