DPAA

OCTOBER 2018 - SEPTEMBER 2019

YEAR IN 

REVIEW
1 2

Vietnam War

Journalist 3rd Class Raul A. Guerra, 

 USNR

Col. Roy A Knight, USAF

Mr. Roy F. Townley, CIV

Maj. Neal C. Ward, USAF

Mr. Edward J. Weissenback, CIV

KOREAN WAR

Cpl. Donald E. Angle, USA

Pfc. Joe T. Avant, USA

Pfc. Autrey J. Betar, USA

Cpl. Robert L. Bray, USA

Cpl. Norvin D. Brockett, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Riley Burchfield, USA

Cpl. Billy J. Butler, USA

Cpl. Ralph L. Cale, USA

Master Sgt. James G. Cates, USA

Pfc. Leon E. Clevenger, USA

Cpl. Frederick E. Coons, USA

Pfc. Grady J. Crawford, USMCR

1st Lt. George S. Crisp, USA

Pfc. Karl L. Dye, USA

Pfc. Junior C. Evans, USA

Pfc. Ray P. Fairchild, USMC

Cpl. Carlos E. Ferguson, USA

Sgt. David A. Feriend, USA

Sgt. Willie V. Galvan, USA

Cpl. Jerry M. Garrison, USA

Pfc. Sterling Geary, USA

Cpl. Charles H. Grubb, USA

Sgt. William C. Holmes, USA

Pfc. Jerome V. Hummel, USA

Pfc. Wilfred K. Hussey, USA

Capt. Rufus J. Hyman, USA

Cpl. Gerald G. Krebs, USA

Pfc. Billy E. Johnson, USMC

Sgt. Vernon R. Judd, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Elden C. Justus, USA

Cpl. Gudmund C. Johnson, Jr., USA

Pfc. Harold K. Knight, USA

Cpl. Charles L. Lawler, USA

Master Sgt. Charlie J. Mares, USA

Cpl. Earl H. Markle, USA

Pfc. Jasper V. Marquez, USA

Sgt. Billy J. Maxwell, USA

Pfc. William J. McCollum, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Phillip C. Mendoza, USA

Pvt. Edward M. Morrison, USA

Sgt. Donald L. Murphy, USA

Pfc. Lloyd B. Odom, USA

Cpl. Ysabel A. Ortiz, USA

Cpl. Harold Pearce, USA

Pfc. Henry L. Phillips, USA

Cpl. Herman R. Phy, USA

Sgt. Gerald B. Raemacker, USA

Pfc. Arthur C. Ramirez, USA

Pvt. Winferd L. Reynolds, USA

Pfc. Herschel M. Riggs, USA

Cpl. James C. Rix, USA

Sgt. George R. Schipani, USA

Sgt. David C. Sewell, USA

Pvt. John A. Shelemba, USA

Pvt. Robert J. Sipes, USA

Cpl. Benjamin W. Scott, USA

Sgt. James E. Smith, USA

Cpl. William S. Smith, USA

Maj. Harvey H. Storms, USA

1st Lt. Robert Charles Styslinger, USA

Sgt. Frank J. Suliman, USA

Pfc. Wilber T. Tackett, USA

Sgt. Walter H. Tobin, USA

Pfc. Asa E. Vance, USA

Pfc. David C. Wilkes, USA

Pfc. James C. Williams, USA

Cpl. Gerald N. Wilson, USA

Pvt. William J. Winchester, USA

Pfc. Roger L. Woods, USA

WWII

Quartermaster 2nd Class Daryle E. Artley, USN

Pfc. Marley R. Arthurholtz, USMC

Seaman 2nd Class John C. Auld, USN

Tech. 5 John E. Bainbridge, USA

Pfc. John R. Bayens, USMC

Cpl. Ralph L. Bennett, USA

Pvt. Edwin F. Benson, USMC

Staff Sgt. Willard R. Best, USAAF

Pfc. Waldean Black, USMC

Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Leo Blitz, USN

Pvt. Joseph F. Boschetti, USMCR

Fireman 1st Class Rudolph Blitz, USN

Seaman 1st Class Oris V. Brandt, USN

Pvt. Roy Brown, USA

Pfc. Norman A. Buan, USMCR

Pfc. John T. Burke, USMCR

Pvt. Connie Cagle, USA

Cpl. Thomas H. Cooper, USMCR

Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert L. Corn, USN

Fireman 3rd Class Harold K. Costill, USN

Lt. Thomas J.E. Crotty, USCG

1st Lt. Burleigh E. Curtis, USAAF

Staff Sgt. Paul Cybowski, USAAF

Chief Water Tender Francis D. Day, USN

Pfc. William F. Delaney, USA

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Harold L. Dick, USN

Pvt. Laurel W. Ebert, USA

Pfc. Alfred Edwards, USMCR

Pfc. Vincent J. Ferrara, USA

1st Lt. Joseph E. Finneran, USAAF

Pvt. Penn Franks, USA

Pvt. Floyd A. Fulmer, USA

Pvt. Jacob W. Givens, USA

Sgt. Howard F. Gotts, USAAF

2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, USAAF

Seaman 2nd Class Hubert P. Hall, USN 

 (Identified in FY18, family recently notified)

Pvt. Ted Hall, USMCR

Sgt. Vernon L. Hamilton, USAAF

Machinist’s Mate 1st Class George Hanson, USN

Pfc. Dewey H. Harris, USA

Pfc. Robert J. Hatch, USMC

Pfc. John W. Hayes USA

Seaman 1st Class Frank A. Hryniewicz, USN

Fireman 1st Class Billy J. Johnson, USN

Seaman 1st Class Stewart Jordan, USN

Sgt. John Kalausich, USAAF

Seaman 1st Class Ralph H. Keil, USN

Cpl. Walter J. Kellett, USAAF

Baker 2nd Class David L. Kesler, USN

Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class William A. Klasing, USN

Pfc. Michael Kocopy, USMCR

Staff Sgt. Wesley L. Kroenung, USMC

Seaman 2nd Class D.T. Kyser, USN

Mess Attendant 1st Class Johnnie C. Laurie, USN

Pfc. Kenneth W. Likens, USMCR

Pfc. Joseph R. Livermore, USMC

Pfc. Eugene E. Lochowicz, USA

FIrecontrolman 3rd Class Adolph J. Loebach, USN

1st Lt. Howard T. Lurcott, USAAF

Pfc. Donald E. Mangan, USA

Seaman 2nd Class Moyses A. 

Martinez, USNR

1st Lt. Herschel H. Mattes, USAAF

Water Tender 1st Class Edwin B. 

McCabe, USN

Cpl. Quentin W. McCall, USMC

Sgt. Robert W. McCarville, USA

Pvt. Ballard McCurley, USA

2nd Lt. William J. McGowan, USAAF

2nd Lt. John F. McTigue, USAAF

Pfc. Raymond H. Middlekauff, USA

Pfc. Clifford M. Mills, USA

1st Lt. Justin G. Mills, USMCR

Sgt. Jerome B. Morris, USMC

Seaman 2nd Class Ray H. Myers, USN

1st Lt. Steve Nagy, USAAF

Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Arnold M. 

 Nielsen, USN

Seaman 2nd Class Calvin H. Palmer, USN

Seaman 2nd Class Wilferd D. Palmer, USN

Fireman 3rd Class Jasper L. Pue, USN

Seaman 2nd Class Brady O. Prewitt, USN

Pvt. William E. Rambo, USMCR

Fireman 2nd Class Albert Renner, USN

Staff Sgt. Vincent J. Rogers, USAAF

Pfc. Dale W. Ross, USA

Tech Sgt. Charles G. Ruble, USAAF

Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Roman W. Sadlowski, USN

Seaman 1st Class Kenneth H. Sampson, USN

Tech Sgt. Alfred R. Sandini, USAAF

Seaman 1st Class Lyal J. Savage, USN

Staff Sgt. Carl M. Shaffer, USAAF

Signalman 3rd Class William J. Shanahan, USN

Sgt. Cread E. Shuey, USA

Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Ulis C. Steely, USN

2nd Lt. Walter B. Stone, USAAF

Seaman 2nd Class George A. Thompson, USN

Pfc. Hulett A. Thompson, USA

Seaman 2nd Class Richard J. Thomson, USN

Pvt. James I. Trick, USA

Plt. Sgt. George E. Trotter, USMC

Fire Controlman 3rd Class Victor P. Tumlinson, USN

Sgt. R.L. Tyler, USAAF

PFC. Jack B. Van Zandt, USMC

Pvt. Charlie M. Waid, USA

Pfc. Raymond Warren, USMCR

Seaman 1st Class Edward Wasielewski, USN

Fireman 1st Class James C. Webb, USN

Radioman 2nd Class Floyd A. Wells, USN

Seaman 1st Class Ernest R. West, USN

Pfc. Louis Wiesehan, USMC

Pvt. Harry W. Wilder, USA

Radioman 3rd Class Starring B. Winfield, USNR

Pfc. Lawrence E. Worthen, USA

Note: This page contains the names of 186 of the 

217 Americans DPAA accounted for in FY19. The 

names of the remaining 32 are not included as 

their families are pending notification.

Full profiles of these individuals can be seen at www.

dpaa.mil

Accounted For

Oct 1, 2018 - Sept 30, 2019

217 Partnerships Critical to Mission Success

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, bolstered by the strengthening 

and expansion of partnerships, the Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency (DPAA) accounted for 217 formerly 

missing persons from past conflicts, the highest yearly total 

reached by the agency or its predecessor organizations. Of 

the 217 newly accounted for, 140 were from World War II, 

72 from the Korean War, and five from the Vietnam War, 

including two civilians who flew for Air America.

“The noble mission of accounting for Americans missing 

from past conflicts continues to succeed 

because of the myriad partners DPAA is 

fortunate to work with,” said DPAA Director 

Kelly McKeague. “Foreign governments, 

Department of Defense and other U.S. 

agency partners, and private organizations 

all contribute to providing more answers to 

families.”

Besides the more than 35 partner 

nations whose cooperation in FY 2019 

contributed to this success, DPAA’s mission 

also benefited from stronger collaboration 

with the casualty offices from the Military 

Departments and Department of State; the 

Armed Forces Medical Examiner System 

and the Armed Forces DNA Identification 

Laboratory; the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command 

and U.S. European Command; the Defense 

Intelligence Agency - Stony Beach; the 

Department of Veterans Affairs; and the American Battle 

Monuments Commission.

By increasing its capability and capacity to reach this 

accounted-for milestone, DPAA also benefited from its 

strong relationships with groups representing families of 

missing Americans and to veterans service organizations.

“As we continue to increase the roster of private 

partners in both depth and breadth, we are able to 

leverage the talents they bring to the table to make the 

most of the agency’s organic resources,” said Dr. Thomas 

Holland, DPAA’s Director of Partnerships and Innovations. 

DPAA currently has 57 active partners with another 34 

potential arrangements in development, in addition to the 

15 Federal Entities with which they routinely work.

These larger public-private partnerships have 

significantly enhanced DPAA’s accounting efforts by 

expanding capacity and capability. Some of the core areas 

of assistance include field investigatory and excavation 

work (36 field missions in FY 2019, alone); historical 

research and analysis projects; database and systems 

development; data collection, such as with water samples 

collected worldwide to assist with isotopic analyses 

and historical record digitization activities; technology 

application testing and assessment; and public outreach 

and education efforts.

Central to the agency’s success is a strong 

communication program to stay connected to the family 

members of Americans still unaccounted for from past 

conflicts. During FY 2019, DPAA briefed 2,347 family 

members at seven Family Member Updates throughout 

the United States, and at the National League of Families of 

American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia Annual 

Meeting and Government Briefings, and the Korean War/

Cold War Annual Government Briefings, both held in 

Arlington, Virginia.

DPAA and its many partners remain committed to 

the research, investigation, recovery, and identification 

of nearly 39,000 unaccounted-for Americans who are 

assessed to be possibly recoverable from World War II, the 

Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and other 

designated past conflicts.

Underwater recovery site in Marsaxlokk, Republic of Malta. Photo courtesy of University of Malta

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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4

2018

October

DPAA had key leader engagements in the European and Middle Eastern 

regions and conducted several important activities in October 2018, 

including recovery operations in the Republic of Kiribati, disinterments 

from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), and joint 

field activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Socialist 

Republic of Vietnam.

Opposite page: Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Shaffer participates in a disinterment 

ceremony held at NMCP, Honolulu, Hawaii, on Oct. 22, 2018. The Korean 

War Disinterment Plan was approved in August 2018, has seven phases, 

and is expected to take five to seven years to complete, depending on DPAA 

and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner laboratories capacity and the 

operational schedule agreed to by the NMCP. Each phase is grouped by its 

reported geographical recovery location, and the temporary cemeteries 

in those geographic areas, and then by remains recovery circumstances 

(including loss location, timing of loss, and/or circumstances of remains 

return). The phasing and order of disinterment was carefully considered 

to ensure efficient use of agency analytical resources, and to provide 

answers to the greatest number of families in the most expeditious 

manner possible. A Korean War Disinterment Plan update can be found 

at: www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/1973863/

korean-war-disinterment-plan-phases/ (Photo by Staff Sgt. Leah Ferrante)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
A Soldier with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) salutes during 

a funeral service held at Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 18, 2018, for 

Army Staff Sgt. Marshall F. Kipina, 21, of Calumet, Michigan. On July 13, 

1966, Kipina was assigned to the 131st Aviation Company, serving as an observer aboard an OV-1C aircraft, on a night 

surveillance mission. Visibility was poor due to heavy thunderstorms. Radar and radio contact were lost with the 

aircraft, which was not uncommon due to the mountainous terrain in that part of Laos. When the aircraft did not 

return as scheduled, search efforts were initiated, but no crash site was found. 

5 6

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class 

Chad Niebels and U.S. 

Army Capt. Spencer 

Roberts, both assigned 

to DPAA, set up a grid 

marker for an excavation 

site in the Xieng Khouang 

Province, Laos, Oct. 27, 

2018. The DPAA team 

was one of three in 

the region, totaling 62 

personnel, conducting 

recovery operations 

in search of service 

members who went 

missing in action during 

the Vietnam War. 

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class 

Justin Kent, cousin-in-law 

of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. 

Marshall F. Kipina, holds 

Kipina’s remains during a 

chain of custody ceremony 

at the DPAA Hawaii facility, 

Joint Base Pearl HarborHickam, Hawaii, October 

15th, 2018. Kipina went 

missing July 1966 when 

his aircraft disappeared 

during a night surveillance 

mission from Phu Bai 

Airfield over Attapu 

Province, Laos. Kent served 

as the military escort as 

Kipina’s remains were later 

transported to Arlington 

National Cemetery, 

Virginia, where he was 

buried with full military 

honors on October 18, 

2018.

LAOS RECOVERY

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 

1st Class Amara Timberlake

CHAIN OF CUSTODY

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 

2nd Class Seth Coulter

RENDERED HONORS

Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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2018

November

In November, DPAA key leader engagements in the European region and 

conducted mission support activities in the Lao People’s Democratic 

Republic (LPDR), Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) and Republic of 

Kiribati; joint field activities in the LPDR, SRV, Kiribati, Republic of India 

and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea; continued disinterments 

from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) and the 

Manila American Cemetery; an underwater mission in Italy; and a Family 

Member Update in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Opposite page: Local citizens working with a DPAA recovery team move 

buckets of soil during an excavation in the LPDR November 3, 2018. At the 

end of the Vietnam War, 573 Americans were unaccounted for in Laos. 

Today, 287 have been repatriated and identified. For more than 30 years, 

the U.S. and LPDR have actively cooperated to pursue the fullest possible 

accounting for missing Americans lost during the Vietnam War. (Photo by 

Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Bruch)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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Lao citizens wait to be seen by a U.S. Army 

physician, Col. Ronald Wells, U.S. Army 

Medical Command, during a humanitarian 

medical outreach clinic conducted in Laos in 

conjunction with DPAA recovery operations in 

the region.

General Major (Ret.) Aleksandr Valentinovich 

Kirilin, Russian Side Deputy Chairman of the 

U.S. Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs 

(USRJC) and Air Force General (Ret.) Robert 

Fogelsong, U.S. Side Chairman of the USRJC, 

lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown 

Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 

27, 2018. The ceremony was part of the 

22nd Plenum of the USRJC where participants 

discussed continued U.S.-Russia work as both 

sides continue to account for their respective 

nation’s missing personnel from past conflicts. 

Dr. Franklin Damann (third 

from left with mic), Laboratory 

Deputy Director, DPAA Offutt 

Laboratory; Armed Forces 

Medical Examiner System 

(AFMES) Director U.S. Army Col. 

Louis Finelli (second from the 

left); and Suzanne Barritt-Ross, 

AFMES DNA Operations Technical 

Leader, participate in a panel 

discussion about the PBS Nova 

documentary “Last B-24” at 

Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. 

The documentary focuses on the 

search for the Tulsamerican, a 

B-24 bomber that crashed off the 

coast of Croatia in the Adriatic 

Sea during World War II. The 

documentary, which premiered 

Nov. 7, 2018, can be seen at:

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/

last-b-24/

Alexandra Bonnyman, daughter 

of Medal of Honor recipient, U.S. 

Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman 

Jr., places an American Battle 

Monuments Commission rosette 

next to her father’s name during 

a ceremony at NMCP, Honolulu, 

Hawaii, Nov. 19, 2018. The ceremony 

was in commemoration of the 75th 

anniversary of the Battle of Tarawa, 

that was fought on 20-23 November 

1943. It took place at the Tarawa 

Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was 

part of Operation GALVANIC, the U.S. 

invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 

Japanese, Koreans, and Americans 

died in the fighting, mostly on and 

around the small island of Betio, 

in the far southwest of the Tarawa 

Atoll.

PROVIDING AID

Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Bruch

U.S. - RUSSIA WREATH LAYING

Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker

DOCUMENTARY PANEL

Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker

BATTLE OF TARAWA - 75TH 

ANNIVERSARY

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth 

Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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2018

December

While some federal agencies closed as a result of the government 

shutdown in December, DPAA remained fully funded and continued to 

conduct operations. Activities included joint field activities in the Lao 

People’s Democratic Republic, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of 

Kiribati, Republic of India and Republic of the Philippines; disinterments 

from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and the Manila 

American Cemetery; and mission support activities in several countries 

including India, the Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Korea.

Opposite page: U.S. Nav y Capt. (Ret.) James Hickerson and his wife, 

Carole, hold the ceremonial maile lei at Building 220 on Joint Base 

Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, during a re-dedication ceremony held 

Dec. 14, 2018. The building is now home to the newly-established DPAA 

Academy, and hosts a curriculum designed to train and prepare partners 

and augmentees to support DPAA . As of Oct. 31, 2019, 51 individuals 

attended the Academy. Hickerson was a Vietnam War POW after his A-7 

was shot down December 22, 1967, in North Vietnam. After five years in 

POW camps, he returned in Operation HOMECOMING in 1973. Carole’s 

first husband, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Steve Hansen, was lost June 3, 

1967, when his CH-47 was shot down in Laos. Capt. Hansen’s remains 

were recovered and identified in 1999. (Photo by Mass Communication 

Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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U.S. military and DoD 

personnel dig through 

soil during a Joint 

Field Activity in Thua 

Thien Hue Province, 

Vietnam, in search 

of unaccounted for 

personnel from the 

Vietnam War. The 

province is known as an 

area of heavy fighting 

during the Vietnam War, 

as it was the secondmost northerly province 

of South Vietnam, close 

to the border with North 

Vietnam at the 17th 

parallel.

DPAA members and 

U.S. Air Force C-17 

aircrew conduct 

an honorable carry 

for the remains of 

recovered Americans 

at Joint Base Pearl 

Harbor-Hickam, 

Hawaii, Dec. 13, 

2018. The possible 

remains were 

recovered in Laos 

as well as Vietnam 

and accessioned 

into DPAA’s 

laboratory to be 

examined by forensic 

anthropologists and 

odontologists as part 

of the efforts to make 

an identification.

U.S. Navy Diver 1st 

Class James Mostek, 

assigned to Mobile 

Diving and Salvage 

Company ONEEIGHT, embarked 

aboard USNS Salvor 

(T-ARS 52), waits 

on a diving stage 

during a two-hour 

decompression stop 

after diving to 240 

feet off the coast 

of Madang, Papua 

New Guinea, Dec. 7, 

2018. The sailor was 

completing a DPAA 

underwater recovery 

mission in search of 

personnel missing 

from World War II. 

Members of DPAA, the 

Defense Intelligence Agency 

- Stony Beach and three 

Vietnamese Ministries 

celebrate the 30th Anniversary 

of sustained operations in 

Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec. 12, 2018. 

The 30th Anniversary event 

was held to commemorate 

and recognize joint U.S. and 

Vietnam efforts to return 

Americans missing from the 

Vietnam War. The 30-year 

relationship, marked by 

increasing cooperation, grew 

out of high-level discussions 

between the two governments 

from 1975 through the mid 

1980s.

JOINT FIELD 

ACTIVITIES IN 

VIETNAM

Photo by Staff Sgt. Jamarius Fortson

HONORABLE CARRY

Photo by Staff Sgt. Mikaley Kline

30 YEARS OF SUSTAINED 

OPS WITH VIETNAM

Photo by Staff Sgt. Jamarius Fortson

UNDERWATER OPS

Photo by Mass Communication 

Specialist1st Class Tyler Thompson

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
Nghe An 

Province, 

Socialist 

Republic of 

Vietnam

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael 

O’Neal, a photographer and 

member of a DPAA recovery 

team, took photos of his 

teammates at the beginning 

and at the end of a work day 

on an excavation site, Dec. 4, 

2018, in Nghe An Province, 

Vietnam. 

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. 

Michael O’Neal

All In a 

Day’s 

Work

15 16 Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
17 18

2019

January

The calendar year began with key leader engagements in the IndoPacific and European regions; disinterments from the National Memorial 

Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) and the Manila American Cemetery; 

joint field activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), 

Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Philippines 

and Republic of the Union of Myanmar; underwater operations in the 

Independent State of Papua New Guinea; and a Family Member Update 

(FMU) in Birmingham, Alabama.

Opposite page: Dr. Kim Maeyama (left), a DPAA scientific recovery expert, 

and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy O’Shields (right), a DPAA senior 

mountaineer, conduct a site survey during an investigation mission in 

Houaphan Province, LPDR, Jan. 30, 2019. The investigation mission lasted 

30 days and resulted in the successful gathering of information from 

several sites for possible future recovery operations. (Photo by Mass 

Communication Specialist 2nd class Claire Farin) 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
19 20

DPAA service members conduct an honorable carry for the remains of U.S. 

service members at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Jan. 30, 2019. The 

remains were disinterred from graves at the Manila American Cemetery in the 

Philippines.

U.S. service members assigned to DPAA participate 

in a disinterment ceremony held at NMCP, Honolulu, 

Hawaii, Jan. 8, 2019, as part of Phase I of the Korean War 

Disinterment Plan. This phase includes disinterring the Unknowns recovered from United Nations Memorial Cemetery 

(UNMC) Masan, along with the UNMC Tanggok recoveries and includes Unknowns from the UN temporary cemetery at 

Koto-ri and the single Unknown from the UN temporary cemetery at Sukchon.

Laurence Holt shares his reflection 

of his uncle, U.S. Army Air Forces 

Staff Sgt. James Holt, missing 

in World War II from a mission 

over what is now West Papua, 

Indonesia, during a remembrance 

ceremony at a DPAA FMU in 

Birmingham, Alabama, Jan. 26, 

2019. Each year, DPAA holds seven 

regional meetings and two annual 

government briefings to provide 

information to the families of DoD 

personnel still unaccounted for 

from past conflicts.

DPAA personnel often 

find ways to serve outside 

of the agency’s assigned 

mission. On Jan. 11, 2019, 

a dozen DPAA teammates 

volunteered to help with a 

restoration project at the USS 

Battleship Missouri Memorial 

located on Joint Base Pearl 

Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The 

volunteers put in a full day 

of hard work that involved 

prying up sections of the 

ship’s teak wood deck so it 

could be replaced. 

WELCOME HOME

Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Photo by Sgt. Kelly L. Timney

FAMILY MEMBER UPDATE

Photo by Staff Sgt. Jamarius Fortson

KOREAN WAR DISINTERMENT PLAN

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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2019

February

The year ’s shortest month was not short on work for DPAA as agency 

personnel began or continued several activities across the globe. Those 

actions included a Family Member Update in San Jose, California; mission 

support activities in the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and the 

Solomon Islands; underwater operations in Papua New Guinea; key leader 

engagements in the Indo-Pacific region; and field activities in the Lao 

People’s Democratic Republic, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Kiribati, 

Republic of the Philippines, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the 

Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV).

Opposite page: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Swope, a mountaineer 

assigned to DPAA, screens dirt in Hong Van Village, SRV, Feb. 24, 2019. 

The recovery team traveled to the area as part of efforts to locate 

three U.S. service members lost during the Vietnam War. The mission 

was part of the largest joint field activity ever held with a total of 135 

DPAA members and Department of Defense augmentees. (Photo by Sgt. 

Jacqueline Clifford)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
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DPAA Director Kelly McKeague 

addresses attendees of 

the 59th American Legion 

Washington Conference on Feb. 

26, 2019. DPAA proactively 

communicates with veterans 

service organizations to sustain 

transparency and provide 

current updates on the agency’s 

efforts to research, recover, 

identify and account for those 

still missing from past conflicts.

DPAA personnel and augmentees 

attached to a mission in Ratanakiri 

Province, Cambodia, during the 

period of Jan. 28th to Mar. 13th, 

2019, spend their days digging 

and screening alongside local 

villagers in hopes of finding two 

missing U.S. service members lost 

during the Vietnam War.

An honor guard detail, comprised 

of U.S. Sailors assigned to Navy 

Region Hawaii, prepares to fold the 

American flag over the casket of U.S. 

Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class 

Charles Harris during a funeral at 

the National Military Cemetery of 

the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Feb. 

4, 2019. Harris was assigned to the 

USS Oklahoma, which sustained fire 

from Japanese aircraft and multiple 

torpedo hits during the attack on 

Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, resulting 

in the deaths of more than 429 crew 

members. Harris was accounted 

for on April 30, 2018, as part of 

an ongoing DPAA effort to identify 

Unknowns from the USS Oklahoma. 

To date, 227 of the 388 unaccounted 

for have been identified.

U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Paul 

Bellanca, an explosive ordnance 

disposal technician augmented to 

DPAA, chops a tree in Hong Van 

Village in Vietnam’s Thua ThienHue Province. During the mission, 

a total of 68 U.S. personnel and 

their Vietnamese counterparts 

conducted recovery operations 

at seven sites believed to be 

associated with unaccounted-for 

American servicemen. This mission 

was the 134th joint field activity 

conducted in Vietnam since joint 

operations began on a regular 

basis in 1988. Additionally, three 

investigation teams conducted 

interviews and both ground 

and underwater site surveys. 

U.S. personnel also conducted a 

trilateral investigation in Laos with 

Vietnamese witnesses.

VETERANS ENGAGEMENT

Photo by Mr. Chuck Prichard

RATANAKIRI PROVINCE, 

CAMBODIA

Photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Martin

USS OKLAHOMA FUNERAL

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Seth Coulter

HONG VAN VILLAGE, VIETNAM

Photo by Sgt. Jacqueline Clifford

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
25 26

Indo-Pacific Directorate

DPAA’s Indo-Pacific (IP) Directorate maintained 

operations throughout the region while working 

diligently to expand access into previously limited areas. 

IP conducted a total of 28 investigation missions and 49 

recovery missions. These efforts spanned the expansive 

Pacific region, sending DPAA military and DoD civilian 

personnel and partner organizations to Vietnam, Laos, 

Cambodia, South Korea, Kiribati, Philippines, Palau, 

Papua New Guinea, India, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, 

Indonesia, Malaysia, Guam, and China. 

Further, IP conducted a mission in the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Mariana Islands and Marshall Islands. 

The directorate’s historical research during FY19 also 

led to the disinterment of 221 caskets of Unknowns 

from Manila American Cemetery and the National 

Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Partnership & Innovation 

Directorate

Partnership & Innovation (PI) continues to expand 

the number and variety of DPAA’s external partners, 

and has entered into discussions with more than 138 

potential partner institutions, which led to the signing 

of 16 more formal Memorandum of Understanding 

agreements. 

Additionally, in FY19, DPAA collaborated with 

partners by conducting 36 field missions worldwide. 

Partners included:

•Terrestrial Investigation and Recovery: U. of 

Wisconsin, Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, 

U. of Maryland, Cranfield U., U. of Illinois at Chicago, 

SEARCH, Florida Gulf Coast U., U. of Vienna, Western 

Carolina U., U. of New Orleans, U. of Innsbruck, Chico 

State U., U. of Papua New Guinea, U. of Queensland, 

Ohio Valley Archeology, Breaking Ground Heritage, 

American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, and 

History Flight.

•Underwater Investigation and Recovery: East 

Carolina U., U. of Malta, U. of Delaware, Institute of 

Maritime Heritage, Deep Sea Productions, Scripps 

Oceanographic Institute, Project Recover, Kiel U., 

Florida Public Archeology Network, Ships of Discovery, 

Historic England.

•Surveys and Mission Support: U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers - Army Geospatial Center, U. of New 

Orleans, and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the 

Advancement of Military Medicine. 

Of note, PI also updated agency procedures for 

the cooperative agreements and grants program and 

expanded the agency’s volunteer program. They also 

developed curriculum supporting the DPAA Field 

Academy and hosted four separate sessions for 35 

individuals representing more than 30 institutions.

•Research: PI developed curriculum supporting 

the inaugural DPAA Academy Research session 

which saw 14 individuals representing 10 institutions 

attend. Throughout FY19, DPAA collaborated with the 

following research institutions: The Ohio State U., U. of 

Wisconsin, U. of New Orleans, the National World War 

II Museum, Texas A&M U., East Carolina U., Temple 

U., Southern Mississippi U., Brigham Young U., U. of 

Nebraska, Technology Heritage and Investigation in 

Archaeology, Missing Air Crew Project, and multiple 

individual volunteers.

European-Mediterranean 

Directorate

In FY19, DPAA’s European-Mediterranean (EM) 

Directorate conducted 15 organic investigations, nine 

partnered investigations, four organic recoveries, 11 

partnered recoveries, and nine contracted missions 

(six recovery and three investigatory missions) for a 

total of 48 executed field missions. These terrestrial 

and underwater missions were in: Austria, Germany, 

Poland, France, Belgium, United Kingdom, the 

Netherlands, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Malta, 

Lithuania, Kuwait, and Panama. 

Disinterments from the European-Mediterranean 

region significantly enhanced DPAA’s overall mission; 

the DPAA Offutt Lab accessioned 77 remains of 

Unknowns from disinterments conducted in American 

Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries throughout 

Europe in FY19. 

The European-Mediterranean Joint Commission 

Support Division (JCSD) planned and participated in a 

U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs Plenary 

session in Washington in November 2018. JCSD also 

planned and executed two technical talks on World 

War II and the Vietnam War.

DPAA Laboratory

Results from DPAA’s Laboratory hit a high-water mark in 

FY19 with a total of 217 previously missing individuals 

being accounted for. The resolved losses included five 

from the Vietnam War, 72 from the Korean War and 

140 from World War II.

The Agency conducted significant work at all three 

laboratory locations in FY19. Accessions into the lab 

totaled 449, which included 297 from disinterments, 54 

from unilateral turnovers, 75 from field operations and 

29 from agency partners. The DPAA labs continued to 

innovate, instituting new methods of data analysis to 

contribute to expansive projects undergoing analysis. 

On Jan. 1, 2019, they began using a new Laboratory 

Information Management System in support of agency 

efforts to become a digital workforce. Simultaneously, 

the scientific staff established its first stable isotope 

testing laboratory. Over 400 samples have undergone 

stable isotope testing in FY19 in support of DPAA 

casework. During FY19, the lab maintained its good 

standing with international forensic accreditation by 

the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board.

DPAA Academy presentation, Photo by Staff Sgt. Leah Ferrante

Laos Recovery, Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Bruch

Recovery in Germany, Photo by Sgt. 1st Class David J. Marshall

Forensic analysis in Hawaii Lab, Photo by Sgt. Jacqueline A. Clifford

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
27 28

2019

March

March was a robust month for DPAA as the agency ’s teams entered the 

beginning of the high operational tempo season. Activities included 

key engagements by DPAA leaders in the Indo-Pacific region; joint 

field activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Kingdom of 

Cambodia, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Kiribati, Republic 

of the Philippines, the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of the Union 

of Myanmar, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, 

and the United Kingdom; underwater operations in Papua New Guinea; 

disinterments from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and 

the Manila American Cemetery; consular talks with officials from several 

countries including the People’s Republic of China; and a Family Member 

Update (FMU) in San Antonio, Texas.

Opposite page: Diane Nichols (left) and Suzie Hall (right) share a moment 

with the profile of their father, Roy Townley, prior to a chain of custody 

ceremony held at DPAA’s Hawaii facility on March 18, 2019. Townley, an 

Air-America co-pilot, and his crew were on a routine resupply mission 

when their aircraft went down over Laos Dec. 27, 1971. After decades 

of investigative efforts involving predecessor agencies and foreign 

government counterparts, DPAA-led joint missions recovered remains in 

2017 and 2018 that led to the identification of Townley and George Ritter 

in September 2018 and Edward Weissenback in December, 2018. (Photo 

by Staff Sgt. Leah Ferrante)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson Platoon helps conduct military funeral honors with funeral 

escort for U.S. Army Air Forces Capt. Lawrence Dickson at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, March 

22, 2019. Dickson was a Tuskegee Airman (a member of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group) who 

went missing in December 1944 when his plane crashed during his return from an aerial reconnaissance mission. His 

P-51D aircraft suffered engine failure and was seen crashing near the borders of Italy and Austria. In support of this 

mission, DPAA partnered with the University of New Orleans, which implemented the field school that conducted the 

recovery effort; the University of Innsbruck, which greatly assisted with the field school; and the National World War 

II Museum in New Orleans, which provided key support to the field school. Dickson is the first Tuskegee Airman to be 

accounted for from the 27 who are missing.

29 30

David White, an 

analyst with the 

Defense Intelligence 

Agency - Stony Beach, 

talks to a witness 

during a mission 

with Research and 

Investigation Team 

Bravo in Vietnam, 

March 14, 2019. 

During the 35-day 

mission, the team 

investigated several 

sites correlated 

with missing service 

members in hopes of 

recommending future 

recovery operations.

DPAA Director Kelly McKeague talks with Sherry Scheurich during an FMU in 

San Antonio, Texas, on March 23, 2019. Scheurich is the sister of U.S. Navy Lt. 

Cmdr. Thomas Scheurich who went missing during the Vietnam War when his A-6 

Intruder jet failed to return from a mission. The FMU was attended by 350 family members, representing 175 losses, 

and was the largest attendance in the program’s 25-year history. Each year, DPAA hosts seven regional FMUs for 

family members of unaccounted for personnel who live within a 350-mile radius of major metropolitan areas around 

the country. These updates address the individual cases of the family members, enable a two-way conversation, and 

bring information to their communities about DPAA’s mission.

LARGEST FAMILY UPDATE

Photo by Tech Sgt. Sarah Guthrie

VIETNAM 

INVESTIGATIONS

Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall

DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY

Photo by Elizabeth Frazier

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
31 32

2019

April

DPAA activities in April included disinterments from the National 

Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and the Manila American Cemetery; 

mission support activities in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), 

Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the Independent State of Papua 

New Guinea; joint field activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 

SRV, Republic of Korea, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Philippines, 

the Northern Mariana Islands, Federal Republic of Germany, and Republic 

of Palau; and a Family Member Update (FMU) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Opposite page: DPAA recovery team members sift through soil during 

recovery operations in Reken, Germany, April 29, 2019. The team excavated 

the site for 30 days to gather evidence related to a service member lost 

during World War II. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World 

War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are more 

than 72,000 service members still unaccounted for from World War II. 

(Photo by Sgt. 1st Class David J. Marshall)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
33 34

U.S. service members assigned to DPAA participate in a repatriation 

ceremony in Pakse, Laos, April 10, 2019, following a DPAA recovery 

mission where the team recovered possible human remains believed to 

be from four individuals lost during the Vietnam War. After the repatriation ceremony, the remains were transported 

to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and were accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory where they will be 

examined by forensic anthropologists and odontologists.

Todd Livick, DPAA’s Director of 

Outreach and Communications 

(OC), provides a mission overview 

to Airmen attending the Airman 

Leadership Course at Hill Air Force 

Base, Utah, on April 25, 2019. 

Livick, along with Johnie Webb, 

Deputy Director of OC, and Jennifer 

Vallee, Armed Forces Medical 

Examiner System Chief of Public and 

Congressional Affairs, spent time in 

the Salt Lake City area meeting with 

strategic partners, congressional 

staffers, service members and 

DoD civilians before hosting the 

Salt Lake City FMU. Nearly 100 

family members representing 50 

losses attended the meeting to 

stay informed on current DPAA 

operations as well as to share their 

own stories of loved ones that are 

still missing from past conflicts. 

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Zachary 

Wales (left), a DPAA linguist/

analyst, and Kyle Bracken 

(right), a DPAA historian, 

investigate a witness-reported 

remains location near Yangju 

City, Gyeonggi Province, 

Republic of Korea. The mission 

included eight DPAA team 

members, three augmentees, 

and two South Korean 

Ministry of National Defense 

Agency for Killed in Action 

Recovery and Identification 

(MAKRI) representatives. 

The mission focused on 

finding new leads via village 

canvassing and battlefield 

survey activities during a 30-

day mission from March 30 to 

May 2, 2019. 

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth 

Coulter

SOUTH KOREA MISSION

Photo by Benjamin Fransen

LAOS REPATRIATION

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
35 36

2019

May

DPAA highlights for May included mission support activities in the 

Republic of Palau, Republic of Kiribati, Kingdom of Thailand, Lao People’s 

Democratic Republic (LPDR), Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), Kingdom 

of Cambodia and Republic of the Union of Myanmar; joint field activities in 

the LPDR, SRV, Kiribati, Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, the People’s 

Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Federal Republic of Germany, and 

Independent State of Papua New Guinea; an underwater operation in 

the Hellenic Republic of Greece; and a Family Member Update (FMU) in 

Omaha, Nebraska.

Opposite page: Dr. Brittany Walter, a forensic anthropologist, briefs 41 

family members during a visit to DPAA’s laboratory at Offutt Air Force 

Base, Nebraska, May 17, 2019. Family members were able to see firsthand 

how identifications are made through anthropology, odontology, DNA 

sampling, material evidence, radiograph comparison and more. The DPAA 

lab visit was held in conjunction with an FMU conducted the following 

day in Omaha for 111 family members representing 61 losses. (Photo by 

Staff Sgt. Matt Bruch) 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
37 38

U.S. Marine Corps 

Capt. Justin Harty, 

DPAA team leader, 

makes a promise of 

trust with a village 

chief in Morobe 

Province, Papua New 

Guinea, May 7, 2019. 

An investigation team 

traveled to the village 

to collect the remains 

of a service member 

lost in World War ll. In 

1942, Japan invaded 

the province and 

built a military base 

there. The battles for 

control of that base 

and the surrounding 

area were fierce and 

resulted in heavy 

losses.

Molly Hildenbrand, 

an Armed Forces 

Medical Examiner 

System (AFMES) DNA 

analyst, collects a 

DNA family reference 

sample during 

a DPAA Family 

Member Update in 

Omaha, Nebraska, 

May 18, 2019. 

DNA is utilized to 

support more than 

90 percent of DPAA 

identifications. The 

DoD DNA Operations, 

a division of AFMES, 

is DoD’s sole DNA 

laboratory tasked 

with current and 

past conflicts human 

identification efforts. 

Dr. Megan Ingvoldstad, a DPAA 

scientific recovery expert, shovels 

dirt during a recovery mission in Thua 

Thien Hue Province, Vietnam, May 

23, 2019. Ingvoldstad, a DiplomateAmerican Board of Forensic 

Anthropology-certified forensic 

anthropologist, has been on 15 

recovery and investigation missions, 

including five missions to Vietnam 

and four to Laos, during her seven 

years at the agency.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Theresa 

Blackmon (left) and U.S. Army Sgt. Colton 

Battin (right), sift soil using a low pressure 

water hose during recovery operations in 

Münster, Germany, on May 6, 2019. DPAA 

team members excavated the site in hopes 

of recovering the remains of a missing 

service member lost during World War II.

LASTING BONDS

Photo by Staff Sgt. Leah Ferrante

DNA COLLECTION

Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew 

J. Bruch

SCIENTIFIC RECOVERY EXPERT

Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall

SCREENING IN GERMANY

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Claire Farin

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
39 40

2019

June

June saw a marked uptick in DPAA activity that included mission support 

activities in the Kingdom of Thailand, Lao People’s Democratic Republic 

(LPDR), Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), Kingdom of Cambodia and 

Republic of Korea (ROK); joint field activities in LPDR, SRV, Republic of 

Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, ROK, Guam, State of Kuwait, Federal Republic 

of Germany, Republic of Poland, Romania, and Republic of Croatia; 

disinterments from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific; and 

an update to family members with loved ones missing from the Vietnam 

War who attended the annual meeting of the National League of POW/MIA 

Families held in Arlington, Virginia.

Opposite page: Joe Davis (left), Director of Communications and Public 

Affairs for the Washington office of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Ann 

Mills-Griffiths (right), Chairman of the Board and CEO of the National League 

of POW/MIA Families, unveil the 2019 National POW/MIA Recognition 

Day poster during the League’s 50th anniversary meeting June 19, 2019. 

This year ’s annual meeting marked five decades of the League’s efforts 

to account as fully as possible for America’s Vietnam War POW/MIAs and 

other unreturned veterans. Highlights included briefings from the Under 

Secretary of Defense (Policy); the Defense Intelligence Agency Director; 

the Assistant Secretary of State; veteran service organizations; the U.S.-

Russia Joint Commission; a special 50 Years of History, Commitment & 

Legacy panel; and the League’s Archival Research Committee. Additionally, 

the 50th anniversary dinner and candlelight ceremony was attended by 

over 400 guests. DPAA also hosted a Friday, June 21 Pentagon Courtyard 

reception and a tour of the POW/MIA Corridor. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Leah 

Ferrante)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
41 42

Dr. Laurel Freas, a forensic 

anthropologist, tosses a sandbag 

during a recovery mission in 

Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, June 

19, 2019. DPAA team members 

deployed to the area in hopes of 

recovering Marines unaccounted 

for from the Battle of Guadalcanal 

during World War II.

Cadet Joshua Smoak, Class of 

2020, U.S. Military Academy 

(USMA) at West Point, New York, 

excavates soil in the search for 

remains or material evidence of 

missing service members during 

a DPAA recovery mission in Thua 

Thien Hue Province, Vietnam, June 

7, 2019. The mission included 

a pilot program for USMA 

personnel to work with DPAA 

to support future missions as 

well as give cadets a leadership 

development experience they 

might not otherwise get in the 

U.S. After returning home from 

the mission, Smoak commented, 

“My grandfather actually 

served in Vietnam, and I felt so 

humbled that I was able to go 

honor his fallen brothers. I’ll 

be able to converse with him 

about something my generation 

otherwise wouldn’t be able to 

connect with.”

U.S. Army Spec. Julio Melendez, 

assigned to the 7th Engineer 

Dive Detachment, 84th 

Engineer Battalion, 130th 

Engineer Brigade, dredges the 

seabed during underwater 

recovery operations off the 

coast of Halong Bay, Vietnam, 

June 14, 2019. The recovery 

efforts, led by DPAA to locate 

evidence possibly related to 

service members who went 

missing during the Vietnam 

War, are painstaking, especially 

in the murky waters off the 

coast of Vietnam.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chris Varner, 

a DPAA recovery/investigation team 

sergeant, leads his team through 

a river to the site of a possible 

helicopter crash in Quang Nam 

Province, Vietnam, June 18, 2019. 

DPAA conducted investigations 

in the region in search of service 

members who went missing during 

the Vietnam War.

VIETNAM INVESTIGATION

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

Amara Timberlake

SOLOMON ISLANDS RECOVERY

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Erik Cardenas)

FORGING FUTURE LEADERSHIP

Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall

UNDERWATER OPS

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Seth Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
43 44

2019

July

DPAA activities in July included joint field activities in the Lao People’s 

Democratic Republic (LPDR), Republic of Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, 

State of Kuwait, Federal Republic of Germany, Kingdom of Belgium, 

Republic of Austria and Republic of Malta; mission support activities in 

the People’s Republic of China, Republic of the Philippines and Republic 

of the Union of Myanmar; and disinterments from the National Memorial 

Cemetery of the Pacific.

Opposite page: DPAA recovery personnel, DoD augmentees, and Laotian 

workers excavate a unit as part of a recovery mission conducted in Xam 

Neua, Houaphanh Province, LPDR, July 24, 2019. The mission was the 

155th joint field activity in Laos. Two recovery teams comprising 42 U.S. 

personnel conducted excavation operations at two sites in Houaphanh 

Province, working from July 19 to Aug. 26, 2019, to recover the remains of 

service members missing from the Vietnam War. (Photo by Cpl. Harrison 

Rakhshani)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
45 46

Bob Wallace, Executive 

Director of the Veterans 

of Foreign Wars (VFW), 

receives a Distinguished 

Public Service Medal 

from DPAA Director 

Kelly McKeague at the 

120th VFW National 

Convention in Orlando, 

Florida, July 21. Wallace 

recently retired as the 

Executive Director of 

the VFW Washington, 

D.C. Office, where he 

was the longest tenured 

Executive Director 

in the history of this 

major veteran service 

organization.

Jessica Gadis, an 

osteologist with History 

Flight Inc., studies 

remains found from 

the Battle of Tarawa, 

Kiribati, July 11, 

2019. History Flight, 

a DPAA partner, is a 

nonprofit organization 

dedicated to finding 

and recovering missing 

U.S. service members. 

DPAA repatriated the 

remains of at least 22 

service members killed 

during the battle of 

Tarawa in World War II 

on July 17, 2019, and 

13 more on Sept. 27, 

2019.

Alex GarciaPutnam (left), and 

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st 

Class Chad Niebels 

(right), measure an 

excavation unit during 

a recovery mission 

in Guadalcanal, 

Solomon Islands, July 

16, 2019. During the 

recovery mission, 

DPAA personnel and 

augmentees spent 

their days digging 

and screening soil 

to gather evidence 

related to missing 

U.S. Marines lost 

during the first Allied 

offensive in the Pacific 

Theater of World War 

II. 

Lee Byoung Goo, Vice Minister of 

the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of 

Patriots and Veterans Affairs (left), and 

Lee Namwoo, Deputy Minister of the 

Republic of Korea’s Office of Personnel 

and Welfare (right), render honors 

after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the 

Unknown Soldier at Arlington National 

Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, July 31, 

2019. The visit was held in conjunction 

with the DPAA’s Korean and Cold 

War Annual Government Briefings. 

The Republic of Korea government 

and the Ministry of National Defense 

Agency for Killed in Action Recovery 

and Identification (MAKRI) have been 

staunch supporters of DPAA and the U.S. 

Government in the investigation and 

recovery of those lost during the Korean 

War.

RECOGNIZING 

PARTNERS

Photo by Mass Communication 

Specialist 1st Class Amara Timberlake

PARTNERS AT WORK

Photo by Sgt. Melanye Martinez

PRECISION FIELD 

WORK

Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael O’Neal

PARTNER NATIONS

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Seth 

Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
47 48

2019

August

DPAA’s hosting of family members in Washington, D.C. for the agency ’s 

Korean War and Cold War Annual Government Briefings was the highlight 

of activities in August. Others included mission support activities in the 

Solomon Islands, Republic of the Union of Myanmar and Republic of Kiribati; 

joint field activities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Socialist 

Republic of Vietnam, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Poland, 

Republic of Austria, the Italian Republic, and Hungary; and disinterments 

from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Opposite page: Elizabeth Jones-Ohree lays a hand on the casket of her 

younger brother, U.S. Army Pfc. William “Hoover ” Jones, Aug. 22, 2019, at 

Arlington National Cemetery. On Nov. 26, 1950, after his unit, Company 

E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, made 

a fighting withdrawal from an engagement with Chinese forces in North 

Korea, Jones was reported missing in action. The U.S. Army declared him 

deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953, and his remains were reported as nonrecoverable. On July 27, 2018, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 

turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American 

service members killed during the Korean War. Jones was the second to 

be identified from those remains. The funeral, which was attended by 56 

family and friends, was also covered by HBO’s Vice News Tonight as part of 

a story on the agency and its operations which aired September 6, 2019. 

The story can be found on the Vice News YouTube Channel at: 

https://youtu.be/Zh4BMoDN_AA (Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
49 50

A U.S. service member 

attached to DPAA 

uses a water screen to 

wash soil away from 

other matter that may 

provide evidence during 

a recovery mission in 

the United Kingdom 

Aug. 5, 2019. This 

was DPAA’s first-ever 

recovery mission in 

the United Kingdom. 

Screening methods are 

a relevant component of 

excavation methodology 

and are included in 

most recovery missions. 

Wet screening is a 

particularly effective way 

of dealing with heavy 

clay or bulk soil samples.

Members of a DPAA 

recovery team 

shovel backsoil while 

working alongside 

local workers 

on Guadalcanal, 

Solomon Islands, Aug. 

3, 2019. During the 

recovery mission, 

DPAA personnel and 

augmentees spent 

their days digging 

and screening in 

hopes of finding 

missing U.S. Marines 

lost during the first 

allied offensive in 

the Pacific Theater of 

World War II. 

ITALIAN RECOVERY

Photo by Sgt. Jacqualine Clifford

UNITED KINGDOM

Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall

TEAMWORK

Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael 

O’Nealr

U.S. Army Cpl. Christen 

Wise, a recovery 

non-commissioned 

officer attached to 

DPAA, tosses buckets 

to a teammate during 

a recovery mission in 

Sarentino, Italy, Aug. 

16, 2019. A team 

of 24 U.S. service 

members and civilian 

employees were part 

of a recovery team 

deployed to the area 

in hopes of recovering 

U.S. service members 

missing from World 

War II.

More than 500 family members representing 234 service members attended the 2019 

Korean War and Cold War Annual Government Briefings held Aug. 1-2, 2019, in Arlington, 

Virginia. The annual briefings included attendance at the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall 

Twilight Tattoo performance; formal presentations to the families; individual one-on-one discussions with family 

members; and a Republic of Korea Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs-hosted dinner for the families. Unique 

this year was a media panel where journalists from local and national media outlets discussed the accounting mission 

from a media perspective. 

FAMILY GATHERING

Photo by Mass Communications 

Specialist 2nd Class Seth Coulter

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
51 52

2019

September

DPAA marked a significant milestone in September when the number of 

unaccounted-for dipped below 82,000. DPAA activities conducted during 

September included missions in the Federal Republic of Germany, French 

Republic, Italian Republic, the United Kingdom, Lao People’s Democratic 

Republic, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Malaysia, Republic of Kiribati, 

and Independent State of Papua New Guinea; a Family Member Update 

in Dayton, Ohio; and ceremonies across the globe for National POW/MIA 

Recognition Day.

Opposite page: U.S. Army Master Sgt. Chris Malone, a member of the Black 

Daggers, the official U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute 

Demonstration Team, comes in for a landing during the National POW/

MIA Recognition Day ceremony held on Sept. 20, 2019 at the Pentagon, 

Washington, D.C. The Black Dagger demonstration jump kicked off the 

ceremony by delivering the POW/MIA flag in dramatic fashion. The 

ceremony was hosted by the Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist. 

The Pentagon ceremony was one of several events held around the globe 

on Sept. 20 to honor those who were held captive and returned, as well 

as those who remain unaccounted for from past conflicts. (Photo by Mr. 

Richard Wagner)

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
53 54

Emily Snider, DPAA 

scientific recovery 

expert, briefs 

Australian forces 

on a DPAA recovery 

mission in East Sepik 

Province, Papua 

New Guinea, Sept. 7, 

2019. In September 

1943, Australian 

and American forces 

launched a major 

offensive against the 

occupying Japanese. 

The recovery team 

visited the area in 

hopes of recovering 

a missing pilot whose 

aircraft was lost during 

World War II.

Representatives of the U.S. 

Embassy Hanoi and DPAA 

held a ceremony in Hanoi 

to recognize National POW/

MIA Recognition Day Sept. 

20, 2019, in honor of those 

who were held captive and 

returned, as well as those 

who remain missing from past 

conflicts. U.S. Ambassador 

Daniel Kritenbrink delivered 

remarks at the ceremony, 

stating, “We as a nation are 

committed to achieving the 

fullest possible accounting 

for our missing and that 

effort is in full evidence here 

in Vietnam and around the 

world.”

Deputy Secretary 

of Defense David 

Norquist delivers the 

keynote address during 

the National POW/

MIA Recognition Day 

ceremony held at the 

Pentagon, Sept. 20, 

2019. Norquist’s remarks 

expressed gratitude to 

DPAA, veteran service 

organizations, and 

family advocates for 

their commitment 

to the mission of 

accounting for those 

who were prisoners of 

war and those who are 

still missing from past 

conflicts.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. 

Melanye Martinez, a 

photographer with the 

Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency, rings America’s Bell 

of Freedom with assistance 

from U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. 

Joaquin Andujar, senior 

enlisted leader, DPAA, 

during a National POW/MIA 

Recognition Day ceremony 

at the National Memorial 

Cemetery of the Pacific, 

Honolulu, Hawaii, Sept. 20, 

2019. Administered by the 

Spirit of Liberty Foundation, 

the bell has been rung at 

major ceremonies all over 

the world. This was the first 

at a National POW/MIA 

Recognition Day ceremony.

NATIONAL POW/MIA 

RECOGNITION DAY IN 

VIETNAM

Photo by Sgt. Melanye Martinez

Papua New Guinea

Photo by Staff Sgt. Emily Kenney

NATIONAL POW/MIA 

RECOGNITION DAY IN 

HAWAII

Photo by Sgt. Jacqueline A. Clifford

NATIONAL POW/MIA 

RECOGNITION DAY AT 

THE PENTAGON

Photo by Mr. Lee O. Tucker

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise
DPAA Leadership

Mr. Kelly McKeague - Director 

Mrs. Fern Sumpter Winbush - Principal Deputy Director

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Darius Banaji - Deputy Director for Operations

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Joaquin Andujar - Senior Enlisted Leader

Year in Review Editorial and Design Staff

Mr. Todd Livick - Outreach and Communications Director

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kenneth Hoffman - Public Affairs Division Chief

Mr. Lee Tucker - Public Affairs Specialist

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Everette - Public Affairs NCO

Web: www.dpaa.mil 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodpaa

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dodpaa

DVIDS: www.dvidshub.net/unit/DPAA

YouTube: https://youtu.be/FcSwcb57OGg

U.S. Army

(800) 892-2490

U.S. Marine Corps

(800) 847-1597

U.S. Navy

(800) 443-9298

U.S. Air Force

(800) 531-5501

FOR YOUR

INFORMATION

Family members seeking more 

information about missing 

loved ones should call their

respective Service 

Casualty Office

U.S. Coast Guard

(202) 795-6637

Central Intelligence Agency

(703) 874-4270

U.S. Department of State

(202) 485-6125

2020 Family Update Schedule*

Date Location

November 2 San Juan, PR

January 25 Las Vegas, NV

February 22 Portland, OR

March 21 Miami, FL

April 18 Little Rock, AR

May 16 Chicago, IL

June 24-27 Arlington, VA**

August 6-7 Arlington, VA***

September 12 Colorado Springs, CO

* Family Member Updates are tentative and subject to 

change

** The Vietnam War Annual Government Briefings 

held in conjunction with the National League of POW/

MIA Families Annual Meeting

*** The Korean and Cold War Annual Government 

Briefings