Write to Congress

80,000 American Military Personnel remain Missing from World War II, Korea, the Cold War and Vietnam. The Defense Department estimates that 24,000 are "possibly recoverable," yet only 72 - less than 1 in 1,000 - are recovered each year. Until recently, rather than providing the fullest possible accounting of all Missing our efforts have varied by war, theater, service and circumstances of death.

I am greatly encouraged that in the 2010 National Defense Authorization the House, the Senate and President Obama took the commendable and necessary first step to address this tragedy- calling on the Secretary of Defense to implement a comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and fully resourced program to account for persons lost in the Armed Services from World War II through today.

• This bill sets the target of tripling our rate of recovery to 200 per year. Encouraging as that figure is, the Secretary of Defense's office has written that there are 700-3,500 remains already located but not yet recovered, with 1-500 more located each year. The 200 target will not reduce this backlog. Any permanent program we implement must call for the quick recovery of remains that are located in accessible areas, and the systematic review of archives and field studies to seek the location of those whose present location is unknown. As witnesses and surviving family members age this effort cannot be deferred.
• Please inform the Secretary of Defense, as well as the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees of your desire to see this effort fully funded in the upcoming Defense Appropriation, with the objective defined as the timely location and recovery of all MIA's, not less than the 200 annual target. The aging survivors of our Missing Personnel can ill afford delay, and the witnesses whose information is needed to accomplish recoveries are themselves aging as well.
• In anticipation of the 2011 Defense Authorization, please insist that the Defense Department initiate whatever pilot programs are required to create the capability to locate and recover remains regardless of war or theater. Please work with the Secretary of Defense and the Appropriations committees to assure that such an interim implementation effort is initiated immediately, with the goal of systematically searching both US and foreign archives, as well as battlefields for evidence of missing personnel of all wars, theaters and services, recovering any located expeditiously.

There is no expiration date on out promise to the men and women of the Armed Services to "leave no one behind". I am confident you will support accelerated efforts to research, locate, recover and identify our 80,000 MIA's consistent with the goal of providing the fullest possible accounting of these families while their surviving family members are in a position to benefit from those efforts.

Thank you.