WTOC sits down with DPAA director: New technology, UGA partnership driving record pace in finding America’s missing troops

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - More than 80,000 American service members never came home from war, and the man leading the search to find them says advances in DNA science and new partnerships are helping the mission move faster than ever.

Kelly McKeague is the director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with finding and identifying missing service members and prisoners of war from past conflicts. McKeague sat down with WTOC to talk about how the agency does its work — and why, decades later, it still matters.

“These Americans made the supreme sacrifice for their nation, and now it’s our responsibility collectively to ensure that they are brought home,” McKeague said.

The agency’s work starts with history. DPAA historians and researchers use oral histories, witness accounts and battlefield records to narrow down where a service member may have gone missing. From there, field teams — including anthropologists and archaeologists — search and dig for remains.

DNA technology has transformed that process in recent years, according to McKeague. Scientists can now extract genetic material from bones buried for decades, even after exposure to environmental degradation. Last year, the agency identified 231 Americans, a record for the organization.

Global cooperation, one new local partnership

The agency also relies on 132 university and nongovernmental organization partners to expand its reach. One of the newest is with the University of Georgia, which is pairing its engineering and computer science departments with drone technology capable of scanning dense jungle canopy for crash sites and remains.

1,247 Georgians still missing

McKeague said 1,247 Georgians remain unaccounted for from four conflicts — a little over 1,000 from World War II, 149 from the Korean War and 29 from the Vietnam War.

“These 1,247 represent Georgians that made the supreme sacrifice and have not come home,” McKeague said.

McKeague pointed to recent identifications of two Georgia service members — 2nd Lt. Milton Himes of Thunderbolt and Sgt. William Jones of Rome — as examples of what he calls “generational grieving,” a phenomenon in which the loved ones of missing troops carry on the search for answers long after the service member’s immediate family has passed.

“You’ll meet a second, third-generation family member, and when you speak to them, it’s as if you’re speaking to his mother,” McKeague said.

“All the memories, all the stories have been passed down such that now they’re carrying the torch for their mother, their grandmother, here decades later.”

How families can help

McKeague said the agency depends on families to help build its DNA database, particularly for World War II cases, where fewer genetic reference samples exist compared to more recent conflicts.

Anyone who believes they have a relative missing from a past war is encouraged to contact their military service branch’s casualty office to request a DNA kit. The process involves a simple cheek swab, which can be mailed back and kept on file indefinitely for future comparison.

More information is available at dpaa.mil.