JPAC searches for Korean War MIAs in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea -- Marine Gunnery Sgt. Alexander Mazza, EOD sergeant, augmentee, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command searches for remains of missing American military servicemembers during a JPAC recovery mission on May 18 in the Kangwon Province, South Korea. (U.S. Army photo by Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta)

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JPAC searches for Korean War MIAs in South Korea

Published May 20, 2009
By Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Chlosta
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Public Affairs Office

SEOUL, South Korea -- Military members of a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recovery team conducted excavation operations in the South Korea province of Kangwon on May 18.

JPAC's mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts.

As of April 29 there are 8,044 missing and unaccounted for personnel from the Korean War, JPAC has identified a total of 91 since 2003.

Army Capt. Frank Castro, assistant team leader, JPAC said, "It was going slow because of the rock we had to bust through. We're finding a lot of artifacts for the anthropologist to look through."

"We found a lot of animal remains as well as possible human remains," Dr. Jay Silverstein, recovery leader, JPAC said. "We found part of a Parker pen, boot eyelets, buttons, rounds from the M1 Carbine rifle and M1 Garand rifle. We did find possible human remains today and part of a tooth brush.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Alberto Culanding, team sergeant, JPAC said," We found a tooth. Just finding possible remains is very rewarding. We didn't find any in my last mission in Laos, just life support.

"We had a little set back because of the rain on the fourth day of the recovery, but overall it's been good, Culanding said, "first recovery in Korea, nice people, really good people, really nice place."

JPAC working with ROK Army and MAKRI

At the recovery site in Kangwon JPAC received support from the local Republic of Korea Army Soldiers and the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification.

"The most rewarding thing about the mission is being able to work with ROK Army and being able to work with the Korean version of JPAC [MAKRI]," Army Staff Sgt. Lamont Davenport, recovery sergeant, Detachment 4, JPAC said.

"I'm glad they were here," Culanding said. "They're helping us. MAKRI Soldiers know what they're doing, what they're looking for. We have them working, digging in the hole alongside us."

"MAKRI and local Republic of Korea Army support has been very good, couldn't ask for a more pleasant people to work with," Silverstein said. "They're excellent, smart, diligent, very attentive and disciplined. You really couldn't ask for a better workforce than that. For me [the most rewarding experience] is working with MAKRI. It's something we've been talking about since 2004. First time I've worked with MAKRI on a Korea mission.

Silverstein had some questions about MAKRI answered during the ongoing mission in Korea.

"I never knew if MAKRI had been out at a site before, what are the processes that need to be worked out? Now there are MOUs [memorandums of understanding between JPAC and MAKRI] in place, professional development. As it builds momentum it will enhance both missions, it will help with shared intelligence, consistent standards."

"I think it's a great event showcasing two different countries working together," Castro said. "It shows a partnership of us working together to find the missing."

JPAC ramps up Korea missions

JPAC has recently made strides to conduct more recovery operations in South Korea as the population of witnesses and the family members of the MIAs back in U.S. age.

"In the past we had research and field resources dedicated to the DPRK [the People's Democratic Republic of Korea], the analysts that had focused on maintaining the op tempo in the DPRK can now dedicate much of their effort to the ROK," Silverstein said. "Like most of our conflicts, we are faced with an aging generation of primary witnesses and we are trying to gather as [much] information and identify sites in a race against this waning resource."

"The op tempo in ROK is dependent on the ability of the J2 [researchers] to identify sites and on the priorities established by the command," Silverstein said.

The day-to-day operation in the ROK is much like other countries, Silverstein said.
"Up early for breakfast and a pre-work brief, work which, after determining the site area, safety risks, establishing the grid and work site infrastructure (break area, screening station, latrine, etc.) consists of digging and screening, and for the RL/A [recovery leader/anthropologist] an evening of finishing up notes, conserving and securing evidence, and report writing," Silverstein said.

Castro, who deployed three times to Iraq most recently for 14 months with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, compared his new experiences with JPAC to the lessons learned in Iraq.

"There is a lot of similarities here, like dealing with local officials here is like dealing with the sheiks in Iraq. You can apply a lot of the same skills here."

The JPAC missions in South Korea have much easier logistics compared to other countries JPAC operates in, Silverstein said. This stems from the excellent working relationship between the ROK and the U.S.

"Because of the long history of cooperative endeavors, the SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement], and the U.N. and U.S. presence, operations usually receive the highest level of cooperation and minimal bureaucratic or political obstructions," Silverstein said. "With many of the other countries we work in, it is the opposite, we are overcoming a long period of distrust, working hard to build political and professional bridges that are already in place in the ROK.

MIA March

At the burial site the team searched for remains of U.S. Soldiers who died during a MIA march across the border of North and South Korea.

"The truth is we don't know," Silverstein said when asked if the recovery site had been correlated to a particular event such as the march of U.S. POWs to North Korea from the south during the war.

"The site was identified during a search along a POW march route from Hwacheon to North Korea," Silverstein said. "A farmer identified an area where he had encountered remains and a subsequent limited excavation recovered human remains. The site has not been positively correlated to a U.S. MIA loss site at this time. Our witness suggested there are three to five people at the site."

"DPRK methods of handling prisoners often included long marches north during which many U.S. Soldiers perished and were left in unmarked graves," Silverstein said. "In the aftermath of battles civilians often hastily buried remains wherever they found them in an attempt to prevent diseases. The stalemate around the 38th parallel included continuous back-and-forth battles such that UN [United Nations] forces often did not control the battlefield at the end of the day. Because of this remains might be hastily buried or left in place."

"The vast majority are ground losses," Silverstein said. "There are a couple of reasons that there are so many MIAs. The speed and chaos of the initial invasion of the south and scattered resistance of U.S. forces meant that the battlefield was dynamic and many were lost without the supporting benefit of a cohesive unit organization.

History of Korean War

The Korean War was the first conflict in which the United States military used fighter jets.
After excavating the burial sites, the JPAC team will conduct recovery operations on a plane crash.

There are inherent differences in excavating a burial site versus an airplane crash site
"With an aircraft you often know that you have the right spot because the wreckage leaves a clear signature whereas an alleged burial is usually an uncorrelated site and often based on aged memories of a time and landscape that has changed dramatically," Silverstein said. "In other words, the alleged burial may or may not be where indicated and, if it is there, the remains may or may not be related to a U.S. loss.

"On the other side, buried remains tend to be better preserved, even articulated, maybe with equipment and ID [identification tags] media whereas remains from an aircraft can be highly fragmented, burned, and scattered over a large area making the recovery operation itself a challenging and time-consuming operation," Silverstein added.

"It has more to do with the nature of the sites," Silverstein said. "Most of our losses in SEA [southeast Asia] tend to be high speed aircraft losses that, as discussed above, require much more extensive field operations.

Silverstein, who has conducted JPAC excavations in both North and South Korea, has studied the Korean War with particular interest.

"Korea holds a particular fascination for me because it represents a thermometer of the political health of the post-World War II world," Silverstein said. "The state of war is still open and the events of the early 1950s play directly to the events of today. Especially in modern times we wonder what conflicts are worth risking the lives of our citizens and what benefits might be gained, and what mistakes our leaders may have made that cost our troops dearly.

"Having worked in the DPRK, and comparing the two-halves of the Korea, I have a great respect and appreciation for the American forces, as well as those from the UN [United Nations] and ROK, who kept the ROK free," Silverstein said. "That the ROK is able to be a member of the world community can be directly attributed to the sacrifices made by these men and women. Those who risked their lives to keep the world free are owed the obligation of not being forgotten in some anonymous grave."

Note: Military members of a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recovery team are conducting recovery operations in the South Korea provinces of Kangwon and Kyongsang from May 10 - June 18.