THE search for the remains of eighty American troops that were taken prisoners of war (POW) or reported missing in action (MIA) during World War II is set to begin in the coming days, US and Philippine officials said Friday.
The Armed Forces (AFP) Civil Military Operations chief, Rear Admiral Jose Miguel Rodriguez recently said that they have concluded their conference with their American counterparts for the conduct of search operation.
The American Embassy in Manila said on the other hand that personnel from both countries will begin their preliminary investigation aim to locate the remains of American POWs and MIAs.
“The effort is led by the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), based in Honolulu, whose humanitarian mission is to conduct global search, recovery, and laboratory operations,” the American Embassy said in a statement.
The American Embassy estimated that there are still some 83, 000 American from past conflicts still remain unaccounted for.
“Alongside Philippine partners, the JPAC team will be searching for evidence of about 80 Americans who remain unaccounted-for from World War II,” the statement added.
American Embassy Charge d’Affaires, Brian Goldbeck said that a nine-member investigation team will work with local counterparts to authenticate leads and conduct research at numerous to location determine whether an excavation is merited.