Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Conducts First Ever Repatriation Ceremony at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Hernandez, Defense POW/MA Accounting Agency team sergeant, places the remains of the 100th U.S. Unknown DPAA disinterred during fiscal year 2026 while U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Castro, DPAA Operations Law noncommissioned officer-in-charge, and master of ceremony, renders a salute during the first-ever Repatriation Ceremony held at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines for U.S. personnel who were disinterred there, March 6, 2026. Currently, there are 71,783 U.S. personnel unaccounted for from World War II with approximately 10,000 missing in the Philippines, the largest total for any single country. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Lt. Col. George Tobias)