DoD Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker
Elizabeth Jones-Ohree lays a hand on the casket of her brother, Pfc. William "Hoover" Jones, Aug. 22, 2019 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington D.C.. In November 1950, Jones was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, engaged in attacks against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near Pakchon, North Korea. On Nov. 26, 1950, after his unit made a fighting withdrawal, he was reported missing in action. The U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were reported as non-recoverable.
On June 12, 2018, President Donald Trump met with North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. The leaders signed a joint statement, including a commitment to return the remains American service members lost in North Korea.
On July 27, 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Jones’ remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA), Y-chromosome (Y-STR) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis, dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA's next Family Member Update will be held in Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2019.
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U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Erik Cardenas
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael O’Neal, forensic photographer, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, documents excavation procedures during a recovery mission Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands, June 25, 2019. DPAA team members deployed to the area in hopes in recovering Marines unaccounted for from the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Leah Ferrante
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency service members participate in a disinterment ceremony held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 5, 2019. The ceremony was part of DPAA’s efforts to disinter the remains of unknown service members lost during the Korean War.
U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery
Marines from the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. (8th and I); “The President’s Own” Marine Band; and The 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson Platoon; conduct military funeral honors with funeral escort for U.S. Marine Corps. Sgt. Meredith Keirn in Section 55 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Aug. 8, 2019.
In late November, 1950, Keirn was a light machinegun section leader for Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was reported to have been killed Nov. 30, 1950 while defending a hill overlooking the Toktong Pass, a critical main supply route between the villages of Hagaru-ri and Yudam-ni, North Korea. His remains were reportedly buried at the base of “Fox Hill,” in the Toktong Pass, but they could not be recovered following the war.
In August 2015, a South Korean citizen turned over remains believed to be U.S. servicemen from the Korean War. The remains were turned over to the U.S. Forces Korea Mortuary Affairs Office in Yongsan Garrison, Seoul, South Korea, which were subsequently turned over to DPAA.
To identify Keirn’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Next Generation Sequencing and mitochondrial (mtDNA), Y-chromosome (Y-STR) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis, anthropological analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence.
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael O'Neal
From left, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Valent P. Bernat III, Sgt. 1st. Class Christopher Krogman, and Capt. Spencer Roberts, all from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, prepare to lay a wreath during the 77th anniversary memorial service commemorating the landing of U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal, Honiara, Solomon Islands, Aug, 7, 2019. DPAA members laid a wreath in honor of those who lost their lives serving at Guadalcanal.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter
More than 500 family members gathered on August 2 for the closing day of the 2019 Korean War and Cold War Annual Government Briefings held in Arlington, Va. The two-day event was presented by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, along with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and the Service Casualty Offices, to provide the latest information to family members of Department of Defense unaccounted for from the two conflicts.
U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt Jamarius Fortson
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver provides an update to more than 500 family members gathered on August 1 for the first day of the 2019 Korean War and Cold War Annual Government Briefings. The two-day meeting is held each year by Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to provide information to families of U.S. personnel missing from those two conflicts.
U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter
Lee Byoung Goo, Vice Minister of the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, left, and Lee Namwoo, Deputy Minister of the Republic of Korea's Office of Personnel and Welfare, right, lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery during a ceremony held on July 31. The two South Korean officials and members of their staffs were in the Washington D.C. area to attend the 2019 Korean War and Cold War Annual Government Briefings. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, along with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and Service Casualty Offices, conducts the government briefings annually for families of Americans who are missing from the Korean War and Cold War conflicts. This event is designed to keep family members informed of the U.S. Government's worldwide mission to account for those still missing and to discuss in detail the latest information available about their specific cases.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Amara Timberlake
DPAA Director Kelly McKeague speaks at the 120th Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, July 23, 2019. Thousands of VFW and Auxiliary delegates gather each year to represent the organizations total membership of more than 1.6 million at the weeklong convention.
U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter
U.S. Army Spc. Julio Melendez, assigned to 7th Engineer Dive Detachment, 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, dredges a unit during underwater recovery operations off the coast of Halong Bay, Vietnam, June 14, 2019. The recovery effort was conducted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to locate service members who went missing during the Vietnam War. DPAA conducts global search, recovery and laboratory operations to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.