POLICY REGARDING DISPOSITION OF ARTIFACTS
PURSUANT TO THE MISSING PERSONS ACT

     To provide United States Department of Defense (DoD) policy for handling requests by next of kin for the return of artifacts associated with the U.S. Government’s (USG) efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of American service members.

     This policy pertains to requests by next of kin for artifacts that have been recovered by the USG to include personal effects (PE), USG issued equipment, aircraft wreckage, weapons or ammunition, and unidentifiable artifacts. In cases where artifacts are possessed by a foreign government or foreign national, the USG will not become directly involved in attempts by next of kin to gain possession in cases for other than Prisoners of War (POW).

     Requests shall be made by the person eligible to receive personal effects (Title 10 United States Code) and, in the case of all other artifacts, the primary next of kin. Requests by other next of kin must be accompanied by written permission of the primary next of kin. All USG communication with next of kin involving such requests will be conducted through service casualty offices and/or service mortuary affairs offices, as appropriate.

     The DoD policy for handling next of kin requests for artifacts is as follows:

     1. Artifacts Possessed by DoD:

     The Department of Defense will turn over PE (which is identifiable to a specific individual) to requesting next of kin when such items are no longer required for investigative work by the United States Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii; the Joint Task Force Full Accounting; the Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory, San Antonio Texas; and/or other appropriate agencies involved in the identification/case resolution process. In requests for PE, the appropriate service will determine the person eligible to receive effects as set forth in Title 10 United States Code.

     All other artifacts shall be retained by DoD; however, artifacts of USG issued equipment that are inherently personal in nature which are judged safe and not detrimental to health and are obsolete, damaged, deemed no longer useable, do not require demilitarization, and no longer required for identification/case resolution, investigation, training or education may be released to the primary next of kin or other requesting next of kin with written permission of primary next of kin.

     Personal effects/issued equipment provided to the next of kin in good faith by the USG may have been exposed to hazardous contamination as a result of the loss incident or from natural environmental and equipment deterioration/wartime exposures which may constitute a long term health risk. The USG urges caution in their extended handling and storage. They are provided under the assurance that provisional inspection and/or USG laboratory examinations have not detected any obvious hazardous material contamination, but complete verification is not possible in their existing configuration. Furthermore, to conduct such an extensive level of testing would probably destroy the basic structural integrity of the items, or appreciably alter their existing appearance.

     Aircraft wreckage, weapons and/or ammunition or parts thereof, including items on the U.S. Munitions List (22 CFR 121) and/or requiring demilitarization, and all unidentifiable artifacts will remain in the possession of the DoD.

     2. Artifacts Possessed by Foreign Governments:

     If the unaccounted for member was a POW, at the request of the next of kin the USG will request the government in possession to return those personal effects as defined by the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Articles XVII, XVIII, and LXVIII) and Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Article XCVII).

     Personal Effects possessed by foreign governments subsequent to loss incidents where a servicemember never became a POW are legally considered “spoils of war.” Families must be made aware that there is no requirement for foreign governments to honor their requests for the return of these effects. In such cases, DoD cannot provide direct assistance on behalf of next of kin but will assist indirectly by forwarding requests to foreign governments on behalf of next of kin via appropriate government channels. DoD will offer the next of kin assistance in translating written correspondence to and/or from the foreign government(s).

     The Department of Defense cannot provide assistance to next of kin who are attempting to obtain artifacts of a non-personal nature that are associated with American servicemembers from a foreign government. An explanation of the DoD position for no direct involvement in the request will be included in correspondence to the next of kin.

     3. Artifacts Possessed by Foreign Nationals:

     The Department of Defense cannot provide direct assistance on behalf of next of kin for requests of PE in the possession of individual foreign nationals. DoD will assist indirectly, however, by providing to the requesting next of kin available unclassified information regarding the location and/or address of foreign nationals who may be in possession of artifacts so that a personal request for return of the artifact(s) can be made. DoD will offer assistance in translating written correspondence to and/or from foreign national(s).

     The Department of Defense also cannot provide assistance to next of kin who are attempting to obtain from a foreign national artifacts of a non-personal nature that are associated with unaccounted for Americans. An explanation of DoD’s position for no direct involvement in the request will be included in correspondence to the next of kin.