Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

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To view this year's National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremonies on demand, visit www.dpaa.mil/livestreams

DPAA remembers POW/MIA Recognition Day

Distinguished guest, Mr. Ray Kapaun, nephew to Medal of Honor Recipient U.S. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Joseph Kapaun, gives a speech during the National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony hosted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Sept. 16, 2022. The event is held every year on the third Friday of September, honoring prisoners of war and missing-in-action service members. DPAA’s mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and our nation. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael O’Neal)

WWII Medal of Honor Recipient finally laid to rest

Soldiers from the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson Platoon prepares U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col Addison E. Baker's casket for caisson.

U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Addison E. Baker, killed during World War II and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, was accounted for on April 8, 2022. Baker was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on Sept. 14, 2022.

In the summer of 1943, Baker was the commander of the 328th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, Baker was piloting a B-24 Liberator bomber during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest World War II bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. During its bombing run, his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed, but not before he dropped his bombs on the target and avoided crashing into the other B-24s in his formation. Baker’s remains were not identified following the crash. Remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.

Baker’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

DPAA updates families in Colorado

Ms. Kristin Bukovec, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Acting Quality Assurance manager, gives a brief during a Family Member Update (FMU) in Denver, Colorado, Sept. 10, 2022. Bukovec spoke on the recovery and identification process DPAA goes through in order to successfully identify missing service members. This was one of many formal presentations, question and answer sessions, and one-one-one discussions designed to keep family members informed of DPAA’s mission to account for those still missing while addressing their individual needs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Blake Gonzales)

Tech Talks bring renewed partnerships in Laos

Mr. Mayboua XAYAVONG, Director General of Americas Department for Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Darius Banaji, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) deputy director for operations, sign a Memorandum for Record (MFR) during Technical Talks on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sept. 8, 2022. Technical talks are a brief between representatives of the DPAA and Lao People's Democratic Republic, aimed to discuss continued joint field operations throughout the country for the upcoming year, address policy and operational initiatives, and explore how to increase mission effectiveness and efficiency to account for U.S. personnel who are still missing. The MFR is the official document allowing the DPAA mission to continue on the search to recover the remaining 285 Americans still missing in action in Laos. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ariel Owings)

Panama Mission Update

Members of the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), receive a resupply during a recovery operation in Santa Fe National Park, Panama Sept. 7, 2022. DPAA will be conducting recovery operations in Panama in hopes of finding missing naval aircrew members lost during a training flight in 1985. DPAA's mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and our nation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Zachary T. Beatty)

STORIES & RELEASES

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Puopolo, J.) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph J. Puopolo, 19, of East Boston, Massachusetts, who died as a prisoner of Story

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Solis, A.) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Adelaido M. Solis, 19, of Inez, Texas, who died as a prisoner of war during the Story

Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Collier, G.) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Garland W. Collier, 25, of Coleman, Texas, killed during World War II, was Story

Airman Accounted For From World War II (Carney, R.) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy Carney, 20, of Electra, Texas, killed during World War II, Story

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Whatley, I.) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Ithiel E. Whatley, 19, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was Story

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DPAA IN THE NEWS

“The goal is for us to go out of business.” On the third floor of a beautiful, renovated building in Oahu, Hawaii, is a lab full of tables, Story

WAVY- Missing, but never forgotten: A Virginia Beach son comes home To view this story in its original format, visit Story

Nearly 80 years after his death, WWII soldier’s remains identified, sent home to Kansas To view the story in its original format, visit Story

Students, Faculty To Conduct Second Forensic Archaeology Field School In Germany At Site Of World War II Airplane Crash (via Indiana University of Pennsylvania) For the second year, Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Anthropology has been Story

U.S. Air Force lieutenant killed on D-Day laid to rest in Normandy "with full military honors" nearly 80 years later (via CBS News) A 23-year-old who was killed during the World War II invasion of Normandy has been laid to rest Story

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