Feb. 16, 2021

Remains of 5 Vietnam War photojournalists killed in copter crash wait at Offutt for permanent burial (via Omaha World-Herald)

OMAHA, Nebraska — Fifty years ago this week, five international photojournalists covering the Vietnam War hopped a ride aboard a South Vietnamese army UH-1 helicopter. Their mission: to get a firsthand view of the Lam Son 719 campaign across the border into neighboring Laos, intended to cut off North Vietnamese supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh. The helicopter was

Feb. 9, 2021

300th service member killed aboard USS Oklahoma identified

The DefensePOW/MIA Accounting Agency says the 300th service member killed while serving aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, has been identified.Marine Corps Pfc. John F. Middleswart, 19, was accounted for on Jan. 28. His identification comes as a result of the ongoing USS Oklahoma Project.“When his identification came through,

Feb. 1, 2021

70 Korean War MIAs have been identified from remains released after 2018 Kim-Trump summit (via the Omaha World-Herald)

At an air base in Wonsan, Dr. Jennie Jin carefully examined each of the 55 cases, making sure each was secured and matched the paperwork she had been handed by North Korean authorities.Each case contained the bones of soldiers who died long ago in the Korean War, during a counterattack by U.S., South Korean and allied forces after Communist North

Jan. 29, 2021

Hundreds died on World War II ‘hell ships’. Now there’s an effort to identify the dead. (via the Washington Post)

On May 14, 1941, Manila’s Pier 7 was teeming with military family members saying goodbye to husbands and fathers and waiting to board the ocean liner that would take them away from the war looming in the Pacific.Three-year-old Nancy White and her pregnant mother, Chrystal, 31, were saying farewell to her father, Maj. Clarence H. White, 39, an Army

Jan. 27, 2021

Remains of Cleveland sailor killed in WWII identified, returned to the U.S.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) — CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) – Cleveland sailor, Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate Class Lada Smisek, will soon be laid to rest in America.The 42-year-old was serving at the Naval Ammunition Depot and Submarine Base in Cavite, Philippine Islands, when Japanese forces invaded in 1942. Smisek was taken prisoner in May and sent to a prisoner of war camp in the

Jan. 22, 2021

Phoenix sailor who died in Pearl Harbor attack brought home after remains identified

Nearly 80 years after he died in the Pearl Harbor attack, Phoenix sailor Carl Johnson was brought home on Tuesday so he could be buried in his hometown. A small group of Johnson's relatives gathered next to a plane at Sky Harbor International Airport as his remains, in a coffin adorned with an American flag, were carried by four Navy sailors from

Jan. 19, 2021

Unidentified GIs Who Died in Philippines Returned to Hawaii (via U.S. News & World Report)

The remains of some U.S. military personnel who died during World War II and were buried anonymously in the Philippines have been returned to Hawaii to try to determine their identities.The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency recently conducted an “honorable carry” ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for about 40 sets of unidentified remains,

Jan. 11, 2021

A sailor returns to Clay County, nearly 80 years later

Charles Alan Jones never made it back to Clay County.The 21-year-old was aboard the USS Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he was among the 429 crewmen who were killed when it capsized.His remains went unidentified for generations, but his name lived on in his hometown in Harvard.It lived on in his nephew, born 15 years later.

Dec. 16, 2020

Bringing Soldiers Home (via the Cal State Fullerton Titan)

When Nicole Rhoton's investigation team removed the top layer of dirt from a crash site in former East Germany, they immediately saw evidence of a full skeleton.The team decided to continue excavation until the remains were fully exposed, digging until 4 o’clock in the morning. The nearby town was overwhelmingly supportive, with the mayor and

Dec. 15, 2020

Editorial: Offutt lab uses science to show reverence for fallen service personnel (via the Omaha World-Herald)

"The scientific skill demonstrated at Offutt by Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency personnel is of the highest order. Just as important, Offutt staff members have won praise for their outreach to families in carrying out the complicated process of returning remains from far-flung locations." For the full story, visit the link below.