DPAA's Efforts to Address Unresolved U.S. Military Overwater and In-water Loss Incidents and Underwater Sites

Author(s): Piotr T. Bojakowski; Richard K. Wills

Year: 2017

Summary

A significant portion of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)'s unresolved loss cases involve incidents that occurred over water, at sea, or otherwise within a body of water.  In the context of underwater forensic archaeology, addressing these cases require a complex process of historical and archival research; large-scale GIS analysis; investigation and correlation with known incidents; and site search, survey, and recovery activities to the extent possible.  The end goal is to recover and identify the remains of unaccounted for individuals, or to otherwise resolve their fate.  These efforts increasingly require a high degree of collaboration and coordination with individual historians and researchers, non-profit groups, universities, and academic organizations; local, state, and federal agencies; and foreign host nations and international organizations.  DPAA continues to develop its underwater procedures and capabilities in its pursuit of this challenging mission.

Cite this Record

DPAA's Efforts to Address Unresolved U.S. Military Overwater and In-water Loss Incidents and Underwater Sites. Piotr T. Bojakowski, Richard K. Wills. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435111)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 550