JPAC carries out mission to recover USMC POW/MIA

September 18, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

As the media dives into an election; in other news, a recent JPAC mission seeks to return USMC WWII MIA/POW’s home. This is a story written by one of my contacts on Flickr.com and should not be overlooked. It is our responsibility to never forget our fallen and try our hardest to bring them home so we may provide them a burial worthy of honor, respect and dignity.

As reported on usoonpatrol.org –

JPAC Mission on Tarawa Exemplifies Marine Corps Motto
by Jeremy Edward Shiok

(August 25, 2010) The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Commission, or JPAC, is a group of 400 handpicked soldiers, Marines sailors, airmen, and Department of the Navy civilians within the U.S. Department of Defense who investigate sites in former conflict areas around the world where missing service members are believed to be buried.

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Commission is leading an archaeological dig on Tarawa atoll, a small island in the Pacific to make sure the sentiment expressed on Major Osorio’s t-shirt becomes a reality. In November 1943, U.S. Marines fought one of the bloodiest battles of World War II at Tarawa. The dig is an effort to repatriate Marines who fell during the battle and were buried on the island. Photo by Jeremy ShiokJoint POW/MIA Accounting Commission is leading an archaeological dig on Tarawa atoll, a small island in the Pacific to make sure the sentiment expressed on Major Osorio’s t-shirt becomes a reality. In November 1943, U.S. Marines fought one of the bloodiest battles of World War II at Tarawa. The dig is an effort to repatriate Marines who fell during the battle and were buried on the island. Photo by Jeremy ShiokOn August 6th, JPAC began a 45-day forensic investigation on Tarawa Atoll in the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced kiri-bass, and formerly known as the Gilbert Islands) in search of missing Marines from the famous battle of “Bloody Tarawa,” fought in November 1943.

Of three sites where JPAC will excavate, the first will take place near the Coastwatchers Memorial, where 22 New Zealand, Australian, and British subjects were beheaded by the Japanese on October 15, 1942.

JPAC’s task is not easy. Sixty-seven years have passed since the Marines landed on Betio, the heavily fortified islet at the atoll’s western edge. Burials at the time of the battle were handled by chaplains, doctors, and the Marines themselves. Conditions on the equatorial atoll were imperfect. In the extreme heat what remained after the fighting stopped deteriorated quickly.

According to JPAC Forensic Archaeologist Gregory Fox, fallen Marines on Tarawa were treated respectfully and placed in well-intended cemeteries, but shortly after the battle, priorities shifted. Navy Seabees bulldozed most of the islet to get the airstrip back in operation for the push north into the Marshall Islands and other locations. Stick markers were moved or disintegrated and exact graves locations were lost over time.

To read more please visit : http://usoonpatrol.org/archives/2010/08/25/all-due-respect-jpac-mission-o

and to view more photos of this mission visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tworeviewphotography/with/4968508622/