The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Cpl. Steven Lucas, U.S. Army, of Johnson City, N.Y. He will be buried July 11 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Lucas' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Lucas was assigned to the Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment making up part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), then engaging enemy forces east of the Chosin Reservoir near Kaljon-ri, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. On Nov. 29, remnants of the RCT began a fighting withdrawal to more defensible positions near Hagaru-ri, south of the reservoir. Lucas never made it to the lines at Hagaru-ri and was last seen on Nov. 30.
Between 1991-94, North Korea turned over to the U.S. 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. North Korean documents turned over with one of several boxes in 1993 indicated that the remains from that box were exhumed near Kaljon-ri. This location correlates with Lucas' last known location.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Lucas' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169
Showing posts with label dna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dna. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Navy Pilot Missing In Action From the Vietnam War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Lt. Cmdr. Ralph C. Bisz, U.S. Navy, of Miami Shores, Fla. His funeral arrangements are being set by his family.
On Aug. 4, 1967, Bisz took off in an A-4E Skyhawk from the USS Oriskany to bomb an enemy petroleum depot near Haiphong, Vietnam. As he neared the target, his aircraft was struck by an enemy surface-to-air missile and crashed near the town of Hai Duong in Hai Hung Province. No parachute was observed and no emergency beeper signal was received.
In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated to the United States human remains from Hai Hung Province, which they attributed to Bisz on the basis of their historical records of the shootdown as well as documentation of his burial.
Between 1988 and 2004, joint U.S./S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations of the incident and surveyed the crash site. A team found aircraft wreckage at the site which was consistent with an A-4E Skyhawk. Teams also interviewed witnesses who recalled the crash and burial of the pilot in a nearby cemetery. Additionally, one witness indicated that he oversaw the exhumation of the American's remains from the cemetery, and their turnover to district officials.
Between 1993 and 2004, 25 samples from the remains turned over in 1988 were submitted to several laboratories for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, but yielded inconclusive results. In 2007, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used refined DNA collection techniques and succeeded in obtaining verifiable mtDNA.
Using forensic identification tools, circumstantial evidence, mtDNA analysis and dental comparisons, scientists from JPAC identified the remains as those of Bisz.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 509-1905 or (703) 699-1420.
He is Lt. Cmdr. Ralph C. Bisz, U.S. Navy, of Miami Shores, Fla. His funeral arrangements are being set by his family.
On Aug. 4, 1967, Bisz took off in an A-4E Skyhawk from the USS Oriskany to bomb an enemy petroleum depot near Haiphong, Vietnam. As he neared the target, his aircraft was struck by an enemy surface-to-air missile and crashed near the town of Hai Duong in Hai Hung Province. No parachute was observed and no emergency beeper signal was received.
In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated to the United States human remains from Hai Hung Province, which they attributed to Bisz on the basis of their historical records of the shootdown as well as documentation of his burial.
Between 1988 and 2004, joint U.S./S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations of the incident and surveyed the crash site. A team found aircraft wreckage at the site which was consistent with an A-4E Skyhawk. Teams also interviewed witnesses who recalled the crash and burial of the pilot in a nearby cemetery. Additionally, one witness indicated that he oversaw the exhumation of the American's remains from the cemetery, and their turnover to district officials.
Between 1993 and 2004, 25 samples from the remains turned over in 1988 were submitted to several laboratories for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, but yielded inconclusive results. In 2007, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used refined DNA collection techniques and succeeded in obtaining verifiable mtDNA.
Using forensic identification tools, circumstantial evidence, mtDNA analysis and dental comparisons, scientists from JPAC identified the remains as those of Bisz.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 509-1905 or (703) 699-1420.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Soldier Missing In Action From Korean War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Sgt. 1st Class W.T. Akins, U.S. Army, of Decatur, Ga. He will be buried on June 26 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Akins' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Akins was a member of the Medical Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, elements of two Chinese Communist Divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Akins was reported missing on Nov. 2, 1950 and was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In April 2007, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.), acting through the intermediary of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, repatriated to the United States six boxes of human remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers. The D.P.R.K. reported that the remains were excavated in November 2006 near Unsan in North Pyongan Province.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Akins' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Sgt. 1st Class W.T. Akins, U.S. Army, of Decatur, Ga. He will be buried on June 26 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Akins' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Akins was a member of the Medical Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, elements of two Chinese Communist Divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Akins was reported missing on Nov. 2, 1950 and was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In April 2007, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.), acting through the intermediary of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, repatriated to the United States six boxes of human remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers. The D.P.R.K. reported that the remains were excavated in November 2006 near Unsan in North Pyongan Province.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Akins' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Soldier Missing In Action From Korean War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Pfc. Milton Dinerboiler Jr., U.S. Army, of Elkhart, Ind. His burial date is being set by his family.
Representatives from the Army met with Dinerboiler's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Dinerboiler was assigned to the Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged in battle against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December 1950. Dinerboiler was captured by the Chinese and marched on a route north of the Chosin Reservoir. He died in mid-to-late April 1951, from poor health and the lack of medical treatment. He was buried beside a hill along the route.
In 2002, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), recovered human remains from an isolated grave north of the Chosin Reservoir. The site correlates to a route that American POWs were taken while being moved north to a POW camp.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Dinerboiler's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Pfc. Milton Dinerboiler Jr., U.S. Army, of Elkhart, Ind. His burial date is being set by his family.
Representatives from the Army met with Dinerboiler's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Dinerboiler was assigned to the Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged in battle against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December 1950. Dinerboiler was captured by the Chinese and marched on a route north of the Chosin Reservoir. He died in mid-to-late April 1951, from poor health and the lack of medical treatment. He was buried beside a hill along the route.
In 2002, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), recovered human remains from an isolated grave north of the Chosin Reservoir. The site correlates to a route that American POWs were taken while being moved north to a POW camp.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Dinerboiler's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Comrades, Loved Ones Provide Reminders of Memorial Day's Meaning
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2008 - To many Americans, Memorial Day means a day off from work with picnics, pool openings and barbecues. But for those who have lost a comrade or loved one in combat, the day takes on a whole new significance. Here are some of their stories.
Army 1st Lt. Brent Pounders
Army 1st Lt. Brent Pounders remembers his childhood, reading textbooks about patriots who have sacrificed their lives through the country's history and thinking of Memorial Day as the end of the school year.
"You think about it, but [its meaning] really doesn't hit home or register as much until you lose some of your dear friends and realize that their families are affected by this and what it actually signifies," he said.
For Pounders, that significance hit home Jan. 20, 2007.
Twelve soldiers died that day when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down east of Baghdad. Among them were three members of Pounders' unit, the Arkansas Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, 77th Aviation Brigade, as well as a Texas National Guard soldier who worked closely with them on a day-to-day basis.
Pounds remembers Maj. Michael Taylor, the company commander, for his great sense of humor as he looked out for the best for his unit and held every soldier to the highest standard. First Sgt. John Brown, the company standardization instructor, was "one of those guys who always had a smile on his face, was always in a good mood and always willing to do anything he could to help." Sgt. Maj. William Warren had a funny habit of adding "and everything" to just about everything he said, prompting the unit to yell out the catch-line in unison just as Warren finished taping a video to send home from Iraq.
Capt. Sean Lyerly wasn't assigned to the unit, but quickly bonded with the Arkansas Guardsmen he worked with in the theater at Company C, 1st Brigade, 131st Aviation Regiment. "He was a really good guy who got along with everybody in the company," Pounds recalls. "Everybody liked him, and he did a good job for us."
Pounders said the first Memorial Day spent back at home, away from the heavy operational demands of the combat zone, will give him a lot more time to reflect on what he and his unit have lost.
"In the past, I've had some people I knew who had been killed in Iraq, but this time there's a more personal aspect to it," he said. "This time it is people I knew and was good friends with and have known for years giving their lives for their country."
The unit still is recovering from their deaths, but Pounders said it is the families who have lost the most. "They are the ones who have to live on without their fathers or their husbands or their sons," he said.
Pounders said it's fitting that the American people recognize the sacrifices they and their fellow servicemembers have made. "These people all gave so much," he said. "The least we can do is set one day aside out of the year and stop our busy schedules and just show some remembrance for them and what they gave and what their families gave. I think that's the very least we can do as a nation."
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Barney
As they were deploying to Iraq from March Air Force Base, Calif., Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Barney formed a fast friendship with Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jimmy Arroyave.
Barney, a religious program specialist, and Arroyave, a member of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's 1st Force Service Support Group, shared common roots in Colombia. They spent the entire trip to Kuwait swapping stories and experiences, quickly bonding and promising to stay in touch.
It wasn't until two months later, when he was in Fallujah, Iraq, with the Marine Corps' 7th Engineer Support Battalion in April 2004, that Barney would again hear his new friend's name. Arroyave, he learned, had been killed when his Humvee rolled over during a mission northeast of Ramadi.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard his name," Barney said. "I froze. He was my friend."
Barney took the news to heart. After he returned from Iraq, he contacted Arroyave's widow, Rachael, and went to meet her, her two daughters, and the newborn son his fallen Marine friend wound never lay eyes on.
This week, Barney, now assigned to the chief of naval chaplains office in Washington, visited the Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, Va., where a memorial brick honors Arroyave. "It was touching," he said. "I wanted to go see it."
Now that a loss has touched him in a very personal way, Barney said, Memorial Day has taken on a new level of importance. "It's not just a weekend off any more," he said. "You reflect on your experiences, and it becomes personal."
Barney called Memorial Day a time for Americans to recognize the contributions their military has made, often at great cost. "This military has been through a lot of pain and a lot of losses," he said.
"[Americans] need to be reminded of the sacrifices their fellow citizens are taking," Barney continued. "And they need to understand the value of military service to this country, and the reason we are here."
Wesley and Peggy Bushnell
Parents of Army Sgt. William Bushnell
Just over a year after losing their 24-year-old son in Iraq, Wesley and Peggy Bushnell plan a weekend of activity honoring his memory.
Army Sgt. William Bushnell, a soldier with 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, died in combat April 21, 2007, when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle during operations in Baghdad. He was among 31 "Long Knife" Brigade Combat Team soldiers killed during the unit's 15-month deployment to Iraq.
The Bushnells joined their son's comrades when, after they returned to El Paso, Texas, the city hosted a Texas-size hometown heroes' parade in February. Wesley walked the parade route alongside one of 31 riderless horses with empty boots reversed in the stirrups that commemorated his son and the other fallen soldiers.
This weekend, the Bushnells will again pay public tribute to the son they grieve for every day in private. They and fellow church members in Jasper, Ark., will board a bus bound for Indian Village, La., where their son is buried in a family grave.
They plan a weekend of worship, music and fellowship remembering their son and what he stood for.
Memorial Day has always had special meaning to the Bushnells, a patriotic family that always took time to pause and "remember the people who gave their all," Wesley said.
"It's an important day, because it honors the people who fought for what they believe in and gave us the opportunity to be sitting here watching color TV," he said.
But since their son's death, Memorial Day has become deeply personal, he said. He and his wife reflect all the time on what they've lost -- Wesley, during long days on the road driving a truck for Wal-Mart, a dog tag with his son's photo around his neck, and Becky, as she painstakingly toils over the memorial quilts she sews.
If there's any consolation in their loss, Wesley said, it's that their son died for a noble cause. "He went with dignity and honor. That's what makes it tolerable to me," he said. "I can accept war, and I know that bad things happen in war. It hurts, but I can accept it."
Carolyn and Keith Maupin
Parents of Army Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin
For the past four Memorial Days, Carolyn and Keith Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, didn't know if their Army Reserve son was dead or alive.
Army Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin was among two soldiers and seven contract employees reported missing after insurgents attacked their fuel convoy west of Baghdad on April 9, 2004. Maupin was later reported as the only missing soldier.
A videotape that aired two weeks later on Al Jazeera TV showed him being held captive by masked gunmen, raising hopes he was still alive. Al Jazeera reported two months later that Maupin had been killed, but the U.S. Army ruled the video of the execution too poor to conclusively identify Maupin.
The Maupin family waited for four years, never giving up hope that Matt was still alive. Only when the Army announced March 20, 2008, that it had found and identified his remains using DNA did the Maupins finally know his fate.
The city of Cincinnati heralded its fallen son, hosting a memorial ceremony in late April at Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Pallbearers from Maupin's unit carried his flag-draped casket, placing it on the pitchers' mound before the 25,000 mourners. Later that day, Maupin was buried in Cincinnati's Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
U.S. Army Reserve Command honored Maupin during a May 22 memorial service at its headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga. Carolyn called the service "quite touching," knowing that more than 200 soldiers were honoring her son. "We know they are not going to forget, don't we?" she said.
The Maupins will spend this Memorial Day weekend as they have the last three, riding on the back of a motorcycle down Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue as part of "Rolling Thunder." The annual ride, now in its 21st year, helps raise awareness about prisoners of war, troops missing in action and veterans' benefits. It also offers veterans the chance to reconnect with their brothers-in-arms.
Carolyn said she's always honored Memorial Day as a time to remember the fallen. She remembers years past, watching Memorial Day parades on television. "What was different then was that Matt was with us, and now he is not," she said. "So the emotions are different. We miss him."
As they remember their fallen son and honor another son serving in the military, Marine Sgt. Micah Maupin, the Maupins said it's important for all Americans to recognize the significance of Memorial Day.
"That's who gives them what they are able to do every day -- those guys who have died and those guys who have served," Keith said. "To me it means freedom, and what they have sacrificed to give us our freedom each and every day," Carolyn echoed.
Air Force Maj. Frances Robertson
While others attend Memorial Day commemorations in the coming days, Air Force Maj. Frances Robertson plans to stay away, saying they still bring up too many painful memories.
The Air Force flight nurse remembers growing up in San Antonio and enjoying the ceremony and celebration that surrounded Memorial Day. "When you were a kid, it was all about backyard barbecues and seeing the little flags on the funeral grounds at Fort Sam Houston," she said. "The music was always great, and the gunfire was really neat."
But after two combat deployments with the Air Force Reserve's 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, including one to Iraq at the start of the war, Robertson sees military cemeteries and wonders if she treated any of those buried there. She doesn't like hearing gunfire. She feels she's seen too much death to bring herself to attend Memorial Day ceremonies.
"It's not the memorial service I don't like, it's the memories," she said. "When you go to these functions, it brings it all back. You are reminded of it all over again."
Robertson said she holds dear memories of the servicemembers she treated in both Iraq and Kuwait and calls them heroes who willingly put themselves on the line for their fellow Americans.
"Any time a military member goes out, they don't know if they are coming home, and their families don't know if they are coming home," she said. "But they went out anyway, with their mind on the mission."
Robertson calls these troops minorities within American society, "the small group of people who volunteered to go in [to the military] and protect the U.S. for everyone else."
"They're the ones who take on that weight so others can live without worries," she said.
While she avoids ceremonies herself, Robertson said, it's important that all Americans pause on Memorial Day to recognize those who have sacrificed, particularly those who paid the ultimate price.
"I believe it is important to remember, because if you don't remember, you devalue what happened," she said.
"Many people in this country get to live with no worries and with many privileges and never had to battle for them or wage any kind of war for them," she continued. "They need to say thanks and let these people know they appreciate all that they have sacrificed for them."
American Forces Press Service
May 23, 2008 - To many Americans, Memorial Day means a day off from work with picnics, pool openings and barbecues. But for those who have lost a comrade or loved one in combat, the day takes on a whole new significance. Here are some of their stories.
Army 1st Lt. Brent Pounders
Army 1st Lt. Brent Pounders remembers his childhood, reading textbooks about patriots who have sacrificed their lives through the country's history and thinking of Memorial Day as the end of the school year.
"You think about it, but [its meaning] really doesn't hit home or register as much until you lose some of your dear friends and realize that their families are affected by this and what it actually signifies," he said.
For Pounders, that significance hit home Jan. 20, 2007.
Twelve soldiers died that day when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down east of Baghdad. Among them were three members of Pounders' unit, the Arkansas Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment, 77th Aviation Brigade, as well as a Texas National Guard soldier who worked closely with them on a day-to-day basis.
Pounds remembers Maj. Michael Taylor, the company commander, for his great sense of humor as he looked out for the best for his unit and held every soldier to the highest standard. First Sgt. John Brown, the company standardization instructor, was "one of those guys who always had a smile on his face, was always in a good mood and always willing to do anything he could to help." Sgt. Maj. William Warren had a funny habit of adding "and everything" to just about everything he said, prompting the unit to yell out the catch-line in unison just as Warren finished taping a video to send home from Iraq.
Capt. Sean Lyerly wasn't assigned to the unit, but quickly bonded with the Arkansas Guardsmen he worked with in the theater at Company C, 1st Brigade, 131st Aviation Regiment. "He was a really good guy who got along with everybody in the company," Pounds recalls. "Everybody liked him, and he did a good job for us."
Pounders said the first Memorial Day spent back at home, away from the heavy operational demands of the combat zone, will give him a lot more time to reflect on what he and his unit have lost.
"In the past, I've had some people I knew who had been killed in Iraq, but this time there's a more personal aspect to it," he said. "This time it is people I knew and was good friends with and have known for years giving their lives for their country."
The unit still is recovering from their deaths, but Pounders said it is the families who have lost the most. "They are the ones who have to live on without their fathers or their husbands or their sons," he said.
Pounders said it's fitting that the American people recognize the sacrifices they and their fellow servicemembers have made. "These people all gave so much," he said. "The least we can do is set one day aside out of the year and stop our busy schedules and just show some remembrance for them and what they gave and what their families gave. I think that's the very least we can do as a nation."
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Barney
As they were deploying to Iraq from March Air Force Base, Calif., Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rafael Barney formed a fast friendship with Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jimmy Arroyave.
Barney, a religious program specialist, and Arroyave, a member of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's 1st Force Service Support Group, shared common roots in Colombia. They spent the entire trip to Kuwait swapping stories and experiences, quickly bonding and promising to stay in touch.
It wasn't until two months later, when he was in Fallujah, Iraq, with the Marine Corps' 7th Engineer Support Battalion in April 2004, that Barney would again hear his new friend's name. Arroyave, he learned, had been killed when his Humvee rolled over during a mission northeast of Ramadi.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard his name," Barney said. "I froze. He was my friend."
Barney took the news to heart. After he returned from Iraq, he contacted Arroyave's widow, Rachael, and went to meet her, her two daughters, and the newborn son his fallen Marine friend wound never lay eyes on.
This week, Barney, now assigned to the chief of naval chaplains office in Washington, visited the Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, Va., where a memorial brick honors Arroyave. "It was touching," he said. "I wanted to go see it."
Now that a loss has touched him in a very personal way, Barney said, Memorial Day has taken on a new level of importance. "It's not just a weekend off any more," he said. "You reflect on your experiences, and it becomes personal."
Barney called Memorial Day a time for Americans to recognize the contributions their military has made, often at great cost. "This military has been through a lot of pain and a lot of losses," he said.
"[Americans] need to be reminded of the sacrifices their fellow citizens are taking," Barney continued. "And they need to understand the value of military service to this country, and the reason we are here."
Wesley and Peggy Bushnell
Parents of Army Sgt. William Bushnell
Just over a year after losing their 24-year-old son in Iraq, Wesley and Peggy Bushnell plan a weekend of activity honoring his memory.
Army Sgt. William Bushnell, a soldier with 1st Cavalry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, died in combat April 21, 2007, when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle during operations in Baghdad. He was among 31 "Long Knife" Brigade Combat Team soldiers killed during the unit's 15-month deployment to Iraq.
The Bushnells joined their son's comrades when, after they returned to El Paso, Texas, the city hosted a Texas-size hometown heroes' parade in February. Wesley walked the parade route alongside one of 31 riderless horses with empty boots reversed in the stirrups that commemorated his son and the other fallen soldiers.
This weekend, the Bushnells will again pay public tribute to the son they grieve for every day in private. They and fellow church members in Jasper, Ark., will board a bus bound for Indian Village, La., where their son is buried in a family grave.
They plan a weekend of worship, music and fellowship remembering their son and what he stood for.
Memorial Day has always had special meaning to the Bushnells, a patriotic family that always took time to pause and "remember the people who gave their all," Wesley said.
"It's an important day, because it honors the people who fought for what they believe in and gave us the opportunity to be sitting here watching color TV," he said.
But since their son's death, Memorial Day has become deeply personal, he said. He and his wife reflect all the time on what they've lost -- Wesley, during long days on the road driving a truck for Wal-Mart, a dog tag with his son's photo around his neck, and Becky, as she painstakingly toils over the memorial quilts she sews.
If there's any consolation in their loss, Wesley said, it's that their son died for a noble cause. "He went with dignity and honor. That's what makes it tolerable to me," he said. "I can accept war, and I know that bad things happen in war. It hurts, but I can accept it."
Carolyn and Keith Maupin
Parents of Army Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin
For the past four Memorial Days, Carolyn and Keith Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, didn't know if their Army Reserve son was dead or alive.
Army Pfc. Keith Matthew Maupin was among two soldiers and seven contract employees reported missing after insurgents attacked their fuel convoy west of Baghdad on April 9, 2004. Maupin was later reported as the only missing soldier.
A videotape that aired two weeks later on Al Jazeera TV showed him being held captive by masked gunmen, raising hopes he was still alive. Al Jazeera reported two months later that Maupin had been killed, but the U.S. Army ruled the video of the execution too poor to conclusively identify Maupin.
The Maupin family waited for four years, never giving up hope that Matt was still alive. Only when the Army announced March 20, 2008, that it had found and identified his remains using DNA did the Maupins finally know his fate.
The city of Cincinnati heralded its fallen son, hosting a memorial ceremony in late April at Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Pallbearers from Maupin's unit carried his flag-draped casket, placing it on the pitchers' mound before the 25,000 mourners. Later that day, Maupin was buried in Cincinnati's Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
U.S. Army Reserve Command honored Maupin during a May 22 memorial service at its headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga. Carolyn called the service "quite touching," knowing that more than 200 soldiers were honoring her son. "We know they are not going to forget, don't we?" she said.
The Maupins will spend this Memorial Day weekend as they have the last three, riding on the back of a motorcycle down Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue as part of "Rolling Thunder." The annual ride, now in its 21st year, helps raise awareness about prisoners of war, troops missing in action and veterans' benefits. It also offers veterans the chance to reconnect with their brothers-in-arms.
Carolyn said she's always honored Memorial Day as a time to remember the fallen. She remembers years past, watching Memorial Day parades on television. "What was different then was that Matt was with us, and now he is not," she said. "So the emotions are different. We miss him."
As they remember their fallen son and honor another son serving in the military, Marine Sgt. Micah Maupin, the Maupins said it's important for all Americans to recognize the significance of Memorial Day.
"That's who gives them what they are able to do every day -- those guys who have died and those guys who have served," Keith said. "To me it means freedom, and what they have sacrificed to give us our freedom each and every day," Carolyn echoed.
Air Force Maj. Frances Robertson
While others attend Memorial Day commemorations in the coming days, Air Force Maj. Frances Robertson plans to stay away, saying they still bring up too many painful memories.
The Air Force flight nurse remembers growing up in San Antonio and enjoying the ceremony and celebration that surrounded Memorial Day. "When you were a kid, it was all about backyard barbecues and seeing the little flags on the funeral grounds at Fort Sam Houston," she said. "The music was always great, and the gunfire was really neat."
But after two combat deployments with the Air Force Reserve's 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, including one to Iraq at the start of the war, Robertson sees military cemeteries and wonders if she treated any of those buried there. She doesn't like hearing gunfire. She feels she's seen too much death to bring herself to attend Memorial Day ceremonies.
"It's not the memorial service I don't like, it's the memories," she said. "When you go to these functions, it brings it all back. You are reminded of it all over again."
Robertson said she holds dear memories of the servicemembers she treated in both Iraq and Kuwait and calls them heroes who willingly put themselves on the line for their fellow Americans.
"Any time a military member goes out, they don't know if they are coming home, and their families don't know if they are coming home," she said. "But they went out anyway, with their mind on the mission."
Robertson calls these troops minorities within American society, "the small group of people who volunteered to go in [to the military] and protect the U.S. for everyone else."
"They're the ones who take on that weight so others can live without worries," she said.
While she avoids ceremonies herself, Robertson said, it's important that all Americans pause on Memorial Day to recognize those who have sacrificed, particularly those who paid the ultimate price.
"I believe it is important to remember, because if you don't remember, you devalue what happened," she said.
"Many people in this country get to live with no worries and with many privileges and never had to battle for them or wage any kind of war for them," she continued. "They need to say thanks and let these people know they appreciate all that they have sacrificed for them."
Friday, May 16, 2008
Soldiers Missing from The Korean War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Sgt. 1st Class George W. Koon of Leesville, S.C.; and Sgt. 1st Class Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Ky.; both U.S. Army. Koon will be buried tomorrow in Leesville, and Tye will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with the soldiers' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Koon was assigned to the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, and Tye was assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment. Both were members of the 2nd Infantry Division advancing north of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 25, the Chinese Army counterattacked the Americans in what would become known as the Battle of the Chong Chon (River). This combat was some of the fiercest of the war, and the 2nd Division initiated a fighting withdrawal to the south. Koon and Tye were captured by Chinese forces during the intense enemy fire, and subsequently died while in captivity from malnutrition and medical neglect.
In 2002, two joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated and excavated a mass burial site located 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri, along the route taken by captured U.S. POWs being moved to permanent POW camps along the Yalu River. The teams recovered remains at the site believed to be those of several U.S. servicemen, including Koon and Tye.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Koon's and Tye's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Sgt. 1st Class George W. Koon of Leesville, S.C.; and Sgt. 1st Class Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Ky.; both U.S. Army. Koon will be buried tomorrow in Leesville, and Tye will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with the soldiers' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Koon was assigned to the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, and Tye was assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment. Both were members of the 2nd Infantry Division advancing north of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 25, the Chinese Army counterattacked the Americans in what would become known as the Battle of the Chong Chon (River). This combat was some of the fiercest of the war, and the 2nd Division initiated a fighting withdrawal to the south. Koon and Tye were captured by Chinese forces during the intense enemy fire, and subsequently died while in captivity from malnutrition and medical neglect.
In 2002, two joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated and excavated a mass burial site located 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri, along the route taken by captured U.S. POWs being moved to permanent POW camps along the Yalu River. The teams recovered remains at the site believed to be those of several U.S. servicemen, including Koon and Tye.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Koon's and Tye's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Soldiers Missing from the Korean War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Cpl. Robert L. Mason of Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Pfc. Joseph K. Meyer Jr., of Wahpeton, N.D., both U.S. Army. Both men will be buried Saturday. Mason will be buried in Belpre, Ohio, and Meyer will be buried in Wahpeton.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Mason was assigned to B Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and Meyer was assigned to K Company, 31st Infantry Regiment. Both were attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December, 1950. Both men died as result of intense enemy fire, and their bodies were not recovered at the time.
Between 2001 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of several burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of several individuals, including Mason and Meyer.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Meyer's and Mason's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.
They are Cpl. Robert L. Mason of Parkersburg, W.Va.; and Pfc. Joseph K. Meyer Jr., of Wahpeton, N.D., both U.S. Army. Both men will be buried Saturday. Mason will be buried in Belpre, Ohio, and Meyer will be buried in Wahpeton.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Mason was assigned to B Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and Meyer was assigned to K Company, 31st Infantry Regiment. Both were attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from late November to early December, 1950. Both men died as result of intense enemy fire, and their bodies were not recovered at the time.
Between 2001 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of several burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of several individuals, including Mason and Meyer.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Meyer's and Mason's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Missing WWII Airmen are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 11 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Capt. Robert L. Coleman, of Wilmington, Del.; 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.; 2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.; Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.; Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.; and Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif; all U.S. Army Air Forces. The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
On Dec. 3, 1943, these men crewed a B-24D Liberator that departed Dobodura, New Guinea, on an armed-reconnaissance mission over New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea. The crew reported dropping their bombs on target, but in spite of several radio contacts with their base, they never returned to Dobodura. Subsequent searches failed to locate the aircraft.
In 2000, three Papua New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified and began planning an investigation. In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was. However, the witnesses could not relocate the site.
In 2004, the site was found about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua New Guinea where a JPAC team found an aircraft data plate that correlated to the 1943 crash.
Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.
Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Capt. Robert L. Coleman, of Wilmington, Del.; 1st Lt. George E. Wallinder, of San Antonio, Texas; 2nd Lt. Kenneth L. Cassidy, of Worcester, Mass.; 2nd Lt. Irving Schechner, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 2nd Lt. Ronald F. Ward, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tech. Sgt. William L. Fraser, of Maplewood, Mo.; Tech. Sgt. Paul Miecias, of Piscataway, N.J.; Tech. Sgt. Robert C. Morgan, of Flint, Mich.; Staff Sgt. Albert J. Caruso, of Kearny, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Robert E. Frank, of Plainfield, N.J.; and Pvt. Joseph Thompson, of Compton, Calif; all U.S. Army Air Forces. The dates and locations of the funerals are being set by their families.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
On Dec. 3, 1943, these men crewed a B-24D Liberator that departed Dobodura, New Guinea, on an armed-reconnaissance mission over New Hanover Island in the Bismarck Sea. The crew reported dropping their bombs on target, but in spite of several radio contacts with their base, they never returned to Dobodura. Subsequent searches failed to locate the aircraft.
In 2000, three Papua New Guineans were hunting in the forest when they came across aircraft wreckage near Iwaia village. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified and began planning an investigation. In 2002, a JPAC team traveled to Deboin Village to interview two individuals who said they knew where the crash site was. However, the witnesses could not relocate the site.
In 2004, the site was found about four miles from Iwaia village in Papua New Guinea where a JPAC team found an aircraft data plate that correlated to the 1943 crash.
Between 2004 and 2007, JPAC teams conducted two excavations of the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material including some crew-related artifacts such as identification tags.
Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Army Reservists Re-enlist to Mark 100th Anniversary
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 23, 2008 - One hundred Army Reserve soldiers representing every state in the union raised their hands today and re-enlisted on the U.S. Capitol steps during a ceremony marking the Army Reserve's 100th anniversary. Army Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, Army Reserve chief, and Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, his top enlisted soldier, administered the re-enlistment oath, marking the Army Reserve's century of service.
Later in the day, they'll lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the contributions and sacrifices Army Reserve soldiers have made. Afterward, they will honor today's Army Reserve soldiers by planting a tree and dedicating a plaque at Arlington.
Stultz noted the service Army Reservists have contributed since it was founded April 23, 1908, as a small strategic force. He called today's Army Reserve is an operational, expeditionary and domestic force that's an essential part of the Army.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the Army Reserve has mobilized more than 216,000 soldiers. Today, more than 26,000 Army reservists are deployed around the world, he said.
This weekend, Stultz will further honor the sacrifices they have made when he attends the funeral of Army Reserve Sgt. Matt Maupin. The 20-year-old soldier went missing outside Baghdad April 9, 2004, when his convoy came under attack. He had been listed as a prisoner of war after a videotape was released showing him in captivity.
The Army announced March 31 that Maupin's remains had been positively identified through DNA.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed condolences to Maupin's family. "Every single one of these (deaths) is a tragedy, both for the individual and for their families, but this has been especially difficult for the Maupin family because of not knowing for almost exactly four years," Gates told reporters traveling with him the day of the announcement.
Maupin was a 20-year-old private first class when he was captured. He was a member of 724th Transportation Company, from Bartonville, Ill., but was assigned to the 88th Regional Readiness Command for the deployment. He was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2006, his third promotion since his capture.
Stultz expressed appreciation for the commitment, selfless service and personal courage Army reservists have demonstrated as they put their lives on hold – and on the line – to defend the United States and its freedoms.
American Forces Press Service
April 23, 2008 - One hundred Army Reserve soldiers representing every state in the union raised their hands today and re-enlisted on the U.S. Capitol steps during a ceremony marking the Army Reserve's 100th anniversary. Army Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, Army Reserve chief, and Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, his top enlisted soldier, administered the re-enlistment oath, marking the Army Reserve's century of service.
Later in the day, they'll lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the contributions and sacrifices Army Reserve soldiers have made. Afterward, they will honor today's Army Reserve soldiers by planting a tree and dedicating a plaque at Arlington.
Stultz noted the service Army Reservists have contributed since it was founded April 23, 1908, as a small strategic force. He called today's Army Reserve is an operational, expeditionary and domestic force that's an essential part of the Army.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the Army Reserve has mobilized more than 216,000 soldiers. Today, more than 26,000 Army reservists are deployed around the world, he said.
This weekend, Stultz will further honor the sacrifices they have made when he attends the funeral of Army Reserve Sgt. Matt Maupin. The 20-year-old soldier went missing outside Baghdad April 9, 2004, when his convoy came under attack. He had been listed as a prisoner of war after a videotape was released showing him in captivity.
The Army announced March 31 that Maupin's remains had been positively identified through DNA.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed condolences to Maupin's family. "Every single one of these (deaths) is a tragedy, both for the individual and for their families, but this has been especially difficult for the Maupin family because of not knowing for almost exactly four years," Gates told reporters traveling with him the day of the announcement.
Maupin was a 20-year-old private first class when he was captured. He was a member of 724th Transportation Company, from Bartonville, Ill., but was assigned to the 88th Regional Readiness Command for the deployment. He was promoted to staff sergeant in August 2006, his third promotion since his capture.
Stultz expressed appreciation for the commitment, selfless service and personal courage Army reservists have demonstrated as they put their lives on hold – and on the line – to defend the United States and its freedoms.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Soldier Missing in Action from The Korean War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Sgt. Virgil L. Phillips, U.S. Army, of Columbus, Ind. He will be buried on April 19 in Loogootee, Ind.
Representatives from the Army met with Phillips' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Phillips was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then operating in Unsan, North Korea, near a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, parts of two Chinese Communist divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Phillips was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In 2003, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of Korea team (D.P.R.K.), led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site near the Camel's Head. The team recovered human remains and other material evidence. Information from the D.P.R.K. indicated that the remains were initially buried near the battle site, but were later moved to a location nearby because of construction in the area.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Phillips' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Sgt. Virgil L. Phillips, U.S. Army, of Columbus, Ind. He will be buried on April 19 in Loogootee, Ind.
Representatives from the Army met with Phillips' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Phillips was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then operating in Unsan, North Korea, near a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, parts of two Chinese Communist divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Phillips was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In 2003, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of Korea team (D.P.R.K.), led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site near the Camel's Head. The team recovered human remains and other material evidence. Information from the D.P.R.K. indicated that the remains were initially buried near the battle site, but were later moved to a location nearby because of construction in the area.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Phillips' remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Soldiers Missing From the Korean War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Capt. Edward B. Scullion of Norfolk, Va; and Pfc. Elwood D. Reynolds of Schoolfield, Va.; both U.S. Army. Reynolds will be buried April 18 in Danville, Va., and Scullion will be buried this summer in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Scullion's and Reynolds' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Both men were members of A Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1950. Both soldiers died in late November as result of intense enemy fire, but their bodies were not recovered at the time.
Between 2002 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of three burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of several other U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of 10 individuals, including Scullion and Reynolds.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Scullion's and Reynolds' identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Capt. Edward B. Scullion of Norfolk, Va; and Pfc. Elwood D. Reynolds of Schoolfield, Va.; both U.S. Army. Reynolds will be buried April 18 in Danville, Va., and Scullion will be buried this summer in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Scullion's and Reynolds' next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Both men were members of A Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1950. Both soldiers died in late November as result of intense enemy fire, but their bodies were not recovered at the time.
Between 2002 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of three burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of several other U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of 10 individuals, including Scullion and Reynolds.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Scullion's and Reynolds' identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Army Seeks DNA Samples from Families of MIA Soldiers
By Kristen Noel
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2008 - More than 6,300 families need to be located to collect DNA samples for the purpose of identifying missing soldiers from World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam, a U.S. Army official said yesterday. The military maintains a database of mitochondrial DNA samples from family members of missing-in-action soldiers in the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, Army Lt. Col. Julius Smith, chief of past conflict repatriation for Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs, said during a teleconference with online journalists and "bloggers."
Smith explained that the DNA samples help the Army identify missing soldiers' remains when they are uncovered, so they can be returned to the families.
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command continually sends anthropologists and forensic analysts to search past-conflict locations identified as potential recovery sites, provided the country where the conflict took place allows U.S. access.
Mitochondrial DNA is used for identification because it can be extracted from skeletal remains, which are the only kind of remains coming back from conflicts that happened more than 50 years ago, Linda Baublitz, chief of the Korean War section of the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch, explained.
The mitochondrial DNA source is passed only through the maternal line, Baublitz said, so the Army has to locate eligible donors from the mother's side of the missing soldiers' families.
The DNA samples are collected through an oral swab kit that is mailed to the donor, she said.
Baublitz also said the Army Past Conflict Repatriation Branch has launched an outreach program to try to locate more eligible donors from families of unaccounted-for soldiers from the Korean and Vietnam wars. Efforts to obtain family DNA samples for missing World War II soldiers are being handled on a case-by-case basis, Smith said.
The Army has a record of missing soldiers' next of kin from personnel files, Smith said, but the lapsed time has made it difficult to track down current information on family members.
"It's hard to keep in touch with (the families) now, because most of them ... are now getting older," Carolyn Floyd, the Southeast Asia section chief for the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch, said. "You're getting out of the line of having parents or wives."
Though contracted professional and amateur volunteer genealogists, as well as volunteers from veterans' groups, have helped the Army track down thousands of missing soldiers' families, Smith said, public input is needed to identify families with missing soldiers and to keep family records updated.
Smith explained that the Army provides lines of communication for the public to come forward with information. Families with unaccounted-for soldiers, or anyone who knows of a family with an unaccounted-for soldier, should contact the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch by calling 1-800-892-2490 or sending an e-mail to tapscper@conus.army.mil, he said.
"The information you provide can be the difference in an identification being made and a soldier coming home," Smith said.
(Kristen Noel works for the New Media branch of the American Forces Information Service.)
American Forces Press Service
March 19, 2008 - More than 6,300 families need to be located to collect DNA samples for the purpose of identifying missing soldiers from World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam, a U.S. Army official said yesterday. The military maintains a database of mitochondrial DNA samples from family members of missing-in-action soldiers in the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, Army Lt. Col. Julius Smith, chief of past conflict repatriation for Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs, said during a teleconference with online journalists and "bloggers."
Smith explained that the DNA samples help the Army identify missing soldiers' remains when they are uncovered, so they can be returned to the families.
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command continually sends anthropologists and forensic analysts to search past-conflict locations identified as potential recovery sites, provided the country where the conflict took place allows U.S. access.
Mitochondrial DNA is used for identification because it can be extracted from skeletal remains, which are the only kind of remains coming back from conflicts that happened more than 50 years ago, Linda Baublitz, chief of the Korean War section of the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch, explained.
The mitochondrial DNA source is passed only through the maternal line, Baublitz said, so the Army has to locate eligible donors from the mother's side of the missing soldiers' families.
The DNA samples are collected through an oral swab kit that is mailed to the donor, she said.
Baublitz also said the Army Past Conflict Repatriation Branch has launched an outreach program to try to locate more eligible donors from families of unaccounted-for soldiers from the Korean and Vietnam wars. Efforts to obtain family DNA samples for missing World War II soldiers are being handled on a case-by-case basis, Smith said.
The Army has a record of missing soldiers' next of kin from personnel files, Smith said, but the lapsed time has made it difficult to track down current information on family members.
"It's hard to keep in touch with (the families) now, because most of them ... are now getting older," Carolyn Floyd, the Southeast Asia section chief for the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch, said. "You're getting out of the line of having parents or wives."
Though contracted professional and amateur volunteer genealogists, as well as volunteers from veterans' groups, have helped the Army track down thousands of missing soldiers' families, Smith said, public input is needed to identify families with missing soldiers and to keep family records updated.
Smith explained that the Army provides lines of communication for the public to come forward with information. Families with unaccounted-for soldiers, or anyone who knows of a family with an unaccounted-for soldier, should contact the Past Conflict Repatriation Branch by calling 1-800-892-2490 or sending an e-mail to tapscper@conus.army.mil, he said.
"The information you provide can be the difference in an identification being made and a soldier coming home," Smith said.
(Kristen Noel works for the New Media branch of the American Forces Information Service.)
Friday, December 14, 2007
Airmen Missing in Action from Korean War are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Col. Douglas H. Hatfield, of Shenandoah, Va., and Capt. Richard H. Simpson, of Fairhaven, Mich., both U.S. Air Force. Funeral dates have not been set by the families.
On April 12, 1951, Hatfield and Simpson were two of eleven crewmembers on a B-29 Superfortress that left Kadena Air Base, Japan, to bomb targets in the area of Sinuiju, North Korea. Enemy MiG-15 fighters attacked the B-29, but before it crashed, three crewmembers were able to bail out. They were captured and two of them were later released in 1954 to U.S. military control during Operation "Big Switch." The third crewmember died in captivity. He and the eight remaining crewmembers were not recovered.
In 1993, the North Korean government turned over to the United Nations Command 31 boxes containing the remains of U.S. servicemen listed as unaccounted-for from the Korean War. Four sets of remains from this group were subsequently identified as crewmembers from the B-29.
In 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated an infantry fighting position in Kujang County where they recovered remains which included those of Hatfield and Simpson.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains recovered in 2000.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Col. Douglas H. Hatfield, of Shenandoah, Va., and Capt. Richard H. Simpson, of Fairhaven, Mich., both U.S. Air Force. Funeral dates have not been set by the families.
On April 12, 1951, Hatfield and Simpson were two of eleven crewmembers on a B-29 Superfortress that left Kadena Air Base, Japan, to bomb targets in the area of Sinuiju, North Korea. Enemy MiG-15 fighters attacked the B-29, but before it crashed, three crewmembers were able to bail out. They were captured and two of them were later released in 1954 to U.S. military control during Operation "Big Switch." The third crewmember died in captivity. He and the eight remaining crewmembers were not recovered.
In 1993, the North Korean government turned over to the United Nations Command 31 boxes containing the remains of U.S. servicemen listed as unaccounted-for from the Korean War. Four sets of remains from this group were subsequently identified as crewmembers from the B-29.
In 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated an infantry fighting position in Kujang County where they recovered remains which included those of Hatfield and Simpson.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains recovered in 2000.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Marine Missing From Korean War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Pfc. Donald M. Walker, U.S. Marine Corps, of Springfield, Ky. He will be buried Dec. 7 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Walker was assigned to the Service Company, 1st Service Battalion, of the 1st Marine Division deployed near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, three Communist Chinese divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south, first to Hagaru-ri, then Koto-ri, and eventually to defensive positions at Hungnam. Walker died on Dec. 7, 1950, as a result of enemy action near Koto-ri. He was buried by fellow Marines in a temporary United Nations military cemetery in Hungnam, which fell to the North Koreans in December 1950. His identity was later verified from a fingerprint taken at the time of the burial.
During Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of 2,944 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Included in this repatriation were remains associated with Walker's burial. The staff at the U.S. Army Mortuary in Kokura, Japan, however, cited suspected discrepancies between the biological profile from the remains and Walker's physical characteristics. The remains were among 416 from Operation Glory subsequently buried as "unknowns" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.
In April 2007, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed remains from The Punchbowl believed to be those of Walker. Although the remains did not yield usable DNA data, a reevaluation of the skeletal and dental remains led to Walker's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Pfc. Donald M. Walker, U.S. Marine Corps, of Springfield, Ky. He will be buried Dec. 7 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Walker was assigned to the Service Company, 1st Service Battalion, of the 1st Marine Division deployed near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, three Communist Chinese divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south, first to Hagaru-ri, then Koto-ri, and eventually to defensive positions at Hungnam. Walker died on Dec. 7, 1950, as a result of enemy action near Koto-ri. He was buried by fellow Marines in a temporary United Nations military cemetery in Hungnam, which fell to the North Koreans in December 1950. His identity was later verified from a fingerprint taken at the time of the burial.
During Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of 2,944 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Included in this repatriation were remains associated with Walker's burial. The staff at the U.S. Army Mortuary in Kokura, Japan, however, cited suspected discrepancies between the biological profile from the remains and Walker's physical characteristics. The remains were among 416 from Operation Glory subsequently buried as "unknowns" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.
In April 2007, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed remains from The Punchbowl believed to be those of Walker. Although the remains did not yield usable DNA data, a reevaluation of the skeletal and dental remains led to Walker's identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Soldier Missing from Korean War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is 1st Lt. Dixie S. Parker, U.S. Army, of Green Pond, Ala. He will be buried Dec. 6 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Parker's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
Parker was assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division then occupying a defensive position overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province, North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, Parker was killed in his foxhole while serving as a forward artillery observer. His body was not recovered.
In 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a site overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province where U.S. soldiers were believed to be buried. The team recovered human remains and non-biological evidence including Parker's identification tags and first lieutenant rank insignia.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Parker's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is 1st Lt. Dixie S. Parker, U.S. Army, of Green Pond, Ala. He will be buried Dec. 6 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Parker's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
Parker was assigned to Battery B, 8th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division then occupying a defensive position overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province, North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, Parker was killed in his foxhole while serving as a forward artillery observer. His body was not recovered.
In 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People's Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a site overlooking the Kuryong River in P'yongan-Pukto Province where U.S. soldiers were believed to be buried. The team recovered human remains and non-biological evidence including Parker's identification tags and first lieutenant rank insignia.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Parker's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Pilots Missing From The Vietnam War Are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified.
They are Maj. Robert F. Woods, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Capt. Johnnie C. Cornelius, of Maricopa County, Ariz., both U.S. Air Force. Cornelius was buried with full military honors on Nov. 10 in Moore, Texas, and Woods' burial is being set by his family.
On June 26, 1968, Woods and Cornelius were flying a visual reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, when their O-2A Skymaster aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area. The crew of another aircraft in the flight saw no parachutes and reported hearing no emergency beeper signals. Immediate search efforts were unsuccessful.
Between 1988 and 1993, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and surveyed the crash site. The team interviewed several Vietnamese citizens, two of whom turned over human remains and the pilots' identification tags.
Between 1994 and 1997, joint teams re-surveyed the site two times to find a landing location to support a helicopter and recovery team. During their survey, one team found additional wreckage and life-support material.
Between 2000 and 2004, joint teams excavated the site four times. They recovered additional human remains, personal effects and life support materials.
In 2006, a joint team interviewed two former North Vietnamese soldiers who recalled the crash. The soldiers said that Woods and Cornelius were buried near the crash site. In 2007, another joint team excavated the burial site identified by the Vietnamese soldiers. The team recovered additional human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Maj. Robert F. Woods, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Capt. Johnnie C. Cornelius, of Maricopa County, Ariz., both U.S. Air Force. Cornelius was buried with full military honors on Nov. 10 in Moore, Texas, and Woods' burial is being set by his family.
On June 26, 1968, Woods and Cornelius were flying a visual reconnaissance mission over Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, when their O-2A Skymaster aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous area. The crew of another aircraft in the flight saw no parachutes and reported hearing no emergency beeper signals. Immediate search efforts were unsuccessful.
Between 1988 and 1993, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and surveyed the crash site. The team interviewed several Vietnamese citizens, two of whom turned over human remains and the pilots' identification tags.
Between 1994 and 1997, joint teams re-surveyed the site two times to find a landing location to support a helicopter and recovery team. During their survey, one team found additional wreckage and life-support material.
Between 2000 and 2004, joint teams excavated the site four times. They recovered additional human remains, personal effects and life support materials.
In 2006, a joint team interviewed two former North Vietnamese soldiers who recalled the crash. The soldiers said that Woods and Cornelius were buried near the crash site. In 2007, another joint team excavated the burial site identified by the Vietnamese soldiers. The team recovered additional human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Airman Missing In Action From The Vietnam War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Capt. Stephen A. Rusch, U.S. Air Force, of Lambertville, N.J. He will be buried on Nov. 30 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On March 7, 1972, Rusch was the weapons systems officer in an F-4E Phantom II aircraft attacking enemy targets in Salavan Province, Laos. The plane was the number two aircraft in a flight of two. When Rusch's aircraft was cleared to begin its second run over enemy targets, the flight leader of the number one aircraft lost sight of Rusch's plane and observed enemy ground fire followed by a large explosion. An immediate search was begun, but all attempts to establish radio contact and later search efforts were unsuccessful.
In 1995, a joint U.S./Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and interviewed several Laotian citizens. The team surveyed the crash site identified by one of the citizens and found aircraft wreckage.
In 2001, a U.S. citizen, acting as an intermediary for a Laotian citizen, turned over to U.S. officials a bone fragment and a photocopy of Rusch's military identification tag. The bone fragment proved not to be from Capt. Rusch.
In 2002-2003, joint teams conducted two excavations of the crash site. The teams recovered human remains and non-biological evidence including U.S. coins and life support equipment.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Capt. Stephen A. Rusch, U.S. Air Force, of Lambertville, N.J. He will be buried on Nov. 30 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On March 7, 1972, Rusch was the weapons systems officer in an F-4E Phantom II aircraft attacking enemy targets in Salavan Province, Laos. The plane was the number two aircraft in a flight of two. When Rusch's aircraft was cleared to begin its second run over enemy targets, the flight leader of the number one aircraft lost sight of Rusch's plane and observed enemy ground fire followed by a large explosion. An immediate search was begun, but all attempts to establish radio contact and later search efforts were unsuccessful.
In 1995, a joint U.S./Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident and interviewed several Laotian citizens. The team surveyed the crash site identified by one of the citizens and found aircraft wreckage.
In 2001, a U.S. citizen, acting as an intermediary for a Laotian citizen, turned over to U.S. officials a bone fragment and a photocopy of Rusch's military identification tag. The bone fragment proved not to be from Capt. Rusch.
In 2002-2003, joint teams conducted two excavations of the crash site. The teams recovered human remains and non-biological evidence including U.S. coins and life support equipment.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Soldier Missing In Action From Korean War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified.
He is Sgt. Agostino Di Rienzo, U.S. Army, of East Boston, Mass.
Representatives from the Army met with Di Rienzo's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Di Rienzo was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea, in an area known as the "Camel's Head." On Nov. 1, 1950, parts of two Chinese Communist Forces divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Di Rienzo was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In 2002, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site south of Unsan near the nose of the "Camel's Head" formed by the joining of the Nammyon and Kuryong rivers. The team recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420
He is Sgt. Agostino Di Rienzo, U.S. Army, of East Boston, Mass.
Representatives from the Army met with Di Rienzo's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Di Rienzo was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea, in an area known as the "Camel's Head." On Nov. 1, 1950, parts of two Chinese Communist Forces divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Di Rienzo was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In 2002, a joint U.S.-Democratic People's Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site south of Unsan near the nose of the "Camel's Head" formed by the joining of the Nammyon and Kuryong rivers. The team recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420
Friday, November 09, 2007
Soldier Missing in Action from the Korean War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Cpl. Clem R. Boody, U.S. Army, of Independence, Iowa. His burial date and location are being set by his family.
Representatives from the Army met with Boody's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Boody was assigned to Headquarters Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, parts of two Chinese Communist Divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Boody was reported missing on Nov. 2, 1950 and was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In April 2007, the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (D.P.R.K.), acting through the intermediary of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, repatriated to the United States six boxes of human remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers. The D.P.R.K. reported that the remains were excavated in November 2006 near Unsan in North Pyongan Province.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Boody's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Cpl. Clem R. Boody, U.S. Army, of Independence, Iowa. His burial date and location are being set by his family.
Representatives from the Army met with Boody's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Boody was assigned to Headquarters Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea north of a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel's Head. On Nov. 1, parts of two Chinese Communist Divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division's lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Boody was reported missing on Nov. 2, 1950 and was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In April 2007, the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (D.P.R.K.), acting through the intermediary of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, repatriated to the United States six boxes of human remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers. The D.P.R.K. reported that the remains were excavated in November 2006 near Unsan in North Pyongan Province.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Boody's remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Navy Crew MIA From Vietnam War is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of five U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been accounted-for and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Lt. j.g. Norman L. Roggow, of Aurelia, Iowa; Lt. j.g. Donald F. Wolfe, of Hardin, Mont.; Lt. j.g. Andrew G. Zissu, of Bronx, N.Y.; Chief Petty Officer Roland R. Pineau, of Berkley, Mich.; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Raul A. Guerra, of Los Angeles, Calif.; all U.S. Navy. Pineau was buried on Oct. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. The dates and locations of the funerals for the other servicemen are being set by their families.
On Oct. 8, 1967, Zissu and Roggow were the pilots of an E-1B Tracer en route from Chu Lai Air Base, Vietnam, back to the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. Also on board were Wolfe, Pineau and Guerra. Radar contact with the aircraft was lost approximately 10 miles northwest of Da Nang, Vietnam. Adverse weather hampered immediate search efforts, but three days later, a search helicopter spotted the wreckage of the aircraft on the face of a steep mountain in Da Nang Province. The location, terrain and hostile forces in the area precluded a ground recovery.
In 1993 and 1994, human remains were repatriated to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) with information that linked the remains to unassociated losses in the same geographical area as this incident. Between 1993 and 2004, U.S/S.R.V. teams, all led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident more than 15 times in Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue Province.
Between 2004 and 2005, the joint teams surveyed and excavated the crash site where they recovered human remains and crew-related items. During the excavation in 2005, the on-site team learned that human remains may have been removed previously from the site. S.R.V. officials concluded that two Vietnamese citizens found and collected remains at the crash site, and possibly buried them near their residence in Hoi Mit village in Thua Thein-Hue Province. In 2006, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the suspected burial site in Hoi Mit village, but found no additional remains. In 2007, more remains associated with this incident were repatriated to the United States by S.R.V. officials.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1169.
They are Lt. j.g. Norman L. Roggow, of Aurelia, Iowa; Lt. j.g. Donald F. Wolfe, of Hardin, Mont.; Lt. j.g. Andrew G. Zissu, of Bronx, N.Y.; Chief Petty Officer Roland R. Pineau, of Berkley, Mich.; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Raul A. Guerra, of Los Angeles, Calif.; all U.S. Navy. Pineau was buried on Oct. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. The dates and locations of the funerals for the other servicemen are being set by their families.
On Oct. 8, 1967, Zissu and Roggow were the pilots of an E-1B Tracer en route from Chu Lai Air Base, Vietnam, back to the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. Also on board were Wolfe, Pineau and Guerra. Radar contact with the aircraft was lost approximately 10 miles northwest of Da Nang, Vietnam. Adverse weather hampered immediate search efforts, but three days later, a search helicopter spotted the wreckage of the aircraft on the face of a steep mountain in Da Nang Province. The location, terrain and hostile forces in the area precluded a ground recovery.
In 1993 and 1994, human remains were repatriated to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) with information that linked the remains to unassociated losses in the same geographical area as this incident. Between 1993 and 2004, U.S/S.R.V. teams, all led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated the incident more than 15 times in Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue Province.
Between 2004 and 2005, the joint teams surveyed and excavated the crash site where they recovered human remains and crew-related items. During the excavation in 2005, the on-site team learned that human remains may have been removed previously from the site. S.R.V. officials concluded that two Vietnamese citizens found and collected remains at the crash site, and possibly buried them near their residence in Hoi Mit village in Thua Thein-Hue Province. In 2006, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team excavated the suspected burial site in Hoi Mit village, but found no additional remains. In 2007, more remains associated with this incident were repatriated to the United States by S.R.V. officials.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ or call (703) 699-1169.
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