"World War II Families for the Recovery of the Missing (WWRM) wholeheartedly welcomes the March 19 announcement by Rear Admiral Donna L. Crisp, the Commander of the US Defense Department’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), that JPAC will conduct on-site surveys of World War II crash sites in India beginning this year .

U.S. and Indian Officials Discuss WWII Recovery Missions
Officials of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) met today with representatives of the Indian government in New Delhi to lay the groundwork for future U.S.-Indian humanitarian operations in Arunachal Pradesh State.
 
During the meeting, the officials discussed a tentative timeline for future investigations and recoveries of aircraft crash sites associated with missing U.S. servicemen from World War II. In addition, they discussed cooperation in the areas of team security, medical support, logistical requirements and transportation.
 
JPAC officials will return to the region in the spring to discuss details of future operations with Ministry of Defense and Arunachal Pradesh officials. This will be followed by site visits in early fall to determine the scope of debris fields and evaluate unique logistical requirements associated with each site. This process sets the groundwork for future recovery teams by clearly defining the work that will be required to properly and efficiently excavate known aircraft crash locations.
 
The first full excavation mission should begin shortly after these site visits and is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
 
“This meeting is a significant step in a partnership that will enable our teams to go into areas where we hope to find remains of missing American service members,” said Rear Adm. Donna Crisp, JPAC commander.
 
“We look forward to developing closer ties and stronger working relationships with our Indian counterparts as we work together to accomplish this humanitarian mission.”
 
There are more than 1,300 individuals missing from loss incidents - primarily aircraft crashes - in the region known as “the Hump” or the “China-Burma-India” theatre of operations in WWII. While it is impossible to say with certainty in which country a specific plane was lost, JPAC analysts estimate more than 400 Americans are unaccounted-for in this region.
 
For additional information on this mission in India, call JPAC at (808) 448-1938, or the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office at (703) 699-1420.

A full-scale recovery operation at one of these crash sites is also expected to be completed before the end of the year, according to Rear Admiral Crisp. This significant announcement came at the conclusion of a meeting in New Delhi between Rear Admiral Crisp and Indian Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.  Lisa Phillips, the President of WWRM, stated that "WWRM is especially pleased with this announcement and we look forward to the continued efforts between the Indian Government and JPAC.  WWRM would also like to express our  deepest gratitude to the Indian Government and JPAC for this joint humanitarian mission."

 

Contact information:
Lisa Phillips
President, World War II Families for Return of the Missing
PO Box 804
Windham, ME  04062
[email protected]
(207) 939-2051

 

Source: World War II Families for Recovery of the Missing (WWRM)
For further information about WWRM, click here