THE 

QUEST

Fall 2015 

FULFILLING OUR NATION’S PROMISE

Vol.1, No. 2
Happy Holidays! Since our last edition of The Quest, published in late 

July, DPAA has accounted for 27 of our missing, as well as conducted 15 

missions worldwide with 26 recovery teams and eight investigation teams. 

We are hard at work to fulfill our mission to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.

In addition to our ongoing field operations, we were also encouraged by the participation of so many family members and Veterans Service Organizations at multiple outreach events over the last few months, including visits from the new VFW 

National Leadership in our Crystal City offices, the Korean/Cold War Annual 

meeting in D.C. with 324 family members attending, participation in the American Legion National Convention in Baltimore, Md., and Family Member Updates 

in Norfolk, Va., and Portland, Maine. I also had occasion to update dozens of congressional members and staffers on our mission, and provided answers for numerous constituent issues.

Last month I released the DPAA Strategic Initiatives and Approach document. This overarching strategy 

document broadly defines the way we will accomplish our mission. One of the initiatives we are aggressively 

pursuing is to establish relationships with a number of partners who will serve as force multipliers for DPAA. 

We are currently working on strategic partnerships and arrangements with various academic institutions and 

other groups and continue to build on our existing relationships with Non-Government Organizations such 

as History Flight, Bent Prop and other archeological organizations around the world. In addition, our new 

European-Mediterranean Regional Director, Army Col. Chris Forbes, just returned from a visit to a number 

of European countries where he is soliciting new support of multi-national investigations and creating strategic partnerships across Europe, including a military-to-military partnership mission in Ukraine for a WW II 

crash site excavation.

Our new organizational structure is getting closer to completion through the cooperative effort of our directors and our staff. One key addition to our team is the Principal Director of DPAA, Mrs. Fern Winbush, a 

newly-minted member of the Defense Department’s Senior Executive Service. Mrs. Winbush is an executive 

of proven ability, experience, and excellence in Policy and Operations, Outreach and Communications, and 

Business Development – and is the perfect fit to lead our D.C. office. I’ve known Mrs. Winbush for many 

years, and DPAA is very fortunate to have her joining our team. Once all of our personnel decisions are finalized, our accounting agency will be at Full Operational Capability, “FOC” -- as mandated by the Secretary of 

Defense’s memo of March 2014 -- in just a few weeks.

Today marks the start of my 5th month on the job, and I’m incredibly enthusiastic and optimistic about where 

we are going as the Defense Department’s newest defense agency. I’ve been to all of our operating detachments world wide, to our three labs (Hawaii, Omaha, and Dayton), and to investigation/recovery sites in Europe and Southeast Asia. At all locations, I’ve met professional military and civilian employees committed to 

our mission and dedicated to the families of those we serve. As a new agency still in transition, I want everyone to know that our entire team is dedicated to improvement and the success of this mission going forward.

Fulfilling our Nation’s Promise!

THE DIRECTOR’S NOTES On Sept. 22, 2015, Maj. 

Gen. Kelly McKeauge was 

awarded the Defense 

Superior Service Medal by 

Mr. Michael Linnington, 

for his service as 

Commander of JPAC. 

Following the award, Brig. 

Gen. Mike Spindler was 

welcomed and gave

remarks as he assumed the 

role of Deputy Director of 

DPAA.

USMC Photo by Sgt. Eric 

M. LaClair/Released

RECENTLY ACCOUNTED FOR

As of Nov. 30, 2015

WWII

Pvt. John H. Klopp, USA

Cpl. Roger Keith Nielson, USMC

Pfc. James Patrick Reilly, USMC

Cpl. James Dimitri Otto, USMC

1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, USMC

Pvt. Robert Junior Carter, USMC

Pvt. Earl J. Keating, USA

Capt. Arthur Ernest Halfpapp, USAAF

KOREA

Cpl. Charles Edward Ivey, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Dean Dee Chaney, USA

Cpl. Martin Allen King, USA

Cpl. Roger Virgil Witt, USA

Cpl. Robert Perry Graham, USA

Cpl. George Hubert Mason, USA

Cpl. Wilson Meckley, Jr., USA

Sgt. Christopher Y. Vars, USA

Pfc. George Letell Rights, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Reager, USA

Cpl. Grant Harry Ewing, USA

Cpl. Robert Earl Meyers, USA

Pfc. Frank Worley, USA

Sgt. Billy Joe Williams, USA

Cpl. Charles Edward Ivey, USA

Cpl. George Paul Grifford, USA

SEA

1st Lt. Stanely Garwood Johnson, USMC

Sgt. 1st Class Billy David Hill, USA

Staff Sgt. Kenneth Leroy Cunningham, USA
A REWARDING

PARTNERSHIP

by Spc. Crystal Madriz

I

n Italy, a group of volunteers driv-

en by pride for their homeland and 

the history that rests there travel the 

country in search of warplane crashes 

and other potential missing in action 

(MIA) incidents. Known as Archeologi 

dell’Aria, or Archaeologists of the Air, 

they tirelessly embark on their volunteer 

mission to find what remains of the lost 

aircraft of World War II.

With such closely aligned missions, Ar-

cheologi dell’Aria partnered with the

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

(DPAA) archaeologists for the first time,

creating what will be the first of many

strategic partnerships with similarly-

minded organizations. Such partnerships 

create force multipliers

enabling the agency to expand its

capacity and capabilities to carry out its

mission worldwide.

“What amazes those of us who have vol-

unteered to help the DPAA, is that they

have the uncanny ability to maintain such

professionalism without losing their hu-

manity,” said Enzo Lanconelli, a volunteer

with Archeologi dell’Aria.

Missing since May 12, 1944, 1st Lt. 

Robert L. McIntosh was last seen fly-

ing his P-38 into thick cloud cover near 

Imola, Italy, and was declared dead by 

the War Department on Nov. 7, 1945. In 

an attempt to locate his remains, in-

vestigations of grave registrations were 

conducted in the vicinity of Imola follow-

ing World War II. These investigations 

proved unsuccessful.

A team from Archeologi dell’Aria locat-

ed a potential World War II crash site in 

2013 near Santa Cristina, Italy. In August 

of that year, the team uncovered air-

craft wreckage, including a portion of a 

20mm machine gun with a serial number 

matching the one installed on McIntosh’s 

P-38. A single bone fragment was also 

recovered from the site and was sent to 

the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, 

who identified McIntosh through the use 

of mitochondrial DNA analysis.

In August 2015, the agency deployed a 

13-member recovery team from Hawaii 

to join the Italian team to fully excavate 

the location. The hard work and dedica-

tion between the Italians and Americans 

made this mission a great success, bring-

ing home personal effects and biological 

material evidence recovered from the site.

Through working with each other, mem-

bers of DPAA created such a strong bond 

with the Archeologi dell’Aria team 

that the resulting relationship was char-

acterized by dependability, dedication, 

and friendship, according to forensic an-

thropologist and DPAA recovery leader, 

Dr. Paul Emanovsky.

“One of the volunteers even went so far 

as to take a month of unpaid leave just so 

he could lend his assistance to the mis-

sion,” Emanovsky said.

The McIntosh family has always hoped 

for the recovery and return of remains to 

be buried at home. Thanks to the part-

nership between the DPAA and Arche-

ologi dell’Aria, the surviving members of 

McIntosh’s family will finally be able to 

lay him to rest on American soil.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Archeologi 

dell’Aria team, McIntosh’s three sisters 

may finally get the closure that they have 

been waiting over seventy years for,” said 

Josh Frank, research analyst with DPAA. 

“His identification is a direct result of 

their [Archeologi dell’Aria’s] hard work 

and passion, and I am looking forward 

to working with them to hopefully locate 

and identify other missing Americans in 

Italy.”

Personnel assigned to and working with the Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting Agency conduct recovery 

operations as part of a DPAA mission in Rimini, 

Italy, Aug. 18, 2015. DPAA’s mission is to provide the 

fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel 

to their families and the nation. (U.S. Navy photo by 

PO1 Vladimir Potapenko/Released)
Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Clifford Bailey

Photos by Sgt. Richard Dewitt & Cpl. John Tran

The third Friday of September each year, the nation pauses to remember those who fought for liberty but whose fates remain unknown. Over 80,000 service members 

remain unaccounted for from America’s past conflicts, and on 

Sept. 18, 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

(DPAA) held a ceremony to recognize the missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

For the last 40 years the U.S. government has been searching 

for Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action. DPAA carries out that mission.

“Some of our service members, our civilians, and their families have made the ultimate sacrifice. To keep our commitment to them, Defense Department personnel travel all around the world, working in quiet archives, remote field 

sites, and cutting-edge forensic labs,” Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in his remarks at the ceremony in Washington.

Hundreds gathered at the cemetery to remember those still missing and those that were prisoners of war. Mr. Jim 

Horton, the cemetery director, welcomed everyone with warm remarks, followed then by Capt. Edward Reedy, the 

DPAA Medical Examiner, who gave remarks on behalf of the agency, reflecting on the mission of searching for, recovering, identifying, and returning the remains of missing Americans to their families.

Mr. Horton urged the audience, in regards to the challenge of the accounting effort, to “go forward and let people understand and know that this battle is going on, this battle is not going to stop, that we will not rest until those POWs 

and MIAs are accounted for.”

The keynote speaker was Mr. Mark L. Stephensen II, the Vice Chairman of the National League of POW/MIA Families. His father, Col. Mark L. Stephensen, USAF, was classified MIA after being shot down over North Vietnam in 

April 1967. However, his navigator, Capt. Gary Sigler, survived and was held as a POW for six years until his release. 

Meanwhile, Col. Stephensen’s remains had been recovered and held by the North Vietnamese government until April 

1988, when they were unilaterally repatriated to and identified by the then Central Identification Laboratory – Hawaii. 

“I met the forensic dentist who helped make the I.D. during the 

board trip here to Hickam. We visited the lab and he took me 

aside and he viewed dad’s post-mortem x-rays with me. He was 

as sure as he could be that they had identified my dad’s remains,” 

Mr. Stephensen said, recounting his time visiting the then-Joint 

Task Force Full Accounting Lab and learning of the identification of his father’s remains.

Following Mr. Stephensen’s remarks, the names of those who 

have been accounted for since the previous National POW/MIA 

Recognition Day were read aloud. DPAA has accounted for 69 

missing Americans since September 2014. A 21-gun salute and 

the playing of Taps concluded the ceremony.

For some, like Ron Lockwood of the Veterans of Foreign Wars 

Post 8616 out of Waikiki, it was their first time attending such an event. “It’s pretty inspiring,” he said. “I will be telling 

members of my post we need to be here next year...presenting a wreath.” Mr. Lockwood served in the Vietnam conflict.

Gary Chamberlin, also a Vietnam veteran, has been attending the ceremony for 10 years now. “It’s a worthy cause I want 

to stay involved with,” Chamberlin said. “It’s very deep because I’ve got very close friends who are still missing. Every 

time I come, I listen to the names and hope that some of them will come back.”

Mr. Stephensen has been involved with the accounting effort since 1984.

“It’s an issue that continues to need emphasis,” said Stephensen. “We have a lot of competing national priorities.”

He said he appreciates the efforts heretofore, and points out it’s not just a matter of funding, but also continuity of leadership.

“We see with the current reorganization very positive things coming out of it,” said Stephensen. “We’re hoping that 

indeed there will be renewed emphasis on this type of area and that all those countries that have opened themselves and 

are asking for more cooperation, that our government can step up and do that.”

NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY
FINALLY

HOME

Story by Spc. Crystal Madriz

Photos by Cpl. Sara Graham

After more than 70 years, the grandson of one of our nation’s most celebrated war heroes, received the closure his family has long sought.

As war gripped the world for a second time, America’s armed forces fought as much for the cause

of freedom and liberty as they were for the men battling alongside them. Among them was 1st Lt.

Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., a combat engineer providing

support during the Battle of Tarawa.

After hours of fighting the morning of Nov. 22, 1943,

Bonnyman led a small engineering team to capture a

bunker where Japanese soldiers were hiding. As the

Japanese rushed out to defend their position, Bonnyman

repelled the enemy with a flamethrower, giving his men

the time needed to set crucial demolition charges.

Once emptied, Bonnyman discarded the flamethrower

and led a charge against the oncoming forces armed only with his rifle. While this act of valor proved

successful, he was mortally wounded in the siege. He was posthumously

awarded the Medal of Honor for his

actions that day in November.

Undaunted, Bonnyman’s men continued the charge until the bunker was theirs. After gaining the

position, the Marines broke the Japanese hold on Red Beach and pushed east. The next afternoon, all

resistance stopped and the battle on Betio Island was over.

Bonnyman’s remains, along with many others killed in action during the battle, were not 

recovered as their burial trench was lost at that 

time. 

In June 2015, the Defense POW/MIA

Accounting Agency (DPAA) was notified by 

History Flight, Inc. that they

had unearthed a burial trench on Betio

Island and had recovered the remains of

approximately 35 U.S. Marines that were

buried there, including those of Bonnyman.

Seventy-two years later, this Marine was

finally coming home.

“I definitely had tears in my eyes thinking about my great grandparents, who lost their son, and

my mom and aunt, who lost their father,” said Clay Bonnyman Evans, following the news of his

grandfather’s recovery and ultimate identification.

“This is not only about our family putting an end to the war, but it is also about the Marines not

leaving anyone behind.”

1st Lt. Alexander J. Bonnyman, Jr. in an undated photo.
After four days of intense 

fighting, the Battle of 

Tarawa was over. Spanning 

from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23, 1943, the 

battle saw U.S. Sailors, Marines and 

Soldiers fight valiantly to secure 

possession of the tiny island from 

the Japanese.

Though only a small atoll in the 

Gilbert Islands, Tarawa held significant strategic value in the Pacific during World War II. Military leaders saw Tarawa as a bridge to setting up 

forward air bases that could support operations that covered the Philippines and even Japan. By taking Tarawa, 

the U.S. could further attack and seize the Marshall Islands and then the Mariana Islands, eventually securing 

the territory needed to establish those all-important forward air bases, and thus take advantage in the war in the 

Pacific.

The invasion of Tarawa was the largest assembly of forces to that point for any single operation in the Pacific 

theater. In all, more than 100 ships, including aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers and cruisers, and 35,000 

men, comprised partly from the 2nd Marine Division and the Army’s 27th Infantry Division, were charged with 

taking the atoll through an amphibious assault. While previous amphibious landings had been met with little to 

no resistance from the Japanese, the Battle of Tarawa saw the U.S. face serious opposition for the first time.

Understanding Tarawa’s significance, the Japanese had spent the previous year fortifying the atoll against attack. 

With numerous pill-boxes featuring heavy guns and other such reinforcements, the 4,500 Japanese troops stationed on the island were well equipped and prepared to face assault from an American force. This level of preparation meant that the ensuing battle would be a costly one for both sides.

In all, the U.S. lost more than 1,000 troops, with another 2,000 wounded. Though such losses had been experienced in the Pacific before Tarawa, none had come quite so quickly, as the bulk of those killed came within 72 

hours of the initial attack.

The Battle of Tarawa saw many Americans pay the ultimate sacrifice; however, their deaths were not in vain.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander in the Pacific, said “the capture of Tarawa knocked down the front 

door to the Japanese defenses in the Central Pacific.” Without Tarawa, the Pacific might never have been won.

Of those killed on Tarawa, nearly 500 men are still 

unaccounted for. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency (DPAA), together with non-governmental 

organizations such as History Flight, is working to 

locate, recover and identity these men. DPAA has a 

highly skilled staff of analysts in its research and analysis section working to locate the graves of the men 

who fought at Tarawa. One such person is Lyle Otineru, a DPAA historian.

Otineru has a history of military service in his family, 

with his father, several uncles and even a brother serving as Marines. He understands the historical signifiTHE HARROWING

TALE OF TARAWA 

 Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Vladimir Potapenko

 Photos provided by DPAA Research & Analysis Group

cance of what the Marines accomplished on Tarawa, and the significance of bringing back the remains of

those who fought so bravely to secure the atoll.

While the process of bringing home those still left on Tarawa is arduous and filled with challenges, Otineru sees 

hope that recent accomplishments by the accounting community will lead to greater numbers of Tarawa identifications.

“I am hoping with the location of Cemetery 27 by History Flight, we will gain momentum; success has a way of 

leading to more success,” said Otineru, referencing a recent discovery of a mass grave in Tarawa.

To date, DPAA has accounted for 10 service members who were lost during the Battle of Tarawa.

Otineru, like all those working in the accounting community, is proud of the work he is doing and is dedicated to 

the mission that lies ahead. “We might not be able to find them all, but those we can, we will,” he said.

Above: Marines transport their wounded via dinghy to a location where they can receive treatment.

Opposite: Marines capture an enemy bunker.
ONCE LOST, NOW FOUND

 THE STORY OF AN ARMY PILOT MAKING THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND FINALLY 

 BEING LAID TO REST

 Story and photos by Nicole Rhoton

On September 19, researchers with the Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had the 

honor of attending a ceremony at the American 

Battle Monument Commission Cemetery in Margraten, 

The Netherlands, to observe family members Mike and 

Patti Herb place a rosette on the Tablets of the Missing 

next to the name of Mike’s recently accounted for cousin, 

2nd Lt. John W. Herb. Lt. Herb was killed on April 13, 

1945, just weeks before the German surrender, when his 

P-51 crashed in a small town called Rosien, situated on 

the eastern side of the Elbe, approximately 70 kilometers 

southeast of Hamburg. German officials reporting to the 

scene of the crash had pulled his body out of the aircraft 

and buried him near the crash site, where he laid “missing” until July 2014.

In 2013 DPAA reviewed the information associated with 

Lt. Herb, but with very little historical documentation to 

go on, researchers had little hope of finding a potential 

recovery site. The best information regarding the P-51 

loss came from his wingman, who last observed Herb 

northwest of Hamburg. DPAA researchers reached out to 

a local aviation group, the Missing Allied Air Crew Research Team (MAACRT), led by German volunteer Enrico 

Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz initially had no information on 

the incident, but learned a few weeks later that another 

member of his team, Steffan Illsmann, had been in contact 

with a man named Manfred Romer who recalled a U.S. 

fighter aircraft crash in the town of Rosien.

Mr. Romer had always wondered if the pilot was still buried near the crash site. He began interviewing people in 

the town to see what they could recall about the incident. 

Most people remembered that the pilot was buried near the 

crash site along a path through the woods. They said that 

a refugee woman named Frau Waschke--whose son went 

missing on the Eastern Front--maintained the grave after 

the war, keeping the area clean and leaving flowers. The 

children in Rosien had walked this path to school and the 

path became known as Fliegerweg, Airmen’s path. While 

any visible surface features indicating a burial was long 

gone, Mr. Romer believed that the witness statements were 

compelling enough to warrant a sub-surface investigation 

in an area along the Fliegerweg.

In July 2014 a DPAA Investigation Team (IT) worked with 

MAACRT personnel and Mr. Romer to investigate witness 

reports in Rosien. Using these accounts to identify the 

most promising area for a potential burial, the IT began 

sub-surface investigation on the afternoon of July 18. As 

the excavator scraped off the first layer of topsoil, a feature 

was revealed within about 20 minutes of beginning work. 

Led by recovery leader Hugh Tuller, the IT initiated recovery efforts to recover the remains. The team continued 

excavation through the night, concluding at 4 o’clock the 

next morning.

The DPAA lab identified the remains as those of 2nd Lt. 

John W. Herb. The Service Casualty Office notified the 

primary next of kin, Mike Herb, and his wife Patti, in February 2015. Mike’s father was Lt. Herb’s cousin. Mike and 

Patti said they have been extremely moved by the entire 

process to find and recover the remains of their long-lost 

relative.

Since the identification, they have traveled to Honolulu to visit the lab and meet DPAA, as well as third-party 

personnel involved in recovery and identification efforts. 

They have shared stories about what Lt. Herb meant to 

their family, even though many never knew him. Lt. Herb 

died at the age of 21, an only child, not married, with a full 

scholarship to MIT.

Mike explained that Lt. Herb’s father never got over the loss 

and memorialized his son on his own gravestone as John 

had never had one—in America.

Mike and Patti chose Arlington National Cemetery as the 

most fitting interment location for Lt. Herb. They also 

invited members of the DPAA, MAACRT, and Mr. Romer 

to attend the burial at Arlington on July 19, 2015—one year 

to the day following the impromptu recovery in Rosien, 

Germany. 

Additionally, MAACRT members helped organize a ceremony for the Herb family at the Netherlands American 

Cemetery in Margraten, which took place September 19. 

Two DPAA members who participated in the excavation in 

July 2014 were honored to attend this momentous event.

At the ceremony, a rosette was placed next to Lt. Herb’s 

name on Tablets of the Missing which signifies that Lt. 

Herb is finally home. DPAA members were awestruck at 

the amount of names on the wall without rosettes, demonstrating to them how much work the agency still has left to 

accomplish.

While the ceremony was all about honoring the loss and 

recovery of Lt. Herb, the experience also highlighted 

the possibilities that exist when the agency accepts the 

assistance of dedicated private and public partners. For 

MAACRT members, this ceremony represents the 25th rosette for which they have directly been involved in recovery 

efforts, which ultimately led to identification.

All those in attendance at the ceremony were greatly 

impressed and humbled by the Dutch citizens who devote 

their time as adopters of names on the wall and graves in 

the cemetery. The adopters visit the graves or the Tablets, 

laying flowers and photographs on behalf of the family 

members in the U.S. who cannot visit the cemetery in The 

Netherlands. Many of the adopters have also become involved in helping with the research of the cases to find out 

how their adoptees died, and some are extremely motivated 

and dedicated in searching for those who are still missing.

Mike and Patti Herb are so delighted with the recovery and 

identification of Lt. Herb, they plan to write a book with 

Manfred Romer regarding the events that took place to 

locate and recover their loved one. 

DPAA researchers continue to be inspired by third-party 

partners who work to support the DPAA mission.

Nicole Rhoton is a researcher with the Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency

The family of 2nd Lt. John W. Herb gather at a ceremony in 

his honor in Margraten, the Netherlands.
USS OKLAHOMA UPDATE

From June 8 to November 9, DPAA exhumed all 61 caskets from 45 graves.

Analysis is now being done to identify the remains of these Sailors and Marines.

Fulfilling The Nation’s Promise

FAMILY MEMBER UPDATE

The Program continues to successfully inform family members of the work being

done to bring home their missing loved ones. Invitations are sent to family members within

a 350-mile radius of the city where the event takes place.

The next update events for families with missing loved ones are scheduled for:

JANUARY 23 in Los Angeles

JANUARY 25 in Honolulu

FEBRUARY 20 in Atlanta

To register or for more information, please visit: www.dpaa.mil

FACES OF DPAA: Sitting Down with a Leader Interview by PO2 Clifford Bailey

How does this compare to previous 

assignments?

It’s very different! This is the first humanitarian mission I’ve been a part 

of, so as a non-combatant organization it’s a little bit different in focus, 

but still it’s all about mission, objectives and great leadership.

What are your short, medium, and 

long-term goals for the agency?

My goals are the Director’s and Secretary [of Defense’s] goals and those 

are to maximize the accountability 

because now there’s a recommitment 

to the sacred mission. 

It’s really just shuffling the deck a little bit adding a new sense of urgency 

because time does play a factor in 

getting after the fullest accounting. 

We lose witnesses; the tyranny of 

time hits at the remains that are out 

there for us to find. So we know that 

we need to get after it and we certainly want to do so very quickly and 

very efficiently.

How has being an MP prepared you 

for this mission?

I think having that sensitivity as an 

MP has translated well here. I don’t 

want to overstate the position, but it 

has certainly helped in understanding operational protocol, scientific 

protocols, and the need to handle 

materials in a very careful manner 

and account for those.

Given this mission’s history, what 

would you tell the nation is different 

about us going from JPAC to DPAA?

I think that new sense of urgency 

brings with it a new level of efficiency. Before, there were multiple 

organizations out there that were 

in some way or form participating 

in this mission. Now, by combining 

all those together and getting after 

it with greater speed, I think you’re 

starting to see a greater interest from 

the other stakeholders out there who 

want to participate.

What about the organization’s personnel? Some would say nothing has 

changed and it’s business as usual.

Well, let’s not assume that’s all bad. 

You know, these different organizations did wonderful things, and 

though there may have been some 

problems in the past, there have also 

been some extraordinary achievements.

Let’s not forget the fact that 2,000 

missing personnel have been identified and returned to the nation and 

families; that’s a big deal. To the other 

things that do change, that’s what 

keeps us relevant and what keeps us 

going. 

It’s all about communication, too. All 

organizations have negative things 

that have happened – you learn from 

them and you move on. What you 

don’t want to do is sweep them under 

the carpet; you want to learn from 

them, and you want to build on that 

for tomorrow so that you don’t repeat 

those mistakes. 

Why exactly is this mission important 

– why are we here? 

It’s important to make the distinction: 

as important as it is to return the fallen to their families, it’s equally if not 

more important to the nation. This is 

our sacred promise that we make to 

our sons and daughters when we put 

them in harm’s way and ask them to 

do the most difficult tasks. 

And so, our sacred promise to them 

is that we will bring them home, 

and when they know that, you stay a 

professional force. The force understands that there is a bigger backing 

out there and that they’ll never be 

forgotten. 

Let’s bring them home.

If you walked up to a perfect stranger 

and had to explain what DPAA was 

and the meaning behind the mission 

in eight words or less, what would 

you say?

Fulfilling our nation’s promise.

Is there anything else you’d like to 

add?

The only thing I would like to add is 

that I am thrilled to be part of this 

team; it’s a great team, it’s a team 

of teams, it’s made of great leaders 

and you know, having been here 

just such a short time I can tell you 

I’ve seen the policies, I’ve seen the 

programs, the protocols, all of them 

are wonderful things. But the reality 

is, it comes down to leaders leading 

through this: men and women, professionals, standing up and saying, 

“I will do my duty, to get after this 

sacred promise.”

It’s a real privilege to be part of this 

team.

With the reorganization of DPAA finally winding down, we were able to get a few minutes with 

Brig. Gen. Mark Spindler, newly-appointed deputy director of the agency, to get to know him, find 

out what his goals are for the agency, and learn what he’s bringing to the table.
Recovery Team 3 of mission 15-3LA during a recovery mission in 

Xekong, Laos, April 2, 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. 

Lauren Falk/Released)

Members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) work meticulously to clear a unit and remove sediment from a P-39 engine found on site 

in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Feb. 1, 2015. (DOD Photo by MC3 Armando Velez, U.S. Navy/Released)

Laos workers pass buckets of soil during a recovery mission at Salavan, Laos, for processing 

to see if any possible remains or evidence can be found within. (U.S. Air Force photo by 

Staff Sgt. Cody H. Ramirez/Released)

Mr. Howard Mariteragi digs up flagged metal hits in Ludwigslust, Germany, May 11, 2015, looking for 

possible aircraft wreckage or life support material during a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

mission. Mariteragi was assigned as life support investigator to a 15-member specialized recovery 

team that spent more than 45 days searching for the remains of nine servicemembers whose plane 

crashed during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian J. Valencia/Released)

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jordan Davis, a field radio operator assigned to the 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and Vietnamese workers 

conduct wet-screeningto help with processing soil during recovery operations 

in Quang Ngai province, Vietnam, May 30, 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps photo 

by Cpl. Darien J. Bjorndal, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency/Released)
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency

2300 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301-2300

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EDITORIAL STAFF

Lt. Col. Holly Slaughter - Director, Public Affairs

Maj. Natasha Waggoner - Deputy Director, Public Affairs

MC2 Cliff Bailey - Layout and Design

Published by DPAA Public Affairs

Cover photo information:

COASTAL WATERS, Vanuatu (March 4, 2015) Sgt. 1st Class Tyler Dodd (left), a U.S. Army diver with the

7th Engineer Dive Detachment, and Dr. Andrew Pietruszka, an anthropologist with the Defense POW/MIA

Accounting Agency (DPAA), rest at a decompression stop during diving and underwater recovery operations

off the coast of Vanuatu. The 7th Engineer Dive Detachment is working with DPAA to locate a U.S.

service member who went missing during WWII. DPAA aims to provide the fullest possible accounting for

missing Americans to their families and the nation. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd

Class Michael Scichilone/Released)

For your information

Family members seeking more information about missing loved ones may call their respective

Service Casualty Office:

U.S. Army U.S. Marine Corps U.S. Navy U.S. Air Force

 (800) 892-2490 (800) 847-1597 (800) 443-9298 (800) 531-5501