Ambassador Charles A. Ray to Lead DPMO:
Ambassador Charles A. Ray was appointed in September as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs and Director of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. He was formerly the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, and served for 20 years in the U.S. Army. To read his biography, click here.
More 2006 POW/MIA Posters Available:
DPMO has received additional quantities of the 2006 National POW/MIA Recognition Day posters. Individuals and units may now order larger quantities. This year, the posters are printed in one size: 19x28 inches. If you would like to receive posters, send your request via email to Mr. Beltran at angel.beltran@osd.mil. Give him the number of posters you want, list your mailing address and your phone number. The posters are mailed out within one business day following receipt of the request.
Southeast Asia:
In the Western Highlands (also called Central Highlands) joint U.S. – Vietnamese teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) have conducted several investigations and one excavation at sites which had been closed to the U.S. for the past several years.
North Korea:
Negotiations led by DPMO in Bangkok in mid-November set a schedule for five joint field activities in the DPRK for 2005. Since 1996, when joint remains recovery operations began in the DPRK, U.S. teams (CILHI, then JPAC) have recovered remains believed to be those of more than 225 American soldiers during 33 joint field activities.
On May 25, 2005 recovery efforts were temporarily suspended in North Korea. JPAC teams programmed to work in North Korea have been assigned to other recovery areas, including South Korea. The temporary suspension of operations in North Korea remains in effect.
Family Update:
The next Family Update will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, November 18. Each service casualty office is contacting MIA family members within a 350-mile radius of Albuquerque to encourage their attendance. Family members from any area are welcome and encouraged to attend. Contact information for these updates may be found in the Family Information section of this web site.
WWII Research:
An analyst from DPMO’s Joint Commission Support Directorate completed a month-long search in the Croatian State Archives in Zagreb for records pertaining to American WWII MIAs. Some of the documents discovered contain references to destroyed American aircraft and captured or killed American and Allied servicemen. Additionally, the researcher gathered information on several WWII crash sites, including the specific location of a U.S. aircraft, reportedly in 72 meters of water off the coast of Vis Island. The co-pilot of that aircraft is MIA. This information and documentation could lead to further investigations to refine more specific locations.
Libya:
A two person DPMO team visited Libya twice in 2004 to continue discussions on losses in that area from WWII and from the 1986 El Dorado Canyon operation. The team met with officials who told them about recovering aircraft wreckage that had washed ashore. They later visited a museum where U.S. pilots’ helmets and aircraft debris were on display. DPMO, through the State Department, has asked for additional information from the Libyan government.
Links to Military Services:
If you would like to visit the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps POW/MIA websites, click on the icons below.
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