US Dept of Defense ties up with Gujarat forensic varsity in its search for 400 soldiers missing since World War II

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has roped in Gandhinagar-based National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) for helping it in its efforts to "recover and identify" remains of 400 missing personnel of World War II in the northeast region of the country. The US government is trying to identify them through the remains and inform their families.

NFSU officials said that recently DOD's Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA) collaborated with it to trace the remains of soldiers who died during the Japanese attack in the northeast region. Officials said that DPAA has a DNA database of 400 missing personnel and it has been trying to find clues to match with the data for identification.

According to varsity officials, NFSU will be working as a "local agency" for the DOD in "identifying the possible sites, taking permission from concerned state authorities, going to the place, helping in excavation along with Archaeological Survey of India, among others. "We will be helping the US officials in collecting the remains, belongings or any relevant material. US has DNA technology that will identify whether body parts belong to Indian or US origin," an official said.

In a release, J M Vyas, vice-chancellor, NFSU has been quoted as saying, “This partnership with DPAA will enable the scientific exchange in the areas of forensic anthropology and odontology and develop best practices for human identification.” The release further said that "a three-way partnership has been established between National Forensic Sciences University-Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA) will develop academic exchanges and cooperation in teaching and research in the areas of forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology and forensic odontology activities."

The release said that the mission of DPAA is "to provide the fullest possible accounting for missing personnel to their families and the nation". “Their (NFSU) renowned expertise and capabilities will advance our efforts to find and recover the remains of Americans missing from World War II in India,” Kelly McKeague, DPAA Director, has been quoted in the release as saying.

According to the release, DPAA teams "locate, identify, and repatriate the remains of unaccounted service members from America’s past conflicts including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Iraq and Persian Gulf Wars across the world." It said that there are over 81,800 such personnel who are still unaccounted for, including over 400 in India.