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Photo by Kelly McKeague
A Soldier from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) marches with the POW/MIA flag behind the caisson carrying the remains of Army Sgt. James E. Smith, Jr., who died during the Korean War, during Smith's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery April 12, 2021. In late 1950, Smith was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 25, 1950, when enemy forces attacked his unit near Kujang-dong, North Korea. Following the war, several returned American prisoners of war reported that Smith had died in January 1951, in the vicinity of Pukchin-Tarigol, a temporary prisoner of war camp. Smith was accounted for from remains recovered during a 2005 Joint Recovery Operation in North Korea and from remains repatriated to the U.S. after the 2018 summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
On Tuesday, April 7th, DPAA hosted three ceremonies to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the loss of seven of our teammates (three Soldiers, three Airmen, and one Sailor) and nine Vietnamese personnel who were killed in an MI-17 helicopter crash in Vietnam while conducting advance work for a Joint Field Activity. These ceremonies were held at the memorial near the crash site in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, in the POW/MIA Corridor at the Pentagon, and on Heroes' Green at the DPAA facility in Hawaii.
The ceremonies at the Pentagon and Hawaii were livestreamed. You can watch the recordings at our Facebook page or at one of other the links below.
Photo by Maj. Eric Richards
Le Chi Dung (center), the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) Director, Nguyen Hong Quang (right), the VNOSMP Deputy Director, and Ritu Tariyal (left), from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), listen as Dr. Gregory Berg, DPAA’s DNA Lab Manager, delivers remarks on the role of the DPAA laboratory in identifying American MIAs. Berg's presentation was part of the Scientific Workshop on DNA Identification of Human Remains from War, organized by the VNOSMP and USAID in Vietnam to improve Vietnam's internal capabilities for identifying their missing war dead.
Photo by Army Staff Sgt. Michael O'Neal
Army Sgt. 1st Class Shane Johnston-Fisher, a DPAA Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EOD) augmentee, searches for loose metal at an excavation site in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 13, as part of a 142nd Joint Field Activity (JFA) recovery team. The 142nd JFA is DPAA's first organic recovery and investigation mission to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam since the COVID-19 pandemic began to restrict travel more than a year ago. Our teams maintain the strictest safety and health standards while continuing our noble mission.