World War II Accounting

Korean-War

Since the renewal of U.S. POW/MIA recovery efforts in the 1970s, the remains of nearly 1,000 Americans killed in World War II have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. This number is in addition to the roughly 280,000 Americans whose remains were identified in a massive effort immediately after the war.

DPAA and our partners continue to build on over seventy years of investigative efforts with partner governments all over the world. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of WWII loss sites to collect evidence, investigate leads, and conduct excavations.

The Europe-Mediterranean Directorate, based in Washington, D.C., is responsible for all cases of missing personnel in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America (excluding Hawaii), South America, and Russia.

92nd Infantry Identification Project

The Indo-Pacific Directorate, based in Hawaii, is responsible for all cases of missing personnel in the Pacific region, China-Burma-India, northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and Hawaii.

Personnel Accounting Progress in Pearl Harbor

Personnel Accounting Cooperation with Japan

U.S. Casualties at Cabanatuan POW Camp #1

Tarawa

Buna

China Operations Total Each Category Identified
Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (2014) 1 0
Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (1975) 2 2
Remains recovered and repatriated through investigative and recovery operations since 1992 23 23
Total remains identified 1975 to present -- 25

Personnel Accounting Progress in China

U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs

Joint Commision Support Division

Through its Joint Commission Support Division (JCSD), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) provides administrative and analytic support to the U.S. Side of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC) and conducts research in Russia on missing U.S. service personnel. JCSD also assists the Government of Russia with efforts to account for its missing.

USRJC POW/MIAs

World War II
Facts & Figures

  • Dates
  • Dec. 7, 1941 – Dec. 31, 1946
  • Location
  • Global
  • Missing as of 1973*
  • 73677
  • Accounted For**
  • 1590
  • Unaccounted For
  • 72087
  • See Also: Defense Casualty Analysis System,
    World War II
  • *Casualty numbers are related to only those associated to our mission starting from 1973 to present and don't reflect the total number of missing from each conflict.
  • **To respect the next-of-kin, individuals are only displayed as “Accounted For” in the grids and case profiles when (1) DPAA has made the identification, and (2) the next-of-kin has been notified.
  • Numbers that are not associated with individual names will continue to update as soon as an identification has been made.
 

Search World War II Missing Personnel Profiles
 

World War II Accounting History

WW-II_memorial

At the war's end, American casualties remained unaccounted for around the globe, some where they had fallen, some in the depths of the oceans, and many in temporary cemeteries scattered throughout the world where battles occurred.

Following the war, the United States (U.S.) Government launched a global initiative called, "The Return of the World War II Dead Program," to locate aircraft crash sites, comb former battlefields for isolated graves, and disinter temporary military cemeteries around the globe. The U.S. Army created the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) to perform this task. Once remains had been recovered, they were transported to Central Identification Laboratories (CIL), where technicians confirmed or established identifications of more than 280,000 individuals. The identified missing personnel were then buried according to the wishes of their next of kin. The program operated from 1945 to 1951, working until all known leads were exhausted. The Army program was a worldwide endeavor employing approximately 13,000 personnel, and costing $163.8 million in wartime dollars.

After the end of the official program for returning the dead of WWII, the U.S. Army Mortuary system continued to recover and identify smaller numbers of WWII missing personnel. These identifications stemmed largely from reports of remains discovered by the citizens of the countries where the casualties occurred. Upon receipt of such a report, a mortuary team would investigate, recover, and identify the remains. As a result, more than 200 additional missing personnel were identified between 1951 and 1976.

After 1976, the task of recovering and identifying the remains of WWII missing personnel fell largely to the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii (CILHI). From 1976 to 2003, that organization sent recovery teams into the field using anthropologists and odontologists to identify an additional 346 individuals. In 2003, CILHI merged with Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) to form the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Command (JPAC). JPAC accounted for an additional 300 individuals.

In 2003, historians at the Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) began to develop a comprehensive database of WWII missing personnel whose remains were not recovered or identified after the war. This database was a significant step in creating a comprehensive plan to research WWII missing personnel.

Historians from DPMO were primarily responsible for answering questions from family members about missing personnel from World War II until January 2010 and the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2010. Responding to this law, the Department of Defense expanded World War II accounting efforts to more proactive case development. Historians and analysts at DPMO collaborated with JPAC in researching, investigating, and nominating for recovery the cases of U.S. casualties still missing from WWII.

 

Explore World War II Incidents

Temp Image

Battle of Tarawa
Tarawa
Temp Image

Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
 

How You Can Help

To learn about how you can submit documentation about a case, send us your loved one’s photo, contact your Service Casualty Officer, or help in any other way, please click here.