Expeditions are extremely challenging: US researcher helping family members of MIA

Clayton Kuhles, an independent researcher in the US running a non-profit organisation, MIA Recoveries, Inc has trekked to many unreached areas including at the high altitude places in Arunachal Pradesh and helped family members of at least 27 US soldiers to locate the aircrafts which had crashed during the WW II. At least 21 of such crash sites are in Northeast India.

In an email interview with DH's Sumir Karmakar, Kuhles said such expeditions are extremely challenging and that could be the reason for the delay in carrying out a recovery mission by the US government and the Government of India.

What prompted you to take up such expeditions?

These MIA expeditions started in 2002, when I reached a US C-47 crash site in far northern Burma, after overhearing a story from a Kachin tribesman about an aircraft wreck on the Burma-India border. I've done 27 MIA expeditions to date of which 23 were US military aircraft.

Tell us about your organisation and how are your expeditions funded?

My MIA expeditions are almost entirely self-funded. Small funding donations are sporadically received throughout the year, but collectively they aren't adequate to fund an expedition. So I have to self-fund these expeditions to make them happen. MIA Recoveries, Inc is a not-for-profit organisation. I have never received any financial support from the US government or any other veteran organisations or national service organisations.

How do you identify the crash sites?

The aircraft wrecks can be identified by wing number, tail number, nose number, engine serial number, aircraft construction number, or by finding a personnel ID tag or ID bracelet at the site. In Arunachal Pradesh, I rely on my local team and good relations with the local tribal communities to reach the crash sites. These expeditions are extremely challenging, and that's why nobody else (including the US government) wants to do this.

Have your expeditions helped the family members to recover the mortal remains?

Mortal remains have been recovered from numerous aircraft sites that I've found, and this helps to bring some closure to those families. The recovered remains are DNA-analysed by a US government laboratory and then repatriated to the families for a burial ceremony. This completes the circle and helps to bring some closure to those families.

What, according to you, should be done to help such families?

I can reach multiple aircraft crash sites every year if I had adequate funding, but having to self-fund these MIA searches limits me to just one expedition per year or sometimes just one expedition every two years.

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