Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s (DPAA) mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel from past conflicts to their families and the nation. The search for these 80,000+ servicemen and servicewomen is an enormous task that requires innovation, adaptation, and teamwork. Since 2016, a growing number of universities, CRM companies, and other nongovernmental organizations around the world have joined the DPAA team in the ongoing search, recovery, and accounting effort. This poster symposium highlights the range of technological innovations, archaeological approaches, and expert collaborations DPAA and its partner organizations around the globe leverage during archaeological field work as they search for, attempt to recover, and account for missing US service members from World War II, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. Applying these innovations, adaptations, and collaborations, DPAA is able to increase its capacity, sharpen its methods, and strengthen its relationships, all of which contribute to the ongoing success of the mission.

Other Keywords
Historic • Historical Archaeology • Forensic Archaeology • World War II • conflict • Remote Sensing/Geophysics • Cultural Resources and Heritage Management • Archaeology • Cultural Resource Management • Warfare

Geographic Keywords
French Republic (Country) • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nort (Country) • Ireland (Country) • Isle of Man (Country) • Kingdom of Belgium (Country) • Bailiwick of Guernsey (Country) • Principality of Monaco (Country) • Bailiwick of Jersey (Country) • Kingdom of the Netherlands (Country) • Kingdom of Spain (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)

  • Documents (10)
Documents
  • eep Stratigraphic Deposits: Pond Scum, Aircraft Wreckage, and Safety in Assam, India (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only William Belcher. LuAnn Wandsnider. Ella Axelrod. Gargi Jani. Koel Mukherjee.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stratigraphy is an important part of understanding the history and land use of any archaeological site, but it is exceptionally important in understanding sites associated with US missing service personnel. Understanding the stratigraphy and pedogenic processes of a recovery site/scene...

  • The Importance of Collaboration: Reflections from a World War II Forensic Archaeology Field School (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Andrea Palmiotto. William Chadwick.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The recovery of past service members from historic military sites is a specialized archaeological niche with substantial forensic influences. It receives distinct notice by governments around the world as they recognize the importance of closure for their nations and families of those...

  • Recent Search and Recovery Efforts: Honoring Missing US Service Personnel through Forensic Archaeology (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alex DeGeorgey.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is dedicated to identifying and honoring missing US service personnel, particularly from World War II and other conflicts. Recent search and recovery efforts conducted by Alta Archaeological Consulting (ALTA), through the DPAA Partnerships and...

  • Recovery Efforts at a Second World War Aircraft Crash Site on the Island of Luzon, Republic of the Philippines (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kendall Hills. Calen Kestle. William Feltz. Ivan Cultura. Gregg Abbang.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s (DPAA) mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting of missing service members from past conflicts. More than 81,000 service members remain missing, and almost 50% of those losses are attributed to America’s efforts during the Second World...

  • Rethinking Site Survey: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Site Modeling and Prediction in a Hazardous Environment (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Aldo Foe. Elizabeth Goodman. Russel Quick. Jake Zeisel. Enis Cetin.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Hazardous and difficult-to-navigate terrain often impedes investigation and recovery of missing individuals in forensic archaeological contexts. Here we discuss novel solutions at one such site, a 1,750 m high sheer limestone cliff in Southeast Asia. In addition to the difficult terrain,...

  • The Search for Remains and Material Evidence on World War II Bomber Crash Sites: Combining Geophysics and Traditional Archaeological Approaches (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Albert Pecora. Jarrod Burks.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During World War II, the United States and other countries lost many airmen in plane crashes. Crash sites vary considerably in size and complexity, with buried and near-surface components that must be located, assessed, and perhaps excavated. Geophysical survey is one way to improve the...

  • The Social Life of Crash Sites: Understanding World War II Sites in Context in the Search for Missing Air Crew (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only D. Ryan Gray. Emily Gallo.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological sites are only rarely preserved as pristine moments in time, unaltered since the site was formed. More often, they are a continuous production, forming a part of the social and cultural landscape of the surrounding area. In this paper, we draw upon Appadurai’s idea of the...

  • Student Contributions to International Collaboration in MIA Cases: A Personal Case Study (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elisa Mathieu.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Investigating archaeological sites related to the recovery of MIAs from past conflicts requires international collaboration among various agencies and civilian volunteers. I graduated in 2023 as an art history and archaeology student at the University of Namur (Belgium). I served as an...

  • Student Mentorship and Reflections of Service on DPAA Recovery Projects (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Shaheen Christie. Eava Snodden.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeological recovery of missing service personnel on conflict landscapes have increased since 2015 through strategic partnerships between the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and volunteer organizations, heritage and cultural resource management (CRM) businesses, and...

  • Using Geophysical Survey to Relocate Missing World War II-Era American Graves and a Large Postwar Unmarked Cemetery near Stalag Luft VI, a German POW Camp in Macikai, Lithuania (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jarrod Burks.

    This is an abstract from the "Fulfilling a Nation’s Promise: The Search, Recovery, and Accounting Efforts of DPAA and Its Partners" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 1944, on separate occasions, three US military airman died while interned at the Stalag Luft VI German prisoner-of-war camp in what is now the Village of Macikai, Lithuania. All three were interred in a small burial area, along with at least one other (a Canadian airman), located...