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Until they are home: Tech and ID helps JPAC bring Americans home

  • Published
  • By Christin Michaud
  • AFMAO Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  She dials a phone number and it begins to ring. An unsuspecting person is on the other side.

Senior Master Sgt. Mary Mullen, who has worked as a telemarketer in her civilian career, is used to making cold calls. This time though, the reservist, deployed to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center from the 514th Force Support Squadron at Joint Base Dix McGuire Lakehurst, N.J., isn't selling anything. She's calling to obtain something that could give the recipient of the call closure.

Sergeant Mullen, Doug Lester and Alan Cronin, AFMAO mortuary affairs specialists with the technical and identification branch, have called more than 2,150 family members in an effort to obtain DNA samples to help identify the remains of lost loved ones.

In a repatriation effort, DNA samples are being requested from certain family members of those individuals missing in action from the Korean War, Vietnam Conflict and the Cold War.

There are 1,533 Air Force members missing in action from these conflicts. The tech and ID branch has a mission of trying to make contact with family members to obtain mitochondrial DNA from families of lost servicemembers who don't have a family reference sample on file with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab in Rockville, Md.
Mitochondrial DNA is used for identification because it can be extracted from skeletal remains. It is different from nuclear DNA in that it is only transferred maternally from the mother to the child, which means donors are limited to the mother's side of the missing Airman' s family.

The Air Force has contracted with professional genealogists to help locate these family members. Once a connection is established, the information is passed on to the staff here who contacts family members directly.

There are 611 unaccounted Airmen who are still without a family reference.

The staff in tech and ID began making contact with families of those 611 Airmen in November 2009 and to date have closed 347 of those by obtaining two mitochondrial DNA samples per family.

Two different samples are required for it to be considered successful, explained Mr. Cronin.

This can be one of the challenges, because not only does his team need to make contact with at least two different family members, they need those individuals to agree to provide DNA samples.

Some families don't have the ability to provide samples because there may not be living relatives from the mother's side. Certain ones may have emigrated from Europe and are harder to locate.

Other families who have lost an Airman with a slim chance of recovery may not participate because they believe their loved one will never be found. A sample from these families could help officials get one step closer to identifying other fallen servicemembers, because by comparing DNA, it enables them to exclude that the remains don't belong to a certain individual.

"It gives an opportunity for another person to be identified," said Mr. Cronin.

DNA is only one segment of the identification process. Circumstances and other forensic evidence are used to make a match or exclude other individuals from skeletal remains. Although the mitochondrial DNA can't be used exclusively for identification, it is a valuable forensic tool in support of identifying remains.

The tech and ID branch works directly with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command which was established Oct. 1, 2003 in an effort to account for American's lost during past conflicts.

JPAC was created by combining the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory and Joint Task Force - Full Accounting.

The mission is to investigate leads, recover and identify American's who were killed in action but never brought home.

The process begins with in-depth research by JPAC historians who, with the help of analysts, gather and analyze information for a loss incident case file. If through research, JPAC is able to pinpoint a possible location, an investigative team deploys to the site for approximately 35 days to interview potential witnesses, conduct on-site reconnaissance and survey terrain. If the investigative team find enough evidence at the site, a team will be sent to begin recovery.

Anthropologists, forensic analysts and others make up the team from JPAC to excavate potential recovery sites for evidence. Each team on average is comprised of 10-14 specialists including a team sergeant, linguist, medic, life support, forensic photographer, communications specialists and an explosive ordnance disposal technician.

The process of recovery and identification can take years to complete.

The best part of being involved in the process is being able to see closure, said Mr. Cronin. "Its bitter sweet opening the wounds again but then families finally have closure," he said.

The remains of 10 fallen Airmen were returned to their families in 2009. So far this year, four have been returned.

Mr. Cronin recently travelled to Indiana for the funeral of a repatriated Airman. Although the flight with the remains was delayed for four hours, more than 20 state troopers were waiting in Indianapolis as well as numerous Patriot Guard members to escort the remains an additional 127 miles to the Fort Wayne area for the funeral.

"Folks waited," said Mr. Cronin. "Like a procession, people were standing in little towns along the way. The community lost somebody."

Community members gathered to show their support and recognize an American killed in action years ago, but finally on his way home. People lined the streets in Columbia City to honor Tech. Sgt. Roy DeWitt Prater, on the way to his final resting place.

Moments like that and returning the remains to the family for proper burial is the end goal.

"That's why we go talk to the families," said Mr. Cronin. "That's why JPAC excavates sites," he said. "It's a small part, but it's the end of the process."

His team continues to dial phone numbers and make more calls as part of the process. It's a job he and the other are honored to take part in - until they are all home.

For more information about the program or to donate DNA, call (800) 531-5803.