JPAC/DPAA IN THE NEWS
2024 UPDATE:
As of October 1, 2024, DPAA reported on their website that there are still 72,003 missing American servicemen and women from World War II.
On 31 March 2024, DPAA posted on its website (screen shot below) that it identified just 37 MIA’s from World War II and 7 other MIA’s from all other wars during the first half of it’s Fiscal Year: 1 October 2023 thru 31 March 2024.
At the end of the Fiscal Year on 1 October 2024, DPAA posted on its website that it identified a grand total of 118 MIA’s from ALL wars in the past year: 89 from World War II, 25 from Korea and 4 from Vietnam during the ENTIRE period of it’s Fiscal Year: 1 October 2023 thru 30 September 2024.
According to DPAA’s budget estimates for Fiscal Year 2025, the budget for Fiscal Year 2024 was $195.959 million.
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On January 30, 2015, after multiple Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) scandals were exposed by NBC, CBS, Fox News, NPR, the AP, Stars and Stripes and a host of other media outlets as listed in the links below; the Department of Defense finally announced that JPAC was being dissolved. The end of JPAC took a total of 569 days from the time the first “MIA WORK ‘ACUTELY DYSFUNCTIONAL’ story was reported in the media on July 7, 2013. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, called the situation at JPAC “disgraceful” when he testified before Congress. With the formal dissolution of JPAC, the former Secretary of Defense made a pledge to the American public that a “paradigm shift” away from “outdated, institutionalized thinking” at JPAC was in the offing.
THE FACTS AS REPORTED BY THE MEDIA LEADING TO THE DEATH OF JPAC
In 2013 the Associated Press published a report that revealed some of what went on behind the scenes at JPAC. The report cited JPAC’s management as being “so inept, mismanaged and wasteful that it risks descending from dysfunction to total failure.” The report stated “the decades-old pursuit of bones and other MIA evidence is sluggish, often duplicative and subjected to too little scientific rigor.”
The report noted that the JPAC Command was “woefully inept and even corrupt.” The then JPAC commander, Air Force Major General Kelly K. McKeague, was quoted as saying he would not dispute those who say his organization is dysfunctional. The report noted that in recent years the process by which the JPAC Laboratory field recovery teams gathered bones and other material useful for identifications had “collapsed” and was “acutely dysfunctional.” The report concluded that absent prompt and significant change, “the descent from dysfunction to total failure … is inevitable.”
Media reports surfaced about an internal report commissioned by the JPAC Laboratory in an effort to place the blame on sections of JPAC other than the Laboratory for what was predicted to be the Laboratory’s failure to achieve a 200 identification per year goal mandated by Congress. Responding to the AP story, the National League of POW/MIA Families issued a statement that “Inaccuracies and manipulated data in his report, largely unfounded assertions and personal accusations reflect a Lab-generated power-play seeking greater Lab control within JPAC.”
A follow-up audit by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) stated JPAC efforts were “undermined by long standing leadership weaknesses, infighting and other problems” including “a fragmented organizational structure.” Sen. Claire McCaskill vowed “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. The problems…are systemic and seem to extend even beyond the problems identified in this report.” A few days later, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, in testimony about JPAC before the Senate Armed Services Committee stated, “It’s so discouraging and it’s moving rapidly toward disgraceful.” And the general soon found many other disgraceful actions by the JPAC command that became public knowledge. The Washington Post reported “Pentagon to Investigate Allegations of Waste, Fraud, Abuse in JPAC”.
NBC News then ran a story titled “Pentagon Agency Under Fire for Refusing to ID World War II Soldiers” stating JPAC “has refused to conduct DNA tests to determine once and for all whose bones are in the graves of the unknowns, even when its own investigators say they have narrowed it down to only one possible match.” The story also noted “The JPAC lab objected first to the formatting of the requests by Stone and other JPAC historians, documents show. The lab rejected reports because commas were in the wrong place, or because they used footnotes instead of endnotes.”
Chief Rick Stone kneeling at the grave of an “Unknown” whose case he had investigated and recommended for identification – Photo by NBC News
The U.S. Senate conducted a committee hearing in which Senator Claire McCaskill and Senator Kelly Ayotte lambasted Gen. Kelly McKeague and DPMO head Montague Winfield over “dysfunctional bureaucracy” and “pettiness, negligence, or willful ignorance.” Senator McCaskill noted that her office had received calls from dozens of whistleblowers. She ordered McKeague to “get it frickin’ done!” and threatened more hearings and Congressional intervention telling Gen. McKeague that he had “better get used to this room” and “we will meet again.”
NBC News then ran another story titled “PENTAGON UNIT HELD “PHONY” CEREMONIES FOR MIA’S, USING PLANES THAT CAN’T FLY”, which revealed what JPAC employees referred to as the “Big Lie” whereby the remains of American servicemen and women were used as props in quarterly stage productions to benefit JPAC’s public relations image. In the article it was revealed that the average length of time for the JPAC Laboratory to identify casualties had reached 11 YEARS for each set of remains that are recovered.
More investigations and hearings followed and more facts about the “disgraceful” actions of the JPAC command, as described by General Dempsey, were exposed in the media. Just a few days before JPAC was officially dissolved a JPAC Laboratory manager announced in the media “a big success for us” alleging that JPAC had made “107 identifications in 2014.”
http://www.stripes.com/news/jpac-107-identifications-of-mia-remains-made-in-2014-1.325044
However, the Department of Defense posted on their web site that the number of identifications by the JPAC laboratory in 2014 was actually only 69 and not 107.
Click on the “No Home For Heroes – Podcasts link below to listen to Episode 1 for more information on “How It All Began”:
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF MEDIA STORIES ABOUT JPAC/DPAA
AP IMPACT: MIA WORK ‘ACUTELY DYSFUNCTIONAL’ By Robert Burns Washington AP July 7, 2013
PENTAGON TAKES “SECOND LOOK” AT EMBATTLED MIA UNIT By Robert Burns Washington AP July 9, 2013
PACOM COMMANDER SUPPORTS REVIEW OF JPAC by Karen Parrish American Forces Press Services July 11, 2013
SENATOR AYOTTE TO DEMPSEY: PENTAGON MUST ADDRESS POW/MIA FAILURES July 18, 2013
PENTAGON AGENCY UNDER FIRE FOR REFUSING TO ID UNKNOWN WORLD WAR II SOLDIERS by Bill Dedman and Mike Taibbi, NBC News August 1, 2013
C-SPAN: SENATE COMMITTEE REVIEWS DEFENSE DEPARTMENT’S MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICES August 1, 2013
ALLEGED FRAUD AND WASTE IN MIA UNIT TO BE PROBED BY PENTAGON FOX NEWS, AP PRESS, AUGUST 1, 2013
LAWMAKERS ORDER POW/MIA OFFICE TO FIX PROBLEMS By Bryant Jordon, Military.com August 1, 2013
NAVY CONCERNED ABOUT JPAC’S EXHUMATION PLANS FOR USS OKLAHOMA UNIDENTIFIED SAILORS Navy Times, Associated Press August 12, 2013
SEARCH FOR WORLD WAR II HEROES’ REMAINS HINGES ON MAN’S RESEARCH By Mark Emmons Daily Democrat, August 14, 2013
LOST AMERICAN HERO FINALLY COMES HOME TO INDIANA By Rick Stone, Indystar.com August 22, 2013
FAMILIES EXPRESS FRUSTRATION AT JPAC’S EFFORTS TO RECOVER WAR MISSING By Matt Burke, Stars and Stripes, September 23, 2013
PENTAGON UNIT HELD “PHONY” CEREMONIES FOR MIA’S, USING PLANES THAT CAN’T FLY By Bill Dedman, NBC News, October 10, 2013
JPAC ADMITS TO PHONY CEREMONIES HONORING “RETURNING” REMAINS – Stars and Stripes, October 10, 2013
AMERICAN LEGION DEMANDS JPAC REFORMS: Fake arrival ceremonies are deceptive, not symbolic, says national commander – Business Wire, October 11, 2013
AMERICAN LEGION DEMANDS JPAC REFORMS OVER FAKE CEREMONIES – By Matthew M. Burke- Stars and Stripes October 15, 2013
70 YEARS ON, FAMILIES OF WWII DEAD HOPE FOR IDs – By Mitch Smith – Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2013
SENATOR DEMANDS ANSWERS FROM PENTAGON ON “PHONY’ MIA ARRIVAL CEREMONIES – By Bill Dedman, NBC News, October 28, 2013
McCASKILL DEMANDS EXPLANATION OVER STAGED ARRIVAL CEREMONIES FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS By Barnini Chakraborty Fox News, October 29, 2013
Chicago Family Fights to Get WWII Hero’s Remains Brought Home By Jeff Herndon, Fox 32 News, Chicago, November 12, 2013
McCASKILL WANTS REORGANIZATION OF POW-MIA GROUP, By Associated Press, Columbia Daily Tribune, November 16, 2013
PENTAGON LAB, SLOW TO ID HUMAN REMAINS, HAS TIME TO SHOOT BRADLEY COOPER MOVIE, By Bill Dedman, NBC News, November 19, 2013
EX-INVESTIGATOR, CRITICS SAY JPAC IGNORING CLUES, TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD BRING UNKNOWNS HOME – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, December 4, 2013
SENATORS URGE AGRESSIVE FIXES FOR POW/MIA OPERATIONS – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, January 17, 2014
INTERNAL MEMO ALLEGES JPAC ETHICS VIOLATIONS, MISHANDLING OF MILITARY REMAINS – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, January 28, 2014
SEN. AYOTTE: NEED A “FULL INVESTIGATION” INTO MIA/POW AGENCY – By Todd Beamon, Newsmax, January 28, 2014
McCASKILL CALLS FOR ANOTHER JPAC OVERSIGHT REVIEW – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, February 12, 2014
PENTAGON AGENCY SLOW TO ID, RETURN REMAINS OF AMERICA’S FALLEN – By Chip Reid, CBS News, February 18, 2014
AFTER UNFLATTERING REPORTS, HAGEL ORDERS SHAKE-UP OF MIA ACCOUNTING AGENCIES – By Jon Harper, Stars and Stripes, February 21, 2014
JPAC MARINE FACES COURT MARTIAL FOR DEATH OF PROSTITUTE IN HAWAII – Stars and Stripes, February 21, 2014
FRENCH LAB IDENTIFIES US SOLDIER’S REMAINS AFTER JPAC REFUSES TO INVESTIGATE – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, February 24, 2014
NEW $82M JPAC HEADQUARTERS AND LAB BEING BUILT IN HAWAII – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, March 4, 2014
SO MANY QUESTIONS: BOTCHED RECOVERY MISSION DIDN’T FOLLOW JPAC’S OWN PROTOCOL – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, March 6, 2014
GRAVE SCIENCE: AMERICA’S EFFORT TO BRING HOME ITS WAR DEAD IS SLOW, INEFFICIENT AND STYMIED BY OUTDATED METHODS – By Kelly McEvers, National Public Radio (NPR), March 6, 2014
DATED METHODS MEAN SLOW RETURN FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS – OR NONE AT ALL – By Audie Cornish, KQED News, All Things Considered, and Kelly McEvers, National Public Radio (NPR), March 6, 2014
FAILING THE FALLEN: THE MILITARY IS LEAVING THE MISSING BEHIND – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations , March 6, 2014
U.S. GRAVE SCIENCE MARKED BY RISK AVERSION AND BUREAUCRACY – By Melissa Block and Audie Cornish, KQED News, All Things Considered, and Kelly McEvers, National Public Radio (NPR), March 7, 2014
FAMILIES GATHER IN HOPES OF FINDING MISSING SERVICE MEMBERS – By Pam Kelley, Charlotte Observer , March 15, 2014
JPAC FACES LAWSUIT FOR FAILURE TO ID REMAINS OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS – By Chip Reid, CBS News , March 31, 2014
HAGEL ORDER OVERHAUL OF POW/MIA IDENTIFICATION AGENCIES – By Nick Simeone, American Forces Press, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE , March 31, 2014
PENTAGON OVERHAULS EFFORT TO IDENTIFY ITS MISSING – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations and Kelly McEvers, National Public Radio (NPR), March 31, 2014
PENTAGON REORGANIZES EFFORT TO ID MIA’s AFTER NBC NEWS SERIES – By Bill Dedman, Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC NEWS, March 31, 2014
HAGEL ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURING OF POW/MIA REMAINS OFFICES – By Chris Carroll, Stars and Stripes, March 31, 2014
HAGEL ACTS TO IMPROVE POW/MIA ACCOUNTING EFFORT – By Robert Burns, ABC News and Associated Press, March 31, 2014
AFTER 70 YEARS, FALLEN WWII SOLDIER WILL FINALLY COME HOME IN SPITE OF JPAC – By Megan Towey, CBS News , April 7, 2014
BIG REVAMP OF PENTAGON’S TROUBLED MISSION TO FIND MISSING SOLDIERS LOOKS A LOT LIKE OLD REVAMP: Without Change of Leadership Throughout, Meaningful Change Could Be Elusive, Critics Say – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations, April 16, 2014
DOCUMENTS REVEAL SOUTHEAST ASIAN REMAINS BURIED WITH U.S. VET AT ARLINGTON – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, April 21, 2014
HAWAII BASED JOINT POW MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR PAPUA NEW GUINEA ROAD: Cost and value of road trigger probe – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, May 27, 2014
EXHUMATION OF REMAINS FROM CABANATUAN GRAVE 717 – By Philippines Scouts Heritage Society, June 28, 2014
AFTER 7 DECADES, REMAINS OF WWII GI COULD SOON BE COMING HOME – By Megan Towey and Patricia Alulema, CBS News, July 1, 2014
PENTAGON FINALLY DECIDES TO DIG UP REMAINS OF LONG LOST SOLDIER – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations, July 1, 2014
PENTAGON REPORT FINDS LITANY OF PROBLEM WITH EFFORT TO RECOVER MIA’S – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations, July 14, 2014
SOME TROOPS KILLED IN WWII STILL HAVEN’T BEEN BROUGHT HOME – By Chip Reid, CBS News , July 16, 2014
HAGEL ORDERS AGENCY CONDUCTING SEARCHES TO BE REORGANIZED – By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh-Post Gazette , September 7, 2014
HEAD OF FLAWED EFFORT TO ID MISSING SOLDIERS LOSES JOB : Lab Director Tom Holland Fired – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations , October 3, 2014
FAMILIES FRUSTRATED BY CHANGES TO POW/MIA SYSTEM – By Megan Towey, CBS News , October 15, 2014
JPAC LEADERSHIP CHANGES CRITICIZED: The ouster of its scientific director is among reforms at the federal agency – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, October 19, 2014
LEADERSHIP DYSFUNCTION THREATENS NEW JPAC COMMAND, DoD IG FINDS – By Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes, October 20, 2014
DPMO HEAD WINFIELD REPORTEDLY RESIGNS AS AGENCY REORGANIZES – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, October 28, 2014
U.S. FAMILIES OF THE MISSING IN ACTION FIGHT TIME AND BUREAUCRACY – By Jeffrey B. Roth, Huffington Post, November 10, 2014
TURMOIL CONTINUES IN AGENCIES SEARCHING FOR AMERICA’S MIAs – By Richard Sisk, Military.com News, November 11, 2014
HAGEL PRODDED ON STATUS OF EXHUMED USS OKLAHOMA SAILORS – By Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes, November 14, 2014
JPAC COMMANDER LARRY GONZALES PREVIOUSLY RELIEVED OF LEADERSHIP DUTIES AFTER HE WAS INVESTIGATED FOR GROPING A SUBORDINATE AND CARRYING ON AN INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP – By Matt Burke, Stars and Stripes, December 7, 2014
ACCURACY QUESTIONED IN JPAC IDENTIFICATION OF WW II REMAINS FROM PHILIPPINES – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, December 10, 2014
LEAKED EMAILS: CAMERON CROWE’S NEW BRADLEY COOPER MOVIE (USING JPAC RESOURCES) IS A CATASTROPHE – By Jordan Sargent, Defamer.com, December 15, 2014 (See original NBC News Story above: PENTAGON LAB, SLOW TO ID HUMAN REMAINS, HAS TIME TO SHOOT BRADLEY COOPER MOVIE, By Bill Dedman, NBC News, November 19, 2013)
ANOTHER FAMILY JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST JPAC FOR RECOVERY OF REMAINS FROM WW II – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, December 22, 2014
TURMOIL SURROUNDS NEW JPAC AGENCY; JANUARY DEADLINE QUESTIONED – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, December 24, 2014
REFORM EFFORT CUTS KEY JPAC EXPERTS: Congress wants more identifications of war dead – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, December 28, 2014
JPAC’S CRITICS SKEPTICAL THAT NEW POW/MIA AGENCY WILL SOLVE PROBLEMS – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, January 15, 2015
THE SOURCE: IDENTIFYING OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS – By Paul Flahive, Texas Public Radio, January 26, 2015
FAMILY’S LONG FIGHT WITH PENTAGON RETURNS NAME TO UNKNOWN SOLDIER – By Kelly McEvers, National Public Radio (NPR), January 27, 2015
PENTAGON FINALLY IDENTIFIES THE REMAINS OF A POW LOST SINCE 1942 – By Megan McCloskey, ProPublica Investigations , January 27, 2015
REMAINS OF MIA KELDER IDENTIFIED, BUT FAMILY STILL HAS QUESTIONS – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, January 30, 2015
HAWAII’S JPAC FOLDS – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, January 31, 2015
THE PENTAGON’S FAILURE TO FIND LONG LOST SOLDIERS – By Sara Afzal, Shore News Network, February 1, 2015
FOR LOVED ONES LOST AT WAR, IS DNA THE TICKET HOME? – By Jeff Baillon, Fox News Network, February 5, 2015
CAN PENTAGON FIX SHAMEFUL TRACK RECORD OF FINDING AND IDENTIFYING REMAINS OF MISSING U.S. SOLDIERS IN FOREIGN LANDS? – By Noel Brinkerhoff AND Steve Straehley, AllGov, February 7, 2015
POW/MIA GROUPS ASK CONGRESS TO INVESTIGATE JPAC REORGANIZATION – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, February 26, 2015
FAMILY GROUPS CUT FROM PENTAGON UPDATES – By William Cole, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, March 16, 2015
MISSING IN ACTION: COULD DNA EVIDENCE BRING OUR WAR HEROES HOME – By Jeff Baillon, Fox News, May 13, 2015
FAMILIES WAIT FOR LOST SOLDIERS TO BE IDENTIFIED – Siouxland News/Fox News, May 23, 2015
OUTDATED METHODS WILL HAMPER EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY USS OKLAHOMA REMAINS, EXPERTS SAY – By Matthew M. Burke, Stars and Stripes, July 2, 2015
FAMILY OF FALLEN SOLDIER BATTLED PENTAGON TO HAVE REMAINS RETURNED TO CHICAGO – By Steve Miller, CBS News, July 9, 2015
REMAINS OF WW II PRIVATE WHO DIED IN JAPANESE POW CAMP IDENTIFIED, RETURNED – By Siyao Long, Military Times, July 21, 2015
BRINGING HAROLD HOME: FAMILY’S 70 YEAR JOURNEY TO PUT WWII PILOT TO REST – Little Brother Has Lost Hope of Burying Pilot Beside Parents – By Anita Wadhwani, The Tennessean, August 16, 2015
FAMILIES TURN TO MISSOURI SENATOR FOR ANSWERS ABOUT MISSING MEN FROM 1952 ALASKA MILITARY PLANE CRASH – Family members and loved ones of 52 military men killed in a November 1952 plane crash in Alaska are expressing frustration that remains recovered from that crash last year have not been identified – By Mike Lear, MissouriNet, September 11, 2015
TAMPA WOMAN PUSHES MILITARY TO IDENTIFY REMAINS OF SERVICEMEN IN ALASKA CRASH – By Keith Morelli, The Tampa Tribune, September 13, 2015
MORE DELAYS FOR FAMILIES AWAITING IDENTIFICATION OF REMAINS FOUND AT 1952 ALASKA MILITARY CRASH SITE – By Sean Doogan, Alaska Dispatch News, September 18, 2015
IDENTITIES OF REMAINS FROM 1952 MILITARY PLANE CRASH KNOWN, UNRELEASED, SINCE MARCH – By Mike Lear, MissouriNet, September 19, 2015
FAMILY BATTLES TO GET POW REMAINS 73 YEARS LATER – By Jan Anderson, Great Falls Tribune, October 25, 2015
AFTER 74 YEARS, N.J. VETERAN WANTS BROTHER’S REMAINS BACK FROM PEARL HARBOR – By Andy Polhamus, NJ.com, February 6, 2016
FAMILY GOES PUBLIC WITH FIGHT TO BRING HOME REMAINS OF MONNET MAN KILLED IN LAOS IN 1966 – By Debby Woodin, The Joplin Globe, April 9, 2016
GOVERNMENT INACTION LEAVES 93 YEAR OLD WAR WIDOW DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS – By Jeff Baillon, Fox News, October 27, 2016 http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/214070684-story
OMAHA POLICE DETECTIVE WORKS THE CASE OF HIS UNCLE’S WWII PLANE CRASH – By Steve Liewer, The Omaha World-Herald, January 16, 2017 http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/omaha-police-detective-works-the-case-of-his-uncle-s/article_e69d367d-4332-54f8-a7cb-3a793f6d5841.html
VETERAN GREEN BERETS PEEVED AT POW/MIA RECOVERY SLOW DOWN – By John Stryker Meyer, SOFREP News, February 13, 2017
https://sofrep.com/74625/veteran-green-berets-peeved-at-powmia-recovery-slowdown/
WIDOW FEARS SHE WON’T LIVE TO SEE HUSBAND BURIED IN MINNESOTA– By Jeff Baillon, Fox News, April 14, 2017
http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/248443905-story
FAMILY FIGHTS TO BRING MONET MAN MIA BACK HOME – By Robert Jackson, Cedar County Republican, May 25, 2017
http://cedarrepublican.com/news/family-fights-to-bring-monet-man-mia-back-home/article_dbcece44-3ff1-11e7-b2ec-839584189cf3.html
FAMILY SUING FOR DNA TESTING OF POSSIBLE REMAINS OF WWII MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT – By Matt Burke, Stars and Stripes, May 26, 2017
https://www.stripes.com/news/family-suing-for-dna-testing-of-possible-remains-of-wwii-medal-of-honor-recipient-1.470367#.WSiiO2eGOpr
NEW MEXICO WOMAN WANTS GREAT UNCLE’S REMAINS FROM WWII RETURNED HOME – By Jeannie Nguyen, KRQE News 13, May 26, 2017
http://krqe.com/2017/05/26/new-mexico-woman-wants-great-uncles-remains-from-wwii-returned-home/
FAMILIES OF WORLD WAR II MIAs SUE TO IDENTIFY REMAINS, BRING THEM HOME – By Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 26, 2017
http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2017/05/26/families-world-war-ii-mias-sue-identify-remains-bring-them-home/342885001/
MILITARY STILL FAILING FAMILIES OF MISSING SOLDIERS – By Bob Collins, MPR News, May 26, 2017
http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2017/05/military-still-failing-families-of-missing-soldiers/
DPAA STILL PLAGUED BY PROBLEMS AFTER REORGANIZATION, REPORT SAYS – By Matthew Burke, Stars and Stripes, May 28, 2017
https://www.stripes.com/news/dpaa-still-plagued-with-problems-after-reorganization-report-says-1.470784#.WSrJb2eGOpo
WAR HERO’S FAMILY SUING IN ITS DECADES LONG FIGHT TO IDENTIFY REMAINS – By David Phillips, New York Times, May 29, 2017 (Click on photo to read complete article).
“DPAA is a self-perpetuating, in-bred organization of dysfunctionally inept people in management positions who have no idea how to do the job for which they are entrusted.”
THOUSANDS OF TEXAS MILITARY PERSONNEL STILL WAITING TO REST IN PEACE – By Craig Malisow, Houston Press, May 29, 2017
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/trying-to-account-for-lost-texas-soldiers-9473144
DoD’s DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING IN ACTION ACCOUNTING AGENCY (DPAA) STILL HAS NOT NAMED A DIRECTOR AFTER A YEAR – By John Stryker Meyer, SofRep News, June 2, 2017
https://sofrep.com/82354/dods-defense-prisoner-warmissing-action-accounting-agency-dpaa-still-not-named-director-11-months/
A 70- YEAR FIGHT TO BRING HOME A HERO HEATS UP WITH LAWSUIT – By Walt Buteau, WPRI News, July 6, 2017
http://wpri.com/2017/07/06/a-70-year-fight-to-bring-home-a-hero-heats-up-with-lawsuit/
OVER 70 YEARS AFTER GOING MISSING: “I don’t think it should take a U.S. Senator calling the defense department to be able to get this done.” – By Todd Wilson, KSTP News, July 6, 2017
http://kstp.com/news/minnesota-serviceman-missing-identified-homecoming-widow/4535241/
FOR OVER 70 YEARS, WIDOW CATHERINE TAUER DID NOT KNOW WHAT BECAME OF HER HUSBAND – By William Bornhoft, Mendota Heights Patch, July 7 2017
https://patch.com/minnesota/mendotaheights/klobuchar-presents-mn-vets-widow-purple-heart-photos
MEDALS PRESENTED TO WIDOW OF LATE MN WORLD WAR II VETERAN: “The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) which is responsible for locating missing service members has been heavily criticized for operating at a sloth-like pace and keeping families in the dark.” – By KMSP, Fox 9 News, July 7, 2017
http://www.fox9.com/news/266170495-story
“NOBODY TOLD US ANYTHING”: Agency fails to notify family of missing WWII soldier from Nebraska that remains weren’t a match – By Steve Liewer, Omaha World Herald, August 11, 2017
http://www.omaha.com/news/military/nobody-told-us-anything-agency-fails-to-notify-family-of/article_21c7fd40-572f-5832-8854-0b2e24f09d3f.html
AMERICA’S MISSING KOREAN WAR VETERANS COULD BE IN RUSSIA, FAMILY SAYS: Another MIA family forced to sue DPAA for information- By Tom O’Connor, Newsweek, August 12, 2017
http://www.newsweek.com/america-missing-war-veterans-could-be-russia-family-648966
DNA DEBATE CONNECTED TO A 70- YEAR FIGHT TO BRING A HERO HOME: “DPAA…not transparent…not accountable…very bureaucratic. And they don’t answer their mail. They don’t answer their phone calls, treating us almost as the enemy.” – By Walt Buteau, WPRI News, August 21, 2017
http://wpri.com/2017/08/21/dna-debate-connected-to-70-year-fight-to-bring-a-hero-home/
MOTION TO DISMISS FILED IN LAWSUIT INVOLVING SOLDIERS’ REMAINS THAT WERE LEFT BEHIND: “It is unfortunate that these families have to resort to a lawsuit to sue for relief the government could provide immediately.” – By Walt Buteau, WPRI News, September 15, 2017
http://wpri.com/2017/09/15/motion-to-dismiss-filed-in-lawsuit-involving-soldiers-remains-that-were-left-behind/
FALLEN & FORGOTTEN: WHY WERE THESE MISSING WWII HEROES BURIED UNDER PAVEMENT ?- By Mike Valerio, WUSA9 News, November 9, 2017
http://www.wusa9.com/mobile/article/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/fallen-forgotten-why-were-these-missing-wwii-heroes-buried-under-pavement/65-488897166
FALLEN & FORGOTTEN: SEVEN DECADES LATER, AMERICANS REMAIN IN FORGOTTEN PACIFIC GRAVES. A FAMILY SAYS THE MILITARY LEFT THEM IN THE DARK ABOUT THEIR WWII HEROES FATE – By Mike Valerio, WUSA9 News, November 10, 2017 (Video)
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/could-your-relative-be-mia-on-tarawa-heres-our-database-of-wwii/490723556
PENTAGON PROBLEMS UNDERMINE RECOVERIES OF MIA TROOPS, AS FAMILIES WAIT 74 YEARS LATER – By Mike Valerio, WUSA9 News, November 18, 2017
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/pentagon-problems-undermine-recovery-of-mia-troops-as-families-wait-74-years-later/492945238
75 YEARS LATER, U.S. REFUSES PLEA TO BRING HOME REMAINS OF FALLEN BROWARD WAR HERO – By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org, December 4, 2017
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2017/12/75-years-later-u-s-refuses-plea-to-bring-home-remains-of-fallen-broward-war-hero/
PENTAGON ISSUES NO APOLOGY FOR KEEPING WWII GRAVE DESTRUCTION SECRET – By Mike Valerio, WUSA9 News, December 30, 2017
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/pentagon-issues-no-apology-for-keeping-wwii-grave-destruction-secret/503295529
FEDS TO DISINTER WWII “UNKNOWNS”, BUT NOT MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT – By Walt Buteau, WPRI-12 News, April 26, 2018
HISTORY FLIGHT HAS A DPAA GOVERNMENT CONTRACT FOR 1.7 MILLION, “Also looks at private donations”: VIETNAM VET PAYS $30K OF HIS OWN TO BRING FALLEN BROTHERS HOME – By Mike Valerio, WUSA9 News, April 26, 2018
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/military/fallen-and-forgotten/vietnam-vet-pays-30k-of-his-own-to-bring-fallen-brothers-home/65-546311789
HISTORY FLIGHT, INC. NOW HAS MULTIPLE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS TOTALING $6.4 MILLION, WHILE CONTINUING TO ACTIVELY SEEK CONTRIBUTIONS AS A “NON-PROFIT” CHARITY – By GovTribe.com, June 12, 2018
https://govtribe.com/contract
Enter History Flight in “Search” field
JAPANESE GROUP ACCUSES U.S. OF ABANDONING WWII REMAINS ON SAIPAN- By Matt Burke, Stars and Stripes, June 26, 2018
https://www.stripes.com/news/japanese-group-accuses-us-of-abandoning-world-war-ii-remains-on-saipan-1.534717
FIGHT TO RECOVER WWII HERO WITH RI TIES GOES TO FEDERAL COURT – By Walt Buteau, WPRI-12 News, June 27, 2018
https://www.wpri.com/target-12/fight-to-recover-remains-of-wwii-hero-with-ri-ties-goes-to-federal-court/1263245698
LAWSUIT: WE KNOW THE IDENTITIES OF “UNKNOWN” SOLDIERS – By Brian Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, June 28, 2018
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Lawsuit-We-know-identities-of-unknown-13032173.php
AS AMERICANS’ REMAINS RETURN FROM NORTH KOREA, FAMILIES BLAST U.S. AGENCY – By David Tweed, Minnesota Post Tribune, July 31, 2018
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/world/as-americans-remains-return-from-north-korea-families-blast-us/article_ffdc7227-4f68-56a0-af23-74eae657ce82.html
ST. CHARLES GREAT NEPHEW TO SEE MARINE GET PROPER BURIAL 75 YEARS AFTER WAR – By Burt Constable, Chicago Daily Herald, October 6, 2018
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20181006/constable-st-charles-great-nephew-to-see-marine-get-proper-burial-75-years-after-war-
NATIONAL GUARD NCO CHARGED AND BANNED FROM NATIONAL ARCHIVES OVER TAKING OF WWII DOG TAGS: Affiliated with M.I.A. Recovery Network and DPAA Contractor History Flight – By Rose L. Thayer, Stars and Stripes, May 18, 2019
https://www.stripes.com/news/national-guard-nco-charged-and-banned-from-national-archives-over-taking-of-wwii-dog-tags-1.581600
NATIONAL GUARD NCO STOLE WWII DOG TAGS FROM NATIONAL ARCHIVES: Researcher for History Flight, Inc. arrested by Federal Investigators– By Cheryl Hinneburg, American Military News, May 21, 2019
National Guard NCO stole WWII dog tags from National Archives
Families of missing WWII servicemen want the Pentagon to exhume and ID their remains– By Guillermo Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, July 23, 2019
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Aimed at Recovering Remains of Medal of Honor Winner – By Walt Buteau, WPRI.com, August 3, 2019
ROBERT RUMSBY: HISTORIAN, RESEARCH, & ANALYST AT HISTORY FLIGHT – By Linkedin
UNSOLVABLE: FORENSIC SLEUTH SAYS HE’S IDENTIFIED LONG-DEAD WWI DOUGHBOY, BUT WHOSE JOB IS IT TO BRING HIM HOME? – By Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes, December 10, 2020
FAMILY OF STILL MISSING WW II MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT ASKS DOD TO STOP USING HIS NAME – By Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes, January 12, 2021
IN DOD REVERSAL, AGENCY WILL ANALYZE REMAINS THOUGHT TO BE WW II’S FIRST MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT– By Wyatt Olson, Stars and Stripes, January 13, 2021
INTERNATIONAL ARTICLES
- Pentagon faked repatriation ceremonies of US war dead – The Telegraph, United Kingdom, October 13, 2013
- MIA Search Botched: Report – By Daniel Pye, The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia, February 5, 2014
- ‘They’re not going anywhere’: Pentagon under fire by Congress for slow progress identifying unknown soldiers – By Ashley Collman, The Daily Mail, United Kingdom, August 1, 2013
- Remains of one possible American soldier recovered, Kuentai-USA digs for more : JPAC Orders Remains Reburied – By Raquel Bagnol, Marianas Variety, September 4, 2014
Copyright (C) 2012-2024 Chief Rick Stone & Family Charitable Foundation. All Rights Reserved
Disgusting, nauseating! As a patriotic American, veteran and TAXPAYER, I am shocked at the story of the “Arrivals Ceremonies” JPAC has been conducting and the fraud involved there. What were they thinking? Did they think they would not get caught? Was there any shame in their hearts over the fraud perpetrated on the American public? In my years in the military, I saw many episodes of unethical, immoral and illegal behavior, but this is over the top. What in the *&%$ is going on in JPAC? The story I read had interviewed a veteran who said “whoever is responsible should be reassigned”. Reassigned? REASSIGNED? You’ve got to be kidding me! They deserve a Courts Martial and to be tossed in jail. In the interim, assign them to Shemya, Alaska, pending the Courts Martial.
A current member of JPAC recently sent an email that was passed on to many former members of JPAC who had left the organization in frustration over poor management, lack of leadership, and the way that JPAC has treated families of missing American servicemen and women. Here is the email altered to protect the sender and the recipients from further retaliation by JPAC and to direct the criticism to where it is deserved:
“(JPAC management’s) performance (exposed) on CBS News was utterly disgusting. Slow rolling family members until they die?? Really??
I have met many lowlifes in my decades of service to our Nation, but none lower than (JPAC’s management). None!
My hope is that karma will deliver (JPAC management) to the public exposed for what (they) really are.”
(Name and title withheld)
As the son of a missing airman from 1942, I suspected problems with JPAC after attending two of their rather patronizing regional meetings. It is easier dealing directly with the French. They now care.
Larry Smelser, son of Major Harold C.Smelser, whose B-17 from the 91st BBG and crew were never recovered after being shot down on November 23,1942 off the coast of France.
I was taken by surprise concerning those who are to find and locate POW/MIA and the misuse of funds. My brother was killed in the Vietnam War, and I wanted to share the information with the many military sites I’m on. Thank you.
We got word that my great uncle has been identified in a grave at
Punchbowl. I just want to say thank you to Chief Stone and the foundation. My uncle will soon be buried in Independence Kansas. (I know Chief Stone was once an officer in Wichita) I have read a lot on Chief Stone and cannot thank him enough for his perseverance and push to get the government to do what was right and bring these men home.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Christie Malone
How is it that the JPAC Commander from back in 2015 when JPAC was under fire and agreed that his organization was dysfunctional could retire only to be brought back as the highly paid civilian director of the new DPAA. All that was done was the name was changed and some people got promotions! Good work for our MIAs that has been exploited by the good old boy network
This is to inform you that I have received our ‘Family Report’ as I had requested.
Your prompt response truly amazes me! But then, so does the amount of information that
you have somehow gathered and reported on. This is difficult to read, to be sure. However,
I feel as though I know my Uncle, and an inkling of what he faced, in a different way. Who
can truly imagine what an 18 year old young man could have faced in a time as that? Just
unimaginable, to be honest.
Your team is outstanding. That records can be withheld from you is something we cannot
understand. That you continue to keep trying, and how you come to these detailed reports,
shows your loyalty and devotion to our War Dead. How does one thank you for this?
Though meager, my gratitude and prayers remain with you. God Bless your Christmas/and or
just passed Hanukkah Holiday Seasons.
Gratefully yours-