Generations of American families have grown up not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones who died serving their country in World War II and other conflicts.
But a federal lab tucked away above a bowling alley at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha and a sister lab in Hawaii are steadily working to answer those persistent questions — and provide 200 families each year with a chance to have a worthy burial.
“They may not have been alive during that service member’s time, but their stories are passed down through generations,” said Carrie Brown, lab director for the Defense Department’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency at Offutt.
“As a child, you may have seen a photo of that person hanging on the mantelpiece, but you may not have been sure or even known who they were.”
Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on June 6th are fresh reminders of the urgency of Brown’s work.
Forensic anthropologists, coroners and historians helping to identify missing soldiers are racing against time as bodies deteriorate on battlefields around the world.
But advances in DNA technology, combined with innovative techniques such as comparing bones to chest X-rays taken by the military, are enabling the lab to identify more missing soldiers each year.
Some 72,000 soldiers remain missing from World War II and another 10,000 from subsequent conflicts, with experts believing around half of them may yet be found.
When the Offutt lab first opened in 2013, the agency identified 59 service members. That number has steadily increased, to 159 last year and 134 in 2022. The lab has a goal of identifying 200 people a year.
The lab’s work enabled Donna Kennedy to have her cousin, Corporal Charles Ray Patten, buried with military honors this month in the same cemetery in Lawson, Missouri, where her father and grandfather are buried.
Patten died during the Korean War 74 years ago but was buried anonymously for decades at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.
“I was just heartbroken. I mean, it hurt. I was so sorry. Even though I didn’t know him, I loved him,” Kennedy said.
Patten’s funeral was a simple one with only a few relatives in attendance, but when veterans who fought decades ago are identified, people often line the streets of their hometowns waving flags and holding signs to announce the return of the body.
“The reason this job is so important is because these are people who gave their lives, made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms, and that’s why we’re here with the promise that we’re going to return them to their families,” Brown said.
“It’s important for families to show them that no matter what, we never stop,” she said.
There are often compelling details, Brown said.
One of her first cases involved the intact body of a World War I marine who was found in a forest in France with his wallet still in his pocket.
The wallet, initialed GH, contained a New York Times article outlining the planning for the attack that ultimately killed him, as well as his infantry badge with his name and the year he received it on the back.
Before leaving France with the body, the team visited the local cemetery where other soldiers were buried and learned that there were only two missing soldiers bearing the initials GH.
Brown had a good idea of who the soldier was even before the body arrived at the lab. The veteran is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and Brown often visits the grave when she’s in Washington, D.C.
In most cases, it’s not that easy.
Experts working at the lab must piece together the identities by examining historical records about where the bodies were found and about soldiers who were in the area.
They then go through a list of possible names and use the bones, objects found with them, military medical records and DNA to confirm the identity.
They focus on battles and plane crashes that have the greatest chance of success due to the available information.
But their job can be complicated when soldiers are buried in temporary graves and then moved when troops are forced to withdraw, and often with unidentified soldiers buried together.
When remains are brought to a lab, they sometimes contain extra bones, and experts then spend months or years matching the bones and waiting for DNA and other test results to confirm the identity.
One test can even determine whether a soldier grew up primarily on rice or corn.
The lab is also comparing certain features of the clavicle with chest X-rays the military routinely takes on soldiers before they deploy — a helpful feature because the military keeps detailed records of every soldier.
These clues will help experts unravel the person’s identity.
“It’s not always easy, and it’s certainly not something that can be done quickly,” Brown said.
“For some of the cases, you really have to fight to get there because some of them have been missing for 80 years.”
