Some TAH readers might wonder if JPAC really uses mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).\u00a0 Yes, they do.<\/p>\n
The remains of one Airman recently identified here as No Longer Missing – SGT Dominic J. Licari, US Army Air Forces<\/a> were recovered from a 1944 crash site last year.\u00a0 He was identified using various forensic techniques.\u00a0 In this case, the mtDNA recovered from his remains in a 68-year-old crash site in the mountains of Papua New Guinea was matched with a sample obtained from his brother<\/em>.<\/p>\n Over 73,600 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,900 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,640 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.\u00a0 JPAC does not have mtDNA samples for all of them.<\/p>\n If you are a relative of one of the individuals listed here (World War II \u2013 critical need)<\/a><\/b>, listed here (Korea)<\/a><\/b>, or listed here (Southeast Asia)<\/a><\/b> \u2013 please consider reading this link<\/a><\/b> to see if you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample.<\/p>\n If you qualify, please submit a sample.\u00a0 \u00a0By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified – or which may be recovered in the future.<\/p>\n Everybody deserves a proper burial.\u00a0 That\u2019s especially true for those who gave their all in the service of this nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"