JOINT POW/MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND (JPAC)
RELEASE NO. #06-17
May 18, 2006
JPAC INVESTIGATIVE EXPERTS SEARCH FOR CLUES IN SOUTH KOREA
HICKAM AFB, HAWAII - The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recently deployed an investigative team to South Korea to research cases related to 40 unaccounted-for military members from the Korean War.
The team will investigate up to 15 cases relating to nine ground and six aircraft losses in the hopes of pinpointing future recovery sites.
Seven of these cases involve battles that occurred near the Naktong River. Historically, the Naktong River was part of the boundary known as the Pusan Perimeter. Republic of Korea and U.S. forces incurred devastating losses there after a surprise attack from the North Korean People's Army in June 1950.
The team will also search for three burial site locations based on information provided by U.S. veterans of the Korean War.
The investigative team, led by U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Keith Davis, will spend approximately 30 days in South Korea. Much of that time will be spent visiting area villages to talk to potential witnesses.
Davis, a JPAC Korean War analyst, said that witnesses often have impressive memories of specific incidents, crashes, or locations of burial sites. "The witnesses are also eager to express their appreciation for the Americans who kept their nation free," he said.
The goal of the mission is to gather adequate information to correlate specific sites with unaccounted-for service members.
The last investigative mission in South Korea, in September 2005, yielded 55 interviews. Davis said they expect that this month's mission will be just as successful.
Today 8,100 American service members are still missing from the Korean War. JPAC conducts investigation operations worldwide before recovery missions take place. Investigative teams deploy to places as diverse as Southeast Asia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Germany and France.
"Until they are home"