The QuestSpring 2016

FULFILLING OUR NATION’S PROMISE 
THE DIRECTOR’S NOTES RECENTLY ACCOUNTED FOR

WORLD WAR II

1st Lt. Leonard R. Farron, USAAF

Chief Metalsmith Duff Gordon, USN

Flight Officer Dewey L. Gossett, USAAF

Chief Electrician’s Mate Albert E. Hayden, USN

Sgt. John C. Holladay, USMC

Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Vernon T. Luke, USN

Seaman 2nd Class Dale F. Pearce, USN

Ens. Lewis S. Stockdale, USN

KOREAN WAR

Cpl. Davey H. Bart, USA

Pvt. 1st Class David S. Burke, USA

Sgt. Robert C. Dakin, USA

Cpl. Eldon W. Ervin, USA

Cpl. Dudley L. Evans, USA

Pvt. 1st Class Roy A. Henderson, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Raymond K. McMillian, USA

Pvt. 1st Class James M. Smith, USA 

Cpl. Kenneth R. Stuck, USA

Pvt. 1st Class Aubrey D. Vaughn, USA

Cpl. David J. Wishon, Jr., USA

Since our last edition of The Quest, published on Dec. 4, 2015, DPAA has continued to benefit from the partnership and sage advice of longtime government stakeholders in the accounting community, family and veterans service organizations, 

and families of the missing.

Together with other DPAA leaders, I spent a busy and inspiring week in Hawaii in 

early December, attending the 74th commemoration of the attacks on our nation at 

Pearl Harbor, and attending a similar ceremony remembering the service and 

sacrifice of the Sailors and Marines on the USS Oklahoma. Both events were fitting 

and emotional reminders of why our mission is so important: committing ourselves to the fullest possible accounting of those still missing from our nation’s 

past wars, honoring veterans and families of those who have served and made the 

ultimate sacrifice, and demonstrating to those who currently serve in uniform that 

our nation will do our very best to bring them all home when they deploy in harm’s 

way. Meeting many of the family members of our missing Sailors and Marines 

from the USS Oklahoma helped us to reflect and re-double our commitment to complete USS Oklahoma identifications as quickly as possible.

Over the last few months, DPAA has been visited by the National Leadership of the VFW, American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Korean War Veterans Association, and many others. All our stakeholder organizations pledged their full support, and were thankful of our efforts on behalf of veterans and POW/MIA families 

that are a big part of their mission. We look forward to collaborating with them in the months and years ahead.

As folks reading this update are probably aware, DPAA conducts regularly-scheduled family member updates in 

cities across the country throughout the year, recently in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Atlanta, and Seattle, briefing nearly 700 family members on their loved ones’ cases. Austin is on April 16th, Boston on May 14th, and Green Bay on 

Sept. 10th. In addition, we are conducting government briefings to the Vietnam War families in Crystal City June 

22-25, and Korea/Cold War families August 10-12. A busy period indeed!

On Jan. 8, 2016, DPAA reached full operational capability, as mandated by the Secretary of Defense’s memo of 

March 2014. This declaration signifies the completion of the reorganization of the Department of Defense’s legacy 

past conflict accounting organizations into a single, unified defense agency. Our new organizational structure has 

been finalized.

In February I completed a productive trip to Russia, Germany, France, and the Netherlands to cover a host of issues 

strategically important to our mission in Europe, and to set the agenda for a US-Russia Joint Commission plenum 

on POW/MIA issues early this summer – something we haven’t done in many years. The rest of our trip in Europe 

was committed to meetings with US Ambassadors, foreign partner officials, counterpart organizations (especially 

the American Battlefield Monuments Commission), a noteworthy and educational visit to the Dutch Recovery and 

Investigation Unit, and other strategic partners -- ALL committed to helping DPAA accomplish our mission and 

increase the number of families to whom we can provide answers from our past conflicts in Europe. It was humbling to see the respect and appreciation displayed by our foreign partners and the profound willingness of foreign 

citizens to volunteer their time and effort on our behalf.

I have now been on the job for nine months, and I’m still learning intricacies of our mission every day – thank you 

one and all for assisting in that education. I am profoundly encouraged by the dedication of the people who work at 

DPAA, the organizations with whom we partner, and the families we serve. We have made some improvements in 

the accounting community, and will continue to do our very best to increase our ability to achieve the fullest possible accounting to their families and our nation.

Fulfilling our Nation’s Promise!

WELCOME HOME!

As of March 18, 2016

VIETNAM WAR

Sgt. 1st Class Alan L. Boyer, USA

1st Lt. Donald W. Bruch, Jr., USAFR

Maj. Donald G. Carr, USAR
NEXT GENERATION

DNA SEQUENCING

When American biologist James Watson and 

English physicist Francis Crick first discovered the 

double helix in 1953, they could not have imagined the huge strides DNA technology would take 

in just a few short years. From the 1977 development of the Sanger Sequencing technique by 

Frederick Sanger to the 1996 birth of Dolly the 

Sheep, the first ever cloned animal, to the 2003 

completion of the Human Genome Project, which 

sequenced the human genome to 99.9 percent 

accuracy, scientists have continually improved 

upon their methods and techniques to lead us to 

the DNA Sequencing of today.

The DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA 

Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), which is part 

of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System 

(AFMES) at Dover AFB, Del., is working with 

the newest innovation in Forensic DNA science, 

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Hybridization 

Capture and Next Generation DNA Sequencing 

(NGS). 

Utilizing this new technology and process, scientists will be able to obtain mtDNA sequencing 

results from severely degraded DNA samples 

that previously failed with traditional sequencing 

methods.

“Over the past 15 years, AFDIL has been working 

with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

(DPAA) to sequence mtDNA samples from 100 

of 800 unknown Korean War service members 

interred, or buried, at the National Memorial 

Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, also known 

as the Punchbowl,” said Dr. Timothy McMahon, 

Deputy Director of Forensic Services, Contractor 

with the American Registry of Pathology Sciences 

LLC. “The problem is that the mtDNA within the 

cells has been damaged by the environment and 

preservation methods used in the 1950’s.”

McMahon explained that in 1953, as part of Operation Glory, North Korea turned over 4,167 deceased 

U.S. and NATO service member’s remains, 849 of 

which were not identified. The remains were sent 

to Camp Kokura, Japan, where they were prepared 

for burial using chemicals that were harmful to the 

mtDNA. Using new instrumentation, AFDIL was 

able to identify that the mtDNA obtained from 

these samples is far smaller than their current mtDNA sequencing testing capabilities. Once AFDIL 

was able to determine the size of the mtDNA, the 

scientists were able to develop a custom testing 

method using NGS technologies.

“Since 2000, one hundred of the unknown service 

members have been disinterred from the Punchbowl by DPAA,” said McMahon. “Using current 

mtDNA sequencing methods, only one of the 

samples has been accurately sequenced. Thanks 

to NGS technologies, AFDIL will be the first forensic laboratory in the U.S. to utilize a laboratory 

developed mtDNA NGS sequencing method to 

conclusively sequence the smallest, most degraded 

forensic samples. Additionally, this method has 

the potential to allow for the identification of any 

unknown service member whose mtDNA has been 

chemically treated.”

Before this most recent scientific breakthrough, 

Sanger Sequencing was the forensic standard for 

mtDNA sequencing, and had been for almost 40 years. 

The issue that occurred with this long-trusted technology was that it did not give AFDIL the capability to 

efficiently amplify small fragments, such as the remains 

from the Punchbowl, in order to sequence them using 

the Sanger method.

“These samples from the Punchbowl are unique because 

they were treated post-mortem and the chemicals used 

to preserve the remains severely damaged the mtDNA,” 

said Supervisory DNA Analyst, Kerriann Meyers. “Our 

current technology uses primers to target mtDNA fragments that are 120 base pairs in length, but our fragments from the Punchbowl are under 100 base pairs. I 

think a lot of analysts used to shy away from working 

with the Punchbowl samples because only 0.1 percent of 

DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) DNA Analyst, Holly 

Krantz, extracts mtDNA using filter columns to 

remove impurities.

Story and Photos by MC2 Samantha Thorpe, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System

From left to right (Back row) Suzanne Barritt-Ross, James Canik, Christina Neal, Daniel Kahline, Joseph 

Ring, Sean Oliver, (Middle Row) Jennifer Higganbotham, Erin Gorden, Eric Ramirez, Aaron Fox, 

Jacqueline Thomas, (Front row) Lt. Col. Alice Briones, Kimberly Andreaggi, Bruche Trotter, Michelle Peck, 

Megan Poffenberger, Holly Krantz, Dr. Charla Marshall and Dr. Timothy McMahon, all members of the DoD 

DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) Next Generation DNA Sequencing 

(NGS) team, pose for a group picture.
DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) Research DNA Analyst, Jennifer 

Higginbotham, and Supervisory DNA Analyst, Kerriann Meyers, load samples onto the Next Generation DNA 

Sequencing (NGS) instrument.

the samples would come back conclusive and so it was 

very discouraging.”

In 2003, Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Odile Loreille, 

was hired to aid in the sequencing of the Punchbowl 

samples. Due to her background in ancient DNA, 

Loreille was able to understand the highly damaged 

mtDNA which then led her to begin work on a new 

sequencing method in 2010.

“Odile’s specialty was working with ancient DNA, 

which is DNA from archeological and historical 

specimens,” said Research DNA Analyst, Jennifer 

Higginbotham. “That experience is what gave her 

the insight to begin work on the new protocol. From 

there Dr. Charla Marshall, Chief, Emerging Technologies Section, Kim Andreaggi, Research Scientist and I 

worked tirelessly to turn that idea into a forensic protocol, validate and then implement it.”

The massive parallel sequencer used to create the new 

NGS protocol was originally created to sequence small 

fragments of DNA with fewer than 350 base pairs, but 

AFDIL took it even further when they began work on 

sequencing mtDNA that could be smaller than 120 base 

pairs.

“Other laboratories are also making progress on 

[forensically] validating NGS, however none of them 

are working with samples as degraded as the ones we 

see coming from the Punchbowl,” said Higginbotham. 

“What we are doing with these samples is unique thanks 

to our mission, and I don’t think other laboratories 

realize how damaged our samples really are.”

In order to begin the process of sequencing the 

extremely damaged mtDNA, the analysts treat the 

samples, which they receive from DPAA, similar 

to how the samples would be treated using the 

current method.

“The bones are sanded and ground down to a 

powder, the [DNA] extraction is carried out using 

a demineralization process and it is then allowed 

to incubate overnight,” said Higginbotham. “The 

extract then contains the isolated mtDNA which 

is run through a bio-analyzer instrument to ensure there are enough quality fragments to get an 

authentic result.”

Next, the samples are treated with a Uracil 

Specific Excision Reagent (USER) kit to remove 

damaged bases. 

“While we call this step a repair, we are actually 

damaging the DNA more by leaving open sites 

and overhanging ends where the damaged bases 

were removed and leaving the fragments shorter,” said Higginbotham. “After this, we begin our 

library preparation end repair step.”

During this step, a negative control is added to the 

sample to monitor for any possible contamination 

throughout the process and a positive control is 

added to ensure the final reaction functions properly. Next, the open sites and overhanging ends 

are filled with complementary bases. This forms 

blunt ends on the samples to which adapters are 

ligated, or attached.

“We then place a unique barcode on each end of 

the sample fragments,” said Higginbotham. “Once 

the barcodes are added we can pool, or combine, 

all the samples in the sequencer at one time. The 

unique barcodes allows the computer software to 

later separate and group matching samples.”

When the library preparation is completed, the 

samples are screened by the bio-analyzer to assess 

the quality of the libraries. If the quality is poor, 

the library preparation is repeated.

“At this point samples using traditional NGS 

methods could be sequenced, however, the 

DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) Research DNA Analyst, 

Jennifer Higginbotham, begins the hybridization 

capture portion of the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) protocol.

Punchbowl samples have extremely high amounts of 

non-human DNA,” said Higginbotham. “If we were 

to sequence them at this time we would have around 

one percent of the reads mapping as human. So what 

we do is enrich for the human DNA using a process 

that the ancient DNA community calls hybridization 

capture.”

Hybridization capture consists of baits, or probes, 

which are made up of 75-base-pair sequences from 

the human genome DNA reference sequence (rCRS). 

These baits are created to be complimentary to and 

target specific sequences in the mtDNA genome. The 

baits are added to the sample and incubated for about 

24 to 36 hours. Magnetic beads, which have a strong 

affinity to the baits, are then introduced. 
When removed, the magnets pull the baits out and with 

the baits come the sections of the mtDNA fragment they 

were attached to. This process, which is also called target 

capture, allows the non-human DNA in the sample to 

be removed from the human mtDNA being targeted.

Next, a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) copies the 

target mtDNA in order to increase its yield, giving the 

sequencer more fragments to work with and a better 

chance at sequencing them.

“The last step is to combine our samples in equal volume to create a pool which is loaded on the sequencing instrument,” said Higginbotham. “Included in the 

pool is the reagent blank from the extraction process, a 

negative control which we added in library preparation, 

three samples and a positive control which is used to 

ensure the reaction, in whole, is successful.”

The pool is then placed in the sequencer and takes approximately 24 hours to complete sequencing. 

Once this is accomplished, a profile is made for 

the service member’s mtDNA in order for it to 

be later compared to possible familial matches 

already on file.

“The whole NGS process from beginning to end 

takes approximately two weeks to complete and is 

extremely labor intensive with very low throughput compared to AFDIL’s current past accounting 

processing methods,” said Lt. Col. Alice Briones, 

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner and Director of 

the DoD DNA Registry. “Although it has taken 10 

years of research to develop a method for getting 

mtDNA forensic results from chemically modified 

samples, I am extremely proud and honored to 

be a Medical Examiner and the current director 

of the DoD DNA Registry as we bring new hope 

to numerous families of our nation’s fallen who 

thought their loved ones would never be identified.”

DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) Supervisory DNA Analyst, Kerriann Meyers, places samples in a cartridge before loading it on the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) 

instrument.

Over the years, technology and science has continued to evolve and with this growth comes the great 

opportunity to not only discover new possibilities but 

also make a difference in many people’s lives.

“When I was asked to be part of the NGS team I 

immediately said ‘yes, absolutely’ because after all 

the inconclusive results I have had to report, it will 

be amazing to get the opportunity to report positive 

results from the Punchbowl mtDNA samples,” said 

Meyers. “I also think the families of these fallen service members have been waiting a very long time for 

technology to catch up to their unique situations, so 

I think that it’s huge for the families in helping them 

get answers and maybe some closure. To be part of 

this process has been just amazing.”

As technologies in mtDNA sequencing continue to 

rapidly grow and evolve, who knows where we will be 

another 40 years from now. What we do know now, is 

that the families of our fallen service members from 

the Korean War are this much closer to getting the 

answers they have been searching for, for so long.

DoD DNA Registry, Armed Forces DNA Identification 

Laboratory (AFDIL) Research DNA Analyst, Jennifer 

Higginbotham, and Supervisory DNA Analyst, Kerriann Meyers, work on the hybridization capture portion 

of the Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) 

protocol.

Stock Photo
“We’ve been looking for the enemy for some time 

now. We’ve finally found him. We’re surrounded. 

That simplifies things.”

That was the assessment of U.S. Marine Corps Col. 

Lewis “Chesty” Puller as he and other men comprising a 30,000 person United Nations fighting 

force stared down imposing odds against the nearly 

120,000 Chinese soldiers that surrounded them in 

all directions. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, 1950, the 

two forces engaged in a furious battle in the Chosin 

Reservoir of North Korea that created a lasting 

impact on both sides.

The introduction of Chinese forces under the banner of the People’s Voluntary Army created a dynamic shift in the current of the Korean War. Until 

that point in 1950, the United States was confident 

that a victory in the war was imminent. But after 

numerous warnings regarding encroachment into its 

territory and sphere of influence, China became an 

active participant in support of North Korea’s Korean People’s Army. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir 

was the high-water mark of their assistance, as the 

battle proved to effectively push UN forces out of 

North Korea for the duration of the war.

“In all, roughly 17,000 UN troops and 60,000 

Chinese troops became casualties as part of the 

battle. While a success in repelling UN forces back 

across the 38th Parallel, the Chinese victory proved 

too costly as it depleted nearly 40 percent of their 

available fighting force, allowing for UN forces 

to maintain a presence in South Korea,” said U.S. 

Army Spc. Colton Dunnavant, a DPAA analyst who 

works on the Chosin cases.

The UN forces endured frigidly cold temperatures 

during some of the worst winter weather of the Korean War. Medical supplies, vehicles and munitions 

all froze, leaving the men with less than optimal 

provisions. Gangrene and frostbite was a ready fear 

in the minds of the combatants already shocked 

by the totality of the military carnage. Neither the 

enemy, nor the weather, nor the frozen earth could 

provide soft comfort. And it was only the will of 

the men fighting the battle that afforded the hope 

for relief. Relief that finally came by way of the 

7th Marines breaking through opposing forces and 

leading the march to the port of Hungnam. UN 

forces reached the port on Dec. 11, where the final 

skirmishes of the battle took place.

 

In total, there are more than 1,100 service members 

still unaccounted for from the battle. The Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting Agency works to recover 

these remains, already having conducted 13 separate Joint Recovery Operations in the area. Though 

diplomatic relations with North Korea currently 

prevents accessing the battle field, DPAA continues 

to strive towards the fullest possible accounting of 

the brave men who gave their lives in defense of 

their nation.

 

“Conducting research and investigations for losses 

at the Chosin Reservoir is incredibly humbling,” 

Dunnavant said. 

 

As part of its efforts, DPAA conducts regular 

meetings with family members of those unaccounted-for, providing for the greatest possible transparency on the accounting mission and the dissemination of information that brings families closer to 

finding the loved ones they have lost.

“To be able to go to Family Updates and speak with 

family members of the men who were lost at the 

Chosin Reservoir is a great honor,” Dunnavant said. 

“It’s a huge privilege to be a part of the mission to 

recover our nation’s heroes that gave the ultimate 

sacrifice for freedom.”

UP AGAINST THE ODDS

by MC1 Vladimir Potapenko

“WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE ENEMY FOR SOME 

TIME NOW. WE’VE FINALLY FOUND HIM. WE’RE 

SURROUNDED. THAT SIMPLIFIES THINGS.” 

Archive photos
to the families of our missing, but the full establishment of DPAA as a defense agency now enables the 

mission to be done more effectively and efficiently. 

“I’m very excited about achieving FOC status as 

it postures the [Defense] Department’s accounting 

community in a better position to fulfill our noble and 

important mission,“ DPAA Director, retired Army Lt. 

Gen. Michael Linnington, said. “Now is the time to 

sharpen our focus, increase our efforts, and maximize 

all aspects of our accounting efforts to better provide 

answers to the families of our missing.”

DPAA REACHES

FOC STATUS

Story by DPAA Public Affairs

The new DPAA facility, completed in late 2015, stands tall and houses over 300 service members and DoD civilians 

working toward making the fullest possible accounting of America’s missing.

Photo by MC2 Clifford Bailey

The new DPAA facility, completed in late 2015, stands tall and houses over 300 service 

members and DoD civilians working toward making the fullest possible accounting of 

America’s missing.

Photo by MC2 Clifford Bailey

In the year since being established as a Defense 

Agency on Jan. 1, 2015, the Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency (DPAA) has accomplished a 

critical milestone, reaching “full operational capability” or “FOC” on Jan. 8, 2016. This declaration 

signifies the completion of the reorganization of the 

Department of Defense’s legacy past conflict accounting organizations into a single, unified defense 

agency. 

During the reorganization efforts of 2015, the DoD 

never ceased its efforts to account for missing personnel from past conflicts and provide information 

Over the last year, DPAA has steadily attained many 

milestones that have led to FOC. 

The Secretary of Defense approved the name and 

establishment of the agency on Jan. 29, 2015, and the 

next day the interim director, now Vice Adm. Michael Franken, held a small ceremony declaring that 

DPAA had achieved “initial operational capability,” or 

“IOC.”

Since then, the agency consolidated many administrative functions and developed a new organizational 

structure. DPAA is now anchored around two regional, multi-disciplinary teams that enable collaboration 

among researchers, planners, operators, scientists, and 

a host of other professionals. One region is focused on 

Asia and the Pacific while the other is Europe-focused. 

“This new regional, multi-disciplinary approach will 

ensure improvement in operations, as team members 

are not only focused on their specific region, but are 

also working together in the same location,” said 

Army Col. Chris Forbes, director of the Europe-Mediterranean regional directorate. “We are now able to 

work face-to-face, making it easy to interact and conference as needed.”

Another key decision for the new POW/MIA accounting agency was the Deputy Secretary of Defense’s 

April 2015 decision to clarify the DoD’s policy on disinterring American Unknowns from cemeteries around 

the world. This decision addressed multiple family 

concerns about the difficulty of gaining approval to 

disinter their loved one’s remains, for the purpose of 

individual identification. The immediate result of this 

decision was the disinterment of the Unknowns associated with the sinking of the USS Oklahoma at Pearl 

Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. 

Establishing unity of purpose under a single agency 

director for the accounting community was one of the 

drivers for the Secretary of Defense and Congress’s 

decision to reorganize. With the appointment of Linnington as the first DPAA Director (in June 2015) and 

subsequent arrival of his two deputies, Army Brig. 

Gen. Mark Spindler and Mrs. Fern Sumpter Winbush, 

this critical objective was met.

“I’m proud of all the hard work our team members 

have put into this reorganization,” Linnington said. 

“Their dedication and passion for their work made the 

past year undeniably successful.”

While the reorganization tasks are complete and the 

agency is operating at full strength, there is still much 

work to do. The merging of different organizational 

cultures from the various legacy organizations will 

take some time to cultivate. 

“Each of the three separate organizations naturally had 

their individual ways of approaching the accounting 

task,” said Army Lt. Col. Eric Bjorklund, consolidation team leader. “But there was never any dispute 

about the importance in accomplishing this mission. 

Now as one team, we can focus on the same priorities 

and perform the mission better than ever.”

Some of the key recommendations for the new agency 

to implement will take more years to be fully integrated. For example, the case management system that 

will communicate case information to the families of 

the missing has begun development, but is expected to 

take several months to become fully functional. 

Another key initiative that is now under development, 

and is expected to grow significantly in the coming 

years is the agency’s strategic partnerships with external organizations (public and private) to augment and 

assist current capacities in all areas of our accounting 

mission. The Strategic Partnership office was established last summer and is implementing several partnership programs for 2016.

“Our goal is to have many additional professional 

organizations helping us with the recovery process,” 

Dr. Tom Holland, director of Strategic Partnerships, 

said. “We greatly appreciate their expertise, resources 

and enthusiasm for bringing home the remains of our 

missing war heroes.” 

As DPAA starts 2016 as fully operational, there is 

great optimism that the agency is better positioned to 

fulfill its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families 

and the nation.
“My dad was in the Air Force and always wanted to 

be a pilot,” said Rauch. “He was in for about 11 years 

before he went to Vietnam.”

Col. Warren Anderson and his copilot, 1st Lt. James 

Tucker, were flying an RF-4C Phantom conducting 

reconnaissance when they disappeared from the radar, 

April 26, 1966.

Rauch said it was normal for the plane to go off the 

radar at a certain point, but that night they never came 

back. Due to the conditions of where the pilots went 

missing, she is still unsure, nearly 50 years later, if 

they crashed on land or in water, or what their ultimate fate was.

“It wasn’t until 1973 and the prisoners of war were 

released that we knew for sure they weren’t coming 

home,” said Rauch. “My mom hoped for seven years 

that he was a POW -- that he was coming home. She 

even stayed in the same house.”

Rauch is married to an Army chaplain, and has lived 

in Honolulu for about 18 months. She lives only a 

few miles from Glenda Tucker, the widow of her 

father’s copilot.

Tucker and her husband were high school sweethearts. She was 25 and a mother of two when her 

husband’s plane went missing. She remembers him as 

the football jock who was adored by all the girls and 

worked hard.

“He was at the top of his class in pilot training, so he 

got to pick the plane he wanted to fly,” said 

Tucker. “It was such a hard decision; we had 

a dartboard and we put the pictures of what he 

thought he might want to fly on there, and we 

threw darts on it to decide.”

Tucker’s dart landed on the Phantom, which 

was known for its high visibility due to heavy 

exhaust, making their plane virtually defenseless in enemy territory.

Rauch and Tucker met for the first time just 

over a year ago and have kept in contact ever 

since, sitting next to each other and connecting again at a government update briefing 

held by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency, in Honolulu, Jan. 25. Briefings are held 

throughout the country several times a year to update 

families of missing personnel of their loved ones’ 

cases.

Though they both are hoping for closure, and to bring 

home their loved ones, they are not holding onto 

expectations that a recovery will ever be made. The 

plane went missing in a tumultuous area, and with 

little information of the exact location, there is not 

enough information to begin a recovery operation, 

said Rauch.

Tucker spoke of how much her husband adored flying, that it was his passion, which kept her from ever 

really seeing the dangers of it.

“He lived to fly,” said Tucker. “I don’t think I ever realized how dangerous it was- I was young. He never 

indicated that it was anything other than a holiday.”

Both pilots’ names are etched into the Court of the 

Missing at the Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu. 

Rauch was able to take one of her brothers to see 

their father’s name when he visited for Christmas. 

And though they may never know the circumstances 

of their loved ones’ loss, they still have come to their 

own personal closure.

“Being in Hawaii is quite an experience as far as 

bringing closure -- just knowing that it’s going to stay 

there, that marble etching,” said Rauch. “That’s going 

to stay there forever.”

GONE, BUT NEVER

FORGOTTEN

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus

Natalie Anderson Rauch remembers her dad as a funny man 

who loved to make everyone laugh and was the life of the party. 

She remembers living in England as a child and trips to the 

beach with her family. Beyond that, her memories are nearly 

nonexistent. Rauch was eight years old when her father’s plane 

went missing in North Vietnam.

Natalie holds photos of her father.

A photo display shows Col. Warren Anderson, a pilot 

missing from the Vietnam War.
DIEN BIEN

Story and photos by Tech. Sgt. Kathrine Dodd

Local workers secure 

frames for a wet screening 

station at a site that will be 

excavated by a recovery 

team from the Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency, Dien Bien province, Vietnam, Nov. 13, 

2015. 

RETURN To

A specialized recovery team comprised of 

15 joint service members and a forensic 

archaeologist resumed excavation operations 

for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency (DPAA) at a rice paddy in Dien Bien 

province, Vietnam. The team’s efforts lasted 

five weeks, Nov. 11-Dec. 6, 2015, searching 

for an F-4C Phantom aircraft lost during 

an armed reconnaissance mission with two 

airmen unaccounted for in the spring of 1966.

The recovery team and local workers built 

two holding ponds and a wet screening station 

that utilized a pump and pipe system to run 

water over soil through mesh screens. When 

the team processed the 214 square meters 

of soil excavated during the mission, water 

pressure became an issue.

“The pressure of the water [was a difficulty],” 

said Sgt. 1st Class Benito Segura, DPAA team 

sergeant. “The water we are getting from a 

well is not enough, so we tend to use the same 

water over and over which causes the fittings 

on the hoses to clog up.”

As soil was washed through the screens, 

possible aircraft wreckage was found. The 

possible evidence may positively identify the 

recovery site as the suspected area of loss for 

the aircraft. 

A life support investigator, working in 

conjunction with a forensic archaeologist, 

reviewed aircraft wreckage as it came up 

piece by piece. Together they determined if 

the wreckage could indicate which aircraft the 

material came from.

“There are certain data plates on various 

components of the aircraft that can be traced 

through a parts manual to get you a specific 

classification of aircraft,” said Dr. Kimberly 

Maeyama, DPAA forensic archaeologist. 

“Then you have other artifacts within the 

plane that will get you a specific tie to a very 

specific plane which is fixed to the loss of a 

particular service member.”

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Beni-

to Segura, Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency (DPAA) team 

sergeant, checks pipes leading 

to a wet screening station during 

excavation operations in Dien 

Bien province, Vietnam, Nov. 21, 

2015. Segura is deployed as part 

of a recovery team in the search 

of two crew members of an F-4C 

aircraft lost during the Vietnam 

War. 
Bill Hill with photo of his son Billy Hill. 

“It’s been a long time,” said Dick Messer, a 

retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2. 

“I was there that day, flying, and saw all the 

action going on. Just to have him back is pretty 

special.”

Billy Hill was buried on what would have been 

his 69th birthday. And though his father said 

the ceremony did not provide him closure over 

his son’s death, it was at least one last opportunity to celebrate his birthday and who he was 

as a man.

“It’s something I never expected in my entire 

life,” said Bill Hill. “I figured I’d be dead and 

gone before they found him.”

Luckily Bill Hill was proven wrong on his assumption of never seeing his son return home. 

Already 91 years old at the time of his son’s funeral, he did not have much more time to wait. 

Five days after his son was laid to rest, Bill Hill 

passed away in Gatesville, Texas.

“I was very proud that he served; he was a 

gung-ho soldier,” said Bill Hill.

B

ill Hill didn’t want his son 

Billy to go to war in Vietnam, but the need to keep his 

younger brother, Bobby, safe 

was too strong for his eldest 

son.

“Billy was afraid Bobby would go to Vietnam 

and get himself killed, and it turned out to be 

just the opposite,” said Hill.

On Jan. 21, 1968, Sgt. 1st Class Billy D. Hill, 

assigned to the 282nd Aviation Battalion, 17th 

Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade in his 

second tour to Vietnam, volunteered to be the 

door-gunner in the lead helicopter on a mission to Khe Sanh transporting South Vietnamese soldiers into the advisory headquarters. 

As the helicopters approached the landing 

zone, the lead helicopter was shot down by a 

rocket propelled grenade. Hill was believed to 

have died in the initial attack and was declared 

missing in action shortly thereafter.

Nearly 57 years after that fateful day, Billy Hill’s 

remains were recovered and identified by the 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Billy 

Hill was then returned to his family and buried 

at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery, 

Killeen, Texas, where nearly 1,000 mourners 

came to honor him.

Story and photo by

Staff Sgt. Erik Cardenas COMING HOME

A SON, A BROTHER, A VIETNAM VETERAN LAID TO REST
William A. Heidt, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, visits Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency team members 

on a recovery mission in Banglung, Cambodia, in late January.

Photos by Spc. Crystal Madriz

On January 28, Hawaii Governor David Yutaka 

Ige toured the Senator Daniel K. Inouye Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting Agency Center of Excellence on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Photos by Sgt. Eric M. LaClair

Fern Sumpter Winbush, Defense 

POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

(DPAA) principal director, left, 

digs with U.S. Air Force Master 

Sgt. Sirot Martin, DPAA linguist 

analyst, during her visit to recovery operations in Xekong province, Lao People’s Democratic 

Republic, Feb. 2, 2016. During her 

visit, Winbush toured excavation 

operations of the recovery team’s 

search for a U.S. Air Force pilot 

and navigator lost in an F-4D aircraft crash in the spring of 1971. 

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Kathrine Dodd

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lorena Contreras 

assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) dry screens 

soil sediment with a local villager as 

part of a DPAA recovery mission in 

Attapeu province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Feb. 11, 2016. DPAA 

teammates deployed to the area in 

hopes of recovering the remains of a 

pilot unaccounted for from the Vietnam 

War. 

Photo by Sgt. Richard DeWitt

Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency (DPAA) team members 

work side by side with local villagers 

from the Attapeu Province during an 

excavation in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Feb. 3, 2016. Members of DPAA deployed to the area in 

hopes of recovering the remains of 

two pilots unaccounted for from the 

Vietnam war. 

Photo by Staff Sgt. Jocelyn Ford

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH DPAA?
 A ten-person team from 

the Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency (DPAA) 

recently completed a recovery 

mission in the Republic of 

Palau. The mission, spanning 

more than fifty days, centered 

around DPAA’s efforts to 

return the remains of a Navy 

pilot whose plane crashed on 

one of the Republic’s islands 

during World War II.

 Working in hot and humid 

conditions, the DPAA team 

worked laboriously to excavate 

the site of the crash. Daily, 

team members traversed a 

steep hill in order to reach 

the remote site that featured a 

combination of clay-like dirt 

as well as a marsh. 

 “No matter the obstacles-

-heat, humidity, long hours--

our mission requires us to put 

forward our best effort,” said 

U.S. Army Capt. Joe Murillo, 

the mission’s team leader. “It is 

an honor to be able to support 

this mission and work to bring 

solace to the families of those 

who have sacrificed their lives 

in defense of the freedoms I 

enjoy today.”

 

 In order to complete the 

excavation of the site to its fullest 

archaeological boundaries, the 

team extended the length of the 

mission, working an additional 

week past initial timelines to close 

the site.

 “Our team worked great 

together,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st 

Class Jerry Hughes. “We had to 

think on our feet to solve problems 

and establish the best conditions 

possible. Diligent and enthusiastic, 

this team gave everything they had 

to the mission, choosing to stay 

on-site for another week in order 

to accomplish our goal.”

 Led by forensic anthropologist 

Dr. Nicolette Parr, the mission saw 

the excavation and screening of 

384 square meters of earth. The 

exhaustive effort was rewarded 

with the discovery of life support 

equipment and evidence that 

may help in the accounting of the 

missing pilot.

 Palau was also home to the 

famous Battle of Peleliu where 

more than 2,000 Americans were 

killed in combat on the small 

island. While deployed, the team 

was able to visit the island state 

and accept other found remains 

believed to be American.

MISSION TO PALAU

Story and photo by MC1 Vladimir Potapenko

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) personnel construct 

a sediment pond as part of a DPAA effort to recover the remains of a 

Navy pilot unaccounted for from World War II in Airai, Palau.
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency

2300 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301-2300

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Twitter (@dodpaa) and Facebook (facebook.com/dodpaa)

http://www.dpaa.mil

EDITORIAL STAFF

Lt. Col. Holly Slaughter - Director, Public Affairs

Maj. Natasha Waggoner - Deputy Director, Public Affairs

MC2 Cliff Bailey - Editor, Layout

Mr. Lee Tucker - Editor

MC2 Aiyana Paschal - Layout & Design

Published by DPAA Public Affairs

Cover photo information:

Koge Bay, Greenland (July 22, 2014) – Rob Ingraham, a forensic archaeologist with the Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency (DPAA), looks from above as the personnel cage descends into one of the excavation 

holes made during a special mission between DPAA and the U.S. Coast Guard. The purpose of the mission 

was to locate aircraft lost during World War II. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class 

Clifford Bailey U.S. Navy/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