Forensic Archaeological Approaches to Addressing Aircraft Wreck Sites in Underwater Contexts: The JPAC Perspective

Summary

For nearly 20 years, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and its Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) have conducted forensic archaeological activities on submerged aircraft wreck sites. This work is undertaken for the ultimate purpose of recovering and identifying the remains of unaccounted for U.S. Military service members, and is world-wide in its scope. Over these years, JPAC and the CIL have had to confront challenges that have included: developing a structured program for addressing submerged wreck sites; undertaking historical case research to assist in locating sites; devising a means of classifying loss incidents and sites; formalizing search, survey, and recovery methodologies; correlating sites to specific loss cases; interpreting depositional and post-depositional site formation processes; addressing issues related to treatment of recovered evidence; and acknowledging the common interests and differences between JPAC’s objectives and those of other agencies. This presentation will explore how JPAC and the CIL are addressing these challenges and issues.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Is the Pattern Really Full?: Asking Questions That Count In The Archaeology of Sunken Aircraft   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-60,02