Photo By Master Sgt. Jocelyn Ford | More than 300 family members attended government briefings Jan. 28, 2017, at the...... read more read more
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HONOLULU, Hawaii - The first quarter of the calendar year, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has crossed the nation from Phoenix to Charleston with a third stop in New Orleans, providing families with answers.
Members of DPAA have met with more than 500 family members this year, and 267 were first time attendees to a Family Member Update (FMU).
Two such individuals were James “Jim” Amromin and Barbara “Barb” Miles, nephew and niece to U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Jerome Amromin, unaccounted for from World War II.
One night Jim typed his name into a search engine and found a site that showed him as having died in a plane crash in Papua New Guinea. He recognized the fact that the name was meant to be that of his uncle, and he reached out to correct the error. In doing so he became even more interested in knowing more about this man he had never met.
When he received an invite to the Phoenix FMU he called his sister Barbara. “I couldn’t do it without her,” said Jim.
Barb flew in from Missouri to accompany her brother to the event. Together they attended briefings presented by senior officials, experts, and scientists who work in various areas pertaining to the POW/MIA mission. They also had a scheduled one-on-one to get detailed information about the case of their uncle.
“The people that are involved in our case are really here, and we really got to meet them,” said Barb.
Though there was little new information provided to Jim and Barb in regards to the case, they left knowing they had someone to talk to as the information becomes available.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Jim. “Meeting people and now we have a caseworker and we know who to go to.”
“I’m so glad that the Department of Defense cares and really implements and doesn’t pay lip service to ‘no man left behind’,” said Barb. “There is a branch within our government structure that does what they say they’re going to do no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult it is.”
It wasn’t just DPAA that made this event so meaningful to this family. “It’s meeting all these people that are here, not just the military, but the families,” said Jim. “You feel a kinship inside the room because you have the same basic story, you got a loved one that hasn’t been recovered.”
“The knowledge that you are not alone in your search makes you feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself,” said Barb.
Future FMU's are scheduled for Kansas City in April, Syracuse in May, and Detroit in September. There will also be the Vietnam War Annual Government Briefings in June and the Korean and Cold War Annual Government Briefings in August, both held in Washington, D.C. For further information on these events, or to register to attend, please visit our website at http://www.dpaa.mil/Families/Family-Events/
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2017 18:53 |
| Story ID: | 228535 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Connecting with Families, by MSgt Jocelyn Ford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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