May 16, 2024

Personal Effects Provide Clues in Search for Missing WWII Airmen

A 25-member team from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is in the Normandy region of France searching for three missing airmen whose C-47A aircraft was presumably shot down by German anti-aircraft fire on D-Day, June 6, 1944.Air Force Master Sgt. Raul Castillo, the team's lead support investigator, or LSI, works closely with the scientific

May 9, 2024

DOD Team in France Searching for Missing WWII Airmen

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a C-47A aircraft from what was then U.S. Army Air Corps' 304th Troop Carrier Squadron, 442nd Troop Carrier Group, participated in the D-Day airborne operation in France.The aircraft carried a crew of five, along with 14 paratroopers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division.All 14 paratroopers exited the

April 23, 2024

DPAA Identifies Remains of Illinois National Guard Soldier from World War II

Springfield, Ill — Rosemary Dillon, of Chicago, was about five years old when her Uncle Harry, who was serving in the Illinois Army National Guard’s Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion, was activated for federal service, arriving in the Philippines just days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the next day, the Philippines.On Oct. 4, nearly 83 years after the

April 11, 2024

‘Another Way to Serve’ Says Defense Health Agency Volunteer on MIA Recovery Missions

Nearly 80 years after being declared missing in action during World War II, U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Henry L. Stevens, of Monroe, Alabama, has been identified.Stevens was accounted for on Sept. 15, 2023, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, following several recovery missions in Belgium by a team of volunteers with the

Jan. 29, 2024

DPAA completes first mission in the PRC since pandemic began

Honolulu, HI — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) completed a site survey in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Jan. 19, investigating two previously surveyed sites related to World War II aircraft losses.  The mission aimed to locate a C-47 Skytrain and a P-40 Warhawk that went missing. The team, consisting of seven members, visited the provinces

Oct. 19, 2023

Pacific teamwork seeks to bring heroes home

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Recovery efforts in Kwajalein Atoll began with a grassroots, volunteer organization known as the Kwajalein Missing in Action Project.At some point, nearly all of the KMP’s members have lived and worked at USAG Kwajalein Atoll, which currently has approximately 1,300 U.S. personnel, including active-duty military, Department of Defense civilians,

Sept. 6, 2023

Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians help to bring fallen American heroes home

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians not only safeguard U.S. troops from explosive hazards around the world but they also help to return America’s fallen heroes home to their families.Joint service EOD technicians serve as an integral part of the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and support investigation and recovery missions around the

July 9, 2023

DPAA undertakes recovery mission in Italy during 80th anniversary of Operation Husky

On July 10th, 1943, the Allied Powers prepared more than 3,000 ships, 150,000 ground troops, and 4,000 aircraft for a large-scale invasion of the island of Sicily, then controlled by the Nazi-led Axis Powers. Before sunrise, the massive assault would dismantle Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and become the first significant step in liberating

May 31, 2023

DPAA begins multi-year “Hellship” Accounting Project

WASHINGTON — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began the multi-year project to disinter the remains of 431 Unknowns that are associated with those lost on the Enoura Maru, a cargo ship used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II to transport prisoners of war (POWs).  Nearly 1000 service members are unaccounted for from this incident.The first

March 21, 2023

Framework Arrangement Enables First Survey Mission for Americans Missing from World War II in Indonesia

Arlington, VA — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) signed a Framework Arrangement with the Government of Indonesia March 21 that permits the first DPAA joint research and survey mission later this year of Americans missing from World War II in Indonesia. Concluding several years of coordination and multiple Secretary of Defense engagements, the two