Local organization dedicated to finding lost servicemembers | 7Salutes

WASHINGTON (7News) — Right now, thousands of families are still waiting for their loved ones to come home from war. About 81,000 people are still unaccounted for, dating back to World War II and a local organization is dedicated to finding them.

On a beautiful September day in 2022, an American hero was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. It’s a daily occurrence at the cemetery, but this person was unique.

He certainly deserved the full military honors- the horse-drawn caisson, the band, even a flyover. That’s because this was Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Colonel Addison Baker.

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Lt. Baker bravely died piloting a daring mission to destroy Nazi oil refineries in Romania. After nearly 80 years of being missing, he was finally given the burial he deserved. And this was all thanks to a country that never gave up looking for him, thanks to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA.

“Our nation never forgets that these are veterans who went down, gave the ultimate sacrifice and never came home,” said DPAA Principal Deputy Director Fern Sumpter Winbush.

DPAA is a federally funded organization dedicated to accounting for servicemembers missing since World War II. DPAA has about 700 employees, both active duty and civilians, and they’re sort of detectives, combing through archival records, and conducting interviews to pinpoint where they believe missing servicemembers are. And then, they go looking.

“Our staff consists of forensic scientists, archaeologists, mountaineers, explosive ordinance personnel, the full gamut of what you might expect,” said Sumpter Winbush.

These remains could be in the mountains of Europe, the jungles of Asia, or the bottom of the Pacific, it doesn’t matter. DPAA has experts in the retrieval and identification of remains, and they strive for 200 a year. Sometimes this work is a shock to the families.

“When the first phone call is made to the family member, they hang up. Because they don’t believe it. Our government is not looking for my father, my uncle, my cousin. And so usually it takes multiple attempts- letters, official government letters,” said Sumpter Winbush.

In the case of Lt. Col. Baker, his unknown remains were buried in a Belgian cemetery.

In 2017, DPAA exhumed the remains and used DNA evidence to positively identify them, so Baker could be brought home.

These missing servicemembers are not just words on a page. They were real people, many of whom still have families wondering what happened.

DPAA knows the challenge is immense, and will likely take decades, but it’s a noble mission to bring every hero home.

“This mission will continue until we’re done,” said Sumpter Winbush.

DPAA is trying to get the word out about the work that they do. If you or someone you know has a relative who is missing, please contact them. They’d love to learn all they can about that hero and give you a cheek swab to collect DNA evidence so hopefully one day they can finally bring the servicemember home.