THE 

QUEST

Fall 2016 

FULFILLING OUR NATION’S PROMISE
THE ACTING DIRECTOR’S NOTES Recently Accounted For From June 15, 2016 through December 14, 2016

WWII

Pvt. Frank F. Penna, USMC

2nd Lt. Marvin B. Rothman, USAAF

MM1C Earl Melton, USN

ENS Verdi Sederstrom, USN

Sgt. Fae V. Moore, USMC

Pfc. Wilber C. Mattern, USMC

F1C Jim H. Johnston, USN

S1C Murry R. Cargile, USN

WT1C Walter Sollie, USN

Pfc. John W. Mac Donald, USMC

Pfc. Ben H. Gore, USMC

Sgt. James J. Hubert, USMC

Pfc. Nicholas J. Cancilla, USMC

Pfc. James S. Smith, USMC

1st Lt. Ben B. Barnes, USAAF

FM1C Warren G. Nelson, USMCR

1st Lt. Robert E. Moessner, USAAF

Capt. Albert L. Schlegel, USAAF

Yeoman 3rd Class Edmund T. Ryan, USN

Seaman 2nd Class Floyd F. Clifford, USN

Seaman 1st Class Harold W. Roesch, USN

Fireman 3rd Class Kenneth L. Holm, USN

Korea

Chief Warrant Officer AdolphusNava, USA

Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Smith, USA

Cpl. Charles A. White, USA

Cpl. Larry M. Dunn, USA

Cpl. Curtis J. Wells, USA

Master Sgt. Ira V. Miss, Jr, USA

Sgt. James L. Campbell, USA

Cpl. Ronald M. Sparks, USA

Pvt. Virgil B. Adkins, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Louis M. Baxter, USA

Cpl. David T. Nordin, USA

Cpl. Vernon D. Presswood, USA

Cpl. Wayne Minard, USA

Cpl. Donald R. Hendrickson, USA

Cpl. William H. Smith, USA

Pfc. Kenneth R. Miller, USA

Cpl. Roy C. Fink, USA

Pfc. William V. Giovanniello, USA

Pfc. Everett E. Johjnson, USA

Pfc. William W. Cowan, USA

Cpl. Milton T. Bullis, USA

Cpl. Melvin R. Hill, USA

Sgt. James E. Martin, USA

Cpl. Donald E. Matney, USA

Maj. Jack D. Griffiths, USA

Pfc. Lavern C. Ullmer, USA

Pfc. Daniel Hunt, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Cummings, USA

Sgt. 1st Class Harold Haugland, USA

Cpl. Lewis A. Damewood, USA

Master Sgt. Joseph Durakovich, USA

Sgt. Stafford L. Morris, USA

Cpl. Edward Pool, USA

Cpl. Gerald I. Shepler, USA

Sgt. Homer R. Abney, USA

Cpl. James T. Mainhart, USA

Cpl. George A. Perreault, USA

Cpl. Jules Hauterman, USA

A U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard holds the American Flag over the 

casket of Navy Fireman 3rd Class John H. Lindsley during his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C., Oct. 

25. Lindsley was one of 429 service members killed aboard the USS 

Oklahoma when it was torpedoed in Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

(Photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus, DPAA)

This month, as you gather with family and friends, I want to wish 

you all a Happy Holiday Season. What an incredible year 2016 

has been. 

Serving as both the Acting Director and Principal Director over 

these past few months, it is an honor to serve and a privilege to 

be part of an incredible team of professionals who continue to 

give so selflessly to the success of the agency. The strides our 

agency has made this year -- from returning our greatest number 

of our nation’s heroes to their families; obtaining permission to 

continue disinterment of unknowns from Tarawa, the USS West 

Virginia, and from national cemeteries foreign and domestic; to 

engaging hundreds of family members at our Family Member 

Updates (FMU), and the Vietnam War and Korean/Cold War 

government meetings are significant. It is evident by our results 

that the entire DPAA global force worked tirelessly this year towards our collective goal to account for as many of our missing 

as possible. 

As the new year arrives in January, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to finding and accounting for 

our nation’s missing. We will continue to pursue advances in science and technology, increase our partnerships, and use all available resources to streamline our internal and external processes. We will remain agile 

in our planning processes, ensuring resources match established priorities. 

Many questions have been raised regarding personnel manning within the agency. We still have work to do 

in filling the 28 vacancies remaining out of the 67 that resulted from our reorganization. Ongoing personnel 

recruiting efforts continue to accelerate in order to ensure we have the necessary manpower to meet our mission responsibilities. 

As an agency, we have put incredible effort into the accounting mission to reach our annual goals; however, 

we cannot rest on these accomplishments for there is much work to be done. Our collective dedication and 

willingness to work through the challenges of today will help move us through these uncertain times to increase the number of missing personnel we account for. I am thankful for what we have done and what we 

will continue to do in the future as we remain committed to providing the fullest possible accounting of our 

missing to their families and the nation. We are better than we were yesterday and tomorrow we will be even 

better than we are today.

Fulfilling Our Nation’s Promise!
National POW/MIA Recognition Day Searching the Solomons

DPAA deploys to Soloman Islands in hopes of recovering remains of WWII pilot

Photos by Sgt. Richard DeWitt, DPAA

Top Left: A local village girl bites into fresh-cut sugar 

cane during a “Chupa Chupa,” ground-breaking ceremony, as part of a Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency recovery mission in the Guadalcanal Province, 

Solomon Islands, Nov. 5, 2016. DPAA team members 

deployed to the area in hopes of recovering the remains 

of a pilot unaccounted for from the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II.

Top Right: U.S. Air Force Capt. Christopher Perez, 

DPAA, screens soil for possible human remains as part 

of a DPAA recovery mission in Guadalcanal Province, 

Solomon Islands, Nov. 15, 2016.

Bottom Right: U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Eric Martinez, 

an augmentee with DPAA, assigned to the 517th Airlift 

Squadron, removes soil from an excavation unit as part 

of a DPAA recovery mission in Guadalcanal Province, 

Solomon Islands, Nov. 15, 2016. 

Above: Kyle McCormick, DPAA anthropologist, works 

to straighten a unit wall as part of a DPAA recovery mission in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands, Nov. 

15, 2016.

The annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony is held the third Friday in September, to remember and honor service members who were prisoners of war or are still considered missing in action. 

Ceremonies were held at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and at the National Memorial Cemetery of the 

Pacific in Honolulu, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. 

Eric Laclair and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Erik Cardenas, DPAA)
The search will continue 

Commentary and photos by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Leah Ferrante, DPAA

QUANG TRI PROVINCE, Vietnam-- The mission 

of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency is 

one like no other-- to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families 

and the nation. It is a task each team member deployed by DPAA keeps near and dear to their hearts. 

Even though every operation does not go exactly as 

planned, that does not stop the search for America’s 

fallen heroes. 

Recovery Team Three, a 15-person recovery team 

comprised of people from multiple career fields, 

packed their bags and headed to a site in the Quang 

Tri Province in August 2016, as part of a joint field 

activity in Vietnam, to search for a U.S. service member who never returned from a photo-reconnaissance mission in 1970. With the site being located on 

complex terrain, the team faced multiple obstacles 

from the start.

“I knew when we pulled up to the site that this was 

going to be a little more challenging, more dangerous even, than I originally thought,” said U.S. Marine 

Gunnery Sgt. Finn West, explosive ordnance technician augmentee.

Seasonal rain had swept through central parts of 

Vietnam, bringing floods, making it difficult to get 

supplies across the river leading to the site and causing dangerous work conditions for the team. With 

rain came other dangers--green pit vipers, leeches feeding on personnel, bees, injuries and illness. 

These hazards did not stop the team from staying 

positive and remembering the task at hand.

“We’re here to fulfill our nation’s promise,” said U.S. 

Army Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Galmines, DPAA team 

sergeant. “We’ll leave when we’ve searched until we 

can’t search anymore, despite any obstacle we run 

into.” 

Bridges were built, the rain ceased and the search 

continued. With the help of the local villagers, digging and screening through the muddy terrain became a base for international relationships. Despite 

the unfavorable conditions, people from both countries came together to complete the mission.

Even when missions do not go exactly how they 

were planned, the search will always continue until 

they all come home.

Members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and local villagers conduct excavation 

operations in the Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, August to September 2016. DPAA traveled to Quang 

Tri to search for a service member who never returned from a photo reconnaissance mission during the 

Vietnam War. With the help of local villagers, teams were able to excavate, screen, and collect evidence 

in hopes of identifying the missing pilot. DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting 

for our missing personnel to their families and the nation. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Leah 

Ferrante, DPAA)

Diving for B-24 Liberator

Photos by Spc. Lloyd Justine Villanueva, DPAA

Top: U.S. Naval Ship Grasp (T-ARS-51) anchors to conduct an underwater recovery operation in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 

Italy, Sept. 24, 2016. The Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 works with DPAA to locate U.S. Service members who went 

missing when a B-24 Liberator crashed during WWII. The mission of DPAA is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.

Bottom Left: U.S. Army Capt. Troy Davidson, second to the left, team leader, of DPAA steps into the ocean to conduct 

an underwater recovery operation in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, Sept. 25, 2016.

Bottom Right: U.S. Navy Diver 2nd Class Kevin Kollar, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, inspects diving equipment for 

the underwater recovery operation in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, Sept. 23, 2016.
Pearl Harbor commemorates 75th 

anniversary of attack that brought America 

into World War II

Statistics:

Marines/Sailors killed on the USS Oklahoma: 429

USS Oklahoma unknowns buried in the Punchbowl: ≈394

Marines/Sailors identified prior to 2015: 6

Disinterrments in 2015: 61 caskets from 45 graves

Identifications from 2015 disinterrments: 59 (as of Dec. 14, 2016)

Identifications to date: 59 from 2015 disinterrment, 65 total

(For more information and photos on the 75th Anniversary of 

the attacks on Pearl Harbor, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/

DPAA/?q=DPAA).

Photos by Sgt. Jose Rodriguez Guzman 

and Staff Sgt. Roy Woo, DPAA

Upper Left: Raymond Richmond, Pearl Harbor survivor, is escorted 

through the USS Oklahoma Memorial representing the lost service members, on Ford Island, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 2016. This ceremony 

commemorated the 429 crew members who lost their lives on the 

USS Oklahoma, the second greatest loss of lives on the ships struck 

during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 75 years ago. Framed photographs represent the service members who have been accounted 

for.

Bottom Left: An attendee of the USS Oklahoma memorial ceremony places a flower on a photo of a fallen Sailor, at Ford Island, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 2016.

Left: A Pearl Harbor survivor poses for a photograph during the 

USS Oklahoma memorial ceremony at Ford Island, Hawaii, 

Dec. 7, 2016.

Upper Middle: U.S. Army Brig Gen Mark Spindler speaks at the 

USS Oklahoma memorial ceremony, Ford Island, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 

2016. 

Upper Right: This wreath commemorates the 429 crew members 

who lost their lives on the USS Oklahoma, during a ceremony on 

Ford Island, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 2016.
DPAA deploys to Dolomites

Photos by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn Ford, DPAA

Above: A map of the Dolomite region in Italy indicates 

where DPAA deployed in September.

Top Left: Members of DPAA screen excavated dirt in 

the South Tyrol Province, Italy, Sept. 23, 2016. Members 

of the DPAA deployed to the area in hopes of recovering the remains of a P-38 aircraft pilot unaccounted for 

from the World War II. 

Middle Left: Hugh Tuller, an anthropologist with DPAA, 

calculates the position of the next stake to lay a grid in 

South Tyrol Province, Italy, Sept 11, 2016. 

Bottom Left: U.S. Army Lt. Col. Justin Budd, DPAA operations planner, carries items to be screened from an 

excavation site to screening stations in the South Tyrol 

Province, Italy, Sept. 26, 2016.

U.S. - Russia Joint Commission continues to seek information 

concerning missing service members in Russian archives

Story by Henry Eastman, DPAA Historian

DPAA, through its Joint Commission Support Division (JCSD), and in support of the U.S-Russia Joint 

Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC), conducts research, analysis and investigations in Russia on U.S. 

personnel missing from past wars. Much of this work 

deals with material collected from Russian archives, 

interviews with Soviet/Russian veterans and field investigations.

The USRJC had met in plenary sessions 19 times between 1992 and 2005. This was followed by a period 

of 11 years where there were no plenary sessions. This 

break in meeting ended when JCSD hosted a Russian 

delegation for the 20th Plenum of the USRJC at the 

Pentagon Conference Center in May of this year.

During the 20th Plenum, both sides reaffirmed their 

willingness to assist the other side in obtaining access 

to information that will help clarify the status of the 

missing and discussed numerous issues. Over the last 

25 years, progress has been made and DPAA looks 

forward to building relationships and routinely updating families on steps being taken.

In September, Col. Chris Forbes, Director of DPAA’s 

Europe-Mediterranean operations, and his deputy, 

Heather Harris, traveled to Moscow and met with 

General Vostrotin, the Chairman of the Russian side 

of the USRJC. They discussed expanded access in 

Russia’s Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense 

to Vietnam War related documents, which remain 

difficult to obtain because they are largely still classified. 

In November 2016, Colonel Forbes traveled to Moscow to meet with USRJC Russian Side Deputy Chairman General-Colonel (retired) Alexander Kirilin and 

Executive Secretary Andrey Taranov to coordinate.

In the first week of December, 2016 Forbes and Svetlana Shevchenko of JCSD visited the former Soviet 

Republics of Ukraine and Moldova to gain access to

their archives on the Soviet involvement in the Korean War and Vietnam War. 

What is next? 

For each conflict, JCSD analysts have specific cases on 

which they have focused USRJC efforts to recover detailed information as well as general, broad requests 

that are intended to supply background information 

or new documents for analysis which have the potential to impact a large number of cases. 

In addition to the specific research requests, DPAA 

will continue the momentum achieved with the 2016 

plenum by conducting a series of technical talks with 

the Russian side of the commission. Those talks 

will support the 21st Plenum of the USRJC which is 

scheduled to be held in Russia in November 2017. 

For more specific information related to efforts to obtain information for Vietnam, Korea, Cold War, and 

World War II cases, please visit the USRJC section of 

the DPAA website (http://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/

Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569603/us-russiajoint-commission-on-powmias/).

Col. Chris Forbes, wearing beige, participates in a 

wreath-laying ceremony at the Russian National 

Cemetery in honor of Russia’s Great Patriotic War 

Dead, in September 2016.
Sling load mission provides supplies to DPAA

Service members with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

partnered with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) on the island 

of Oahu in August to conduct a recovery mission in a remote area of 

the island where a U.S. Navy pilot went missing 70 years ago. DPAA 

team members deployed to the area to search for the pilot, while the 

25th CAB supported supply missions. 

Photos by U.S. Army Sgt. Jamarius Fortson and Staff Sgt. Roy Woo, DPAA

On Dec. 5, 1944, 1st Lt. Ben B. Barnes flew his P-51 

aircraft as part of the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th 

Fighter Grouper on an escort mission to Berlin, Germany, to protect U.S. bombers. He had only been in 

the European theater of operations for less than six 

months when he took off that day. On the return flight, 

Barnes, along with other aircraft in his unit, encountered the enemy. His plane was last reported northeast 

of Berlin over Eberswalde, Germany. At the time, the 

area where he was last seen was a Russian-occupied 

zone, making it impossible for an American Graves 

Registration team to further investigate. Because of 

this, Barnes was considered missing in action, and later presumptively declared deceased. 

The political situation in that area did not change 

after the war, still prohibiting the American government from searching for Barnes’ remains. Unsure that 

he would ever be recovered, his name was inscribed 

on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge American 

Cemetery, along with more than 5,000 other Americans. American Battle Monuments Commission 

(ABMC) World War II cemeteries around the world 

include the names of those considered missing in action, lost or buried at sea. The cemetery where the 

name is etched is based on the area where the individual went missing, or near the airfield from which 

they flew. The U.S. government chose to do this as a 

permanent way to honor those that rest in unmarked 

graves. For more than 60 years, Barnes remained one 

of the many names on the wall—one of more than 

82,000 Americans from World War II whose remains 

have never been recovered. But in 2010 the Department of Defense had a lead they hoped would result 

in a recovery.

A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (now a part 

of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, DPAA) 

investigation team went to Germany in 2010 to conduct field research and interview an eye witness to the 

crash. The witness led investigators to the location of 

the wreckage, which was consistent with records from 

German investigators in the 1950s. With this evidence 

in hand, DPAA brought a recovery team to the site 

in 2015 to excavate. They recovered two .50-caliber 

machines guns as well as possible human remains, 

personal equipment and material evidence. The serial number on the machine guns matched those on 

Barnes’ aircraft. With the use of mitochondrial DNA, 

as well as dental and anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence, DPAA was able to identify the 

remains as Barnes’. 

His next of kin decided to have his remains returned 

to Miller, South Dakota, his hometown, for permanent 

burial. On Oct. 15, 2016, nearly 72 years after he took 

his last flight, Barnes was buried with full military 

honors. That same month, staff at Cambridge American Cemetery in Madingley, England, placed a bronze 

rosette next to his name on the Wall of the Missing 

to denote that he had been recovered, identified and 

accounted for. Honoring Barnes did not end there; 

The Martlesham Heath Aviation Society and Control 

Tower Museum specifically honored him during their 

Remembrance Sunday ceremony on Nov. 13, 2016. To 

this day, the local citizens consider it a duty to honor 

men such as Barnes, who were based out of Martlesham Airfield during the war.

ABMC remembers WWII pilot

Courtesy of American Battle Monuments Commission

1st Lt. Ben Barnes’ name appears with a bronze rosette on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery 

in Madingley, England. The recently placed rosette denotes that Barnes has been recovered, identified and accounted 

for. Barnes was a pilot of a P-51 aircraft when he went missing near Eberswalde, Germany during World War II.
DPAA attends American Legion 98th National Convention Family Member Update Briefings in Green Bay and Reno 

Story and Photos by Tech Sgt. Jocelyn Ford, DPAA

CINCINNATI– The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) was invited to be one 

of 55 exhibitions at the American Legion 98th 

National Convention, 2016. They displayed artifacts from the Vietnam War, Korean War and 

World War II, as well as a video showcasing the 

agency’s mission.

“We welcome your presence here,” said G. Michael Schlee, American Legion National Security 

Commission chairman. “I know you’ve talked to 

Legionnaires old young, tall short, male female; 

and I think to a man and a woman providing 

the fullest possible accounting is foremost, not 

merely in their mind but in their hearts.” 

With more than 8,000 attendees, representatives from DPAA spoke with many legionnaires 

during the five days the exhibit was open, hearing their stories and answering their questions. 

“We’ve had a long and established relationship 

with the predecessor and DPAA,” said Schlee. 

“Keeping our membership throughout the country, albeit the world, advised on progress in the 

area which you folks [DPAA] do so very, very 

well is awfully important to us.”

Johnie E. Webb, DPAA deputy for outreach and 

communications, also provided veterans with 

a scheduled POW/MIA update and took questions from the floor. 

Top: Johnie E. Webb, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) deputy for outreach and communications, 

answers questions from legionnaires after giving the POW/MIA update Aug. 27, 2016, at the American Legion’s 98th 

National Convention in Cincinnati. DPAA attended the convention to answer questions and ensure members that 

DPAA’s mission continues; to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and 

the nation.

Bottom: Members of the American Legion explore the exhibit hall Aug. 30, 2016, during the American Legion’s 98th 

National Convention in Cincinnati. The convention brought together more than 8,000 members to discuss positions, 

policies, and resolutions for the upcoming year.

Top: Families of servicemen still missing from our nation’s past conflcits meet at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency’s Family Member Update in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Sept. 10, 2016. (Photo essay by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Eric 

LaClair, DPAA)

Bottom: Families of servicemen still missing from our nation’s past conflicts meet at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting 

Agency’s Fmaily Member Update in Reno, Nevada, Nov. 19, 2016. (Photo essay by U.S. Army Sgt. Jose Rodriguez, DPAA)

Upcoming Family Member Updates

January 28, 2017

Phoenix, Arizona

February 25, 2017

Charleston, South Carolina

March 25, 2017

New Orleans, Louisiana

April 22, 2017

Kansas City, Missouri

May 20, 2017

Syracuse, New York

June 21-24, 2017

Vietnam War Annual- Washington, D.C.

August 10-11

Korean/Cold War Annual- Washington, D.C.

September 9, 2017

Detroit, Michigan
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency

2300 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301-2300

Connect with us on social media:

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

Email: dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.dpaa-comms@mail.mil

Phone: 703-699-1008

DPAA LEADERSHIP

Fern Sumpter Winbush - Acting Director

Brig. Gen. Mark Spindler- Deputy Director

EDITORIAL STAFF

Maj. Natasha Waggoner - Public Affairs Officer

Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus - Editor-in-chief

Published by DPAA

Cover photo information: 

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Virginia — The headstone of Sgt. 1st Class Alan Boyer, missing from 

the Vietnam War since 1968, and recently identified, sits several rows ahead of the headstone of 1st Lt. Loren 

“Doug” Hagen, in Arlington National Cemetery, Oct 17. When Boyer was declared missing in action, Hagen, 

Boyer’s best friend from high school, joined the Army to be assigned to the same unit, and went to Vietnam to 

find Boyer. Hagen was killed in action, Aug. 7, 1971. Following the identification of Boyer’s remains, he was 

buried in Arlington in June 2016, resting just feet away from his best friend. 

(Photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus, DPAA)

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