All articles tagged with #defense powmia accounting agency
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has identified the remains of three soldiers who went missing during their service: 2nd Lt. Fred Brewer, a Tuskegee Airman from World War II; Army Cpl. Luther Story, a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient; and Air Force Col. Ernest De Soto, a Vietnam War pilot. These identifications fulfill a promise to bring missing service members home, allowing their families to finally say goodbye.
Federal labs at Offutt Air Force Base and in Hawaii are using advanced DNA technology and forensic techniques to identify and return the remains of soldiers who died in World War II and other conflicts. These efforts aim to provide closure to families and honor the sacrifices of the fallen, with a goal of identifying 200 service members annually.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has identified the remains of Joe A. Vinyard, a World War II tank crewmember from Tennessee who went missing in December 1944 during a battle near Gey, Germany. Vinyard's remains were exhumed from Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium and identified using anthropological and DNA analysis. Vinyard will be buried in Maryville, Tennessee. The agency has accounted for 1,474 missing WWII soldiers since beginning its work in 1973, but more than 72,000 WWII soldiers are still missing.