HAWAII –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the University of Hawaii signed an Education Partnership Agreement on Aug. 19, 2025, establishing a collaboration that advances DPAA’s critical mission of identifying missing U.S. personnel while expanding educational and research opportunities for students and faculty.
“Today, we celebrate the beginning of an important new partnership between the University of Hawai‘i and DPAA,” said UH President Wendy Hensel. “One that will strengthen science and technology education, expand training and research opportunities, and open new career pathways for our students.”
The agreement grants UH students and faculty unprecedented access to DPAA’s world-class forensic laboratories and cutting-edge equipment. Students will gain hands-on experience through internships and research projects, while faculty will collaborate on fieldwork and advanced scientific studies.
Hensel noted the partnership builds on years of collaboration between UH and DPAA, including efforts to strengthen Cambodia’s archaeological workforce and the creation of isotopic databases to better identify Asian American service members missing from World War II and the Korean War.
DPAA Director Kelly McKeague emphasized how the partnership adds to the agency’s 130 existing academic and scientific affiliations.
“By mutual benefit, DPAA gains the extraordinary capabilities of the UH system—such as isotope analysis—to help us find more missing Americans and bring them home to their families.”
McKeague underscored the scope of DPAA’s mission, noting that more than 37,000 U.S. service members remain unaccounted for.
“Those aren’t just numbers,” he said. “Each case is challenged by time and the environmental degradation of remains. Yet each one represents a promise we must keep.”
He illustrated the humanitarian impact by recalling the identification of U.S. Army Pfc. Roland Bowser, who died in a North Korean POW camp and was buried this summer at Arlington National Cemetery—75 years later.
“His 89-year-old brother and 77-year-old sister buried him two weeks ago,” McKeague said. “Despite waiting decades, his sister told us she never lost hope.”
“Through this educational partnership agreement, thank you to the University of Hawaii system for contributing to that hope,” McKeague concluded.