7Salutes: Virginia organization dedicated to identifying missing servicemembers

WASHINGTON (7NEWS) — Thousands of families are still waiting for their loved ones to come home from war. 81,000 service members are still unaccounted for dating back to World War II, but a local organization is dedicated to finding out what happened to them.

The organization is called the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency or DPAA. It’s a federally funded organization dedicated to accounting for all of America’s missing servicemembers since World War II.

Back in 2022, they succeeded in the goal of accounting for one American hero, and in September 2022 he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. This servicemember deserved the full military honors: The horse-drawn caisson, the band, and a flyover. But, this person was different because he was Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Colonel Addison Baker.

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He 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.

This was all thanks to a country that never gave up looking for him.

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

DPAA has about 700 employees, both active duty and civilians. They’re like detectives, combing through archival records and conducting interviews to pinpoint where they believe missing servicemembers are located. Then, they go looking.

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

These remains could be in the mountains of Europe, the jungles of Asia, or the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. DPAA has experts in the retrieval and identification of remains and strives for 200 identifications a year. Sometimes this work is a shock to the families.

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“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,” Sumpter Winbush said.

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 reach out by clicking on this link. DPAA officials would 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 serviceman home.