Eight caskets were disinterred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 7, 2024. These caskets were part of the West Loch Disaster Project, an ongoing effort by DPAA to disinter, transport, and identify service members who died in the West Loch Disaster during World War II. The tragedy occurred when a series of explosions on several ships killed and injured hundreds of service members and damaged or sank numerous vessels during preparations for the invasion of Saipan. The remains were taken to the DPAA laboratory on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for further scientific analysis and possible identification. (U.S. Air Force video by Staff Sgt. Cole Yardley
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) marked a significant milestone with the 100th identification from the World War II Cabanatuan prison camp in the Philippines.
With the Sept. 9, 2024, accounting of Army Corporal Billie Charles Driver, 18, from Dallas, Texas, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency marked the identification of the 700th missing personnel from the Korean War.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s Partnership and Innovation Directorate recently hit a pair of milestones that showcase its ability to not only act as multiplier for the agency’s mission to accounting for missing personnel, but also strengthen the agency’s reputation as being on the forefront of science and research.