29 September 2012

Leave No Man Behind: Multiple Conflict Edition

The DoD has announce the identification of a Marine that's been missing in action since the Korean War

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Marine Pfc. Richard S. Gzik, of Toledo, Ohio, will be buried today, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. On Dec. 2, 1950, Gzik and the other Marines of M Battery, 11th Artillery Regiment, 1st Marine Division, came under attack on the west side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. It was during this battle that Gzik was killed in action and his remains were buried alongside the road leading to Hagaru-ri. Later that month, the withdrawal of U.N. forces from the Chosin Reservoir region made it impossible to recover Gzik’s remains.
In 1954, United Nations and Communist Forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called “Operation Glory.” All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army Central Identification Unit for analysis. Those which were unable to be identified, given the technology of that time, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii -- the “Punchbowl.”
In 2012, analysts from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) re-examined the case records and determined that advances in technology could likely aid in the identification of the unknown remains as Gzik. Once the remains were exhumed, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including dental records and radiographs, to validate Gzik’s identification.
Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously buried as unknown. Today, 7,947 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.

They've also recovered an Airman missing since WWII
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Samuel E. Lunday, of Marianna, Fla., will be buried today, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. On April 24, 1943, Lunday and four other U.S. servicemen were flying a C-87 Liberator Express aircraft over the Himalayan Mountains, from Yangkai, China, to their home base in Chabua, India. After losing radio communications following take-off, the crew was never heard from again. Eleven aerial search missions were unable to locate the aircraft or crew due to intense snows on the mountains at high altitudes, and dense jungle growth at lower altitudes.
As part of the war effort against the Japanese, U.S. Army Air Forces cargo planes based in India continually airlifted critical supplies over the high mountain ranges that comprise the Himalayas -- known as “The Hump” -- in support of American airbases in China. The amount of materiel flown over the Himalayas was a logistical achievement unparalleled at the time.
Almost 60 years later, in 2003, an American citizen discovered the wreckage of the C-87 aircraft while trekking in the mountains, approximately 100 miles from Chabua, near the Burmese border. He recovered the aircraft’s identification plate, military equipment and human remains. The artifacts and remains were turned over to U.S. officials for analysis. Attempts to excavate the site are being negotiated with the Indian government.
To determine the identity of the remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Lunday’s nephews.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

By: Brant

2 comments:

Gary said...

The article about the burial of 2nd Lt. Samuel Lunday should have identified the man responsible for this happy ending: Clayton Kuhles of Prescott, Arizona. Mr. Kuhles, who discovered 2nd Lt. Lunday's crash site in 2003 and recovered his remains, has been honored by the state governments of Arizona and North Carolina for his humanitarian missions, performed gratis, to bring closure to the families of World War II MIAs lost in the China-Burma-India theater. It's amazing that the Defense Department failed to give him the credit due him in its press release on this burial. By the way, it's ridiculous for the article to imply that Mr. Kuhles discovered the crash site by accident. Mr. Kuhles, as head of the MIA Recoveries organization, was actively looking for 2nd Lt. Lunday's crash site, having meticulously and exhaustively prepared for his expedition beforehand. Mr. Kuhles deserves better treatment for his efforts, both by the press and the Defense Department.

Brant said...

That article was from the official DoD news release. We cited their release; we didn't write it ourselves.
In several years of reporting the returns of remains with these news releases, we can safely say that this one was written in much the safe style, with a focus on the servicemember and the actions that led to their deaths, rather than the circumstances of the recovery. That's just the style.

Still, it's nice to see the rest of the story and hear how Mr Kuhles contributed.