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MISSING IN ACTION (MIA): |
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by Kenneth James
Moore, Founder /CEO, Moore's Marauders |
It's a statement, not an answer
THE FACTS OF THE UNTOLD STORY
Seventy-eight
thousand Americans who served overseas in our nation's armed forces
from 1941-1945, never came home. They were never heard from nor
seen again. In the enormity of WWII, the facts surrounding their
deaths and disappearances were either lost, discarded, or ignored.
To categorize these fallen, we as a nation simply call
them, "MIA's."
The MIA Designation
"MIA" stands for "Missing In Action." It is an
Official Designation. |
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Although the
term contains the word "action," far too often little if any action is taken
once those three letters appear after a serviceman's name. In no
instance is this more true than in the case of WWII veterans.
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Bureaucratic "Closure"
"Closure" is another
term often associated with missing servicemen. Bringing closure to families
is the reason Moore’s Marauders exists. Unfortunately, for some
senior government officials, "closure" means simply listing the veteran as
“MIA” and burying his/her name in a file – an exercise similar to an
individual being labeled “homeless” or a “teenage runaway.” In these latter
instances, however, there is a plethora of privately funded social programs
that supplement the efforts of government agencies. In the case of the MIA,
there is virtually none.
There are no MIA's pictured on the side of milk cartons. No
neighborhood has signs on its telephone poles asking for help to find a
family's lost combat veteran.
Millions of dollars are poured
into monuments to honor American war dead. However, when the question is
asked, "How much money has been spent over 60 years to Bring Them
Home," the answer is comparatively nominal – especially if one accepts (as
we do) the Department of Defense 2003 report, "Personnel Missing
WWII," that reads...
"Currently,
over 78,000 American personnel are unaccounted for from that war."
There can be little doubt that MIA is indeed
a statement...but not an answer.
The Process of Accounting for our MIAs
When referring
to the process of recovering missing servicemen, the best word to keep in
mind is "accounting." The accounting process, which can be both arduous and
rewarding, consists of four equally important stages:
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Research:
Cross-referencing data from the U.S. military archives together with those
from foreign nations and collected eyewitness accounts, Marauder Researchers
configure the data onto an ever-narrowing grid map of WWII
. For families, RESEARCH provides the first and greatest step toward
healing and resolution.
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Location: Marauder
Field Operatives are the bloodhounds. Once we have narrowed the grid, we
physically locate the site. Once the site of a possible MIA has been
determined, we compile our evidence and without disturbing the remains,
present our findings both orally and in writing, to the Department of
Defense in Washington D.C., and to their forensic laboratory at Hickman AFB
in Honolulu.
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Identification:The
military's forensic experts in Honolulu, are known as JPAC, or "The Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command.” Among their mid-management are some of the
world's finest. Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Bill Belcher and researcher
Rachael Phillips are but two examples. Dramatically understaffed and with
budgets repeatedly cut, JPAC works today out of a series of construction
trailers. They hope to have their own building by 2010. Additionally, we
Marauders have among our number qualified Crash Scene Investigators and
several MD’s to aid in the process of identification
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Return: A
maze of competing military and non-military agencies, each with their own
set of regulations, makes the "return" phase challenging and excruciatingly
slow. There is an overwhelming need for a clearly defined fast track by
which a recovered MIA, once identified, can be brought home. Ultimately,
the final disposition of an MIA is the responsibility of the Department of
Defense and that specific branch of service to which the lost serviceman
once belonged.
We at Moore's
Marauders have experienced the challenges and excitement inherent to all
four stages through our missions. The search for "Uncle Billy" taught us
that each stage has its own equally meaningful triumphs. We count success
at any one of these stages as fulfilling.
Lofty Promises, Dismal
Results
Consider just these two key facts:
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In fiscal year 2000, the U.S. Congress in Washington
D.C., under the National Defense Authorization Act, directed that, "The
Secretary of Defense shall make every reasonable effort to search for,
recover and identify the remains of the United States servicemen lost in the
Pacific theatre of operations during WWII
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For fiscal year 2005, JPAC closed the book
on 50 WWII MIA's. They publish the fact that 35,000 are "still
recoverable." According to Marauder research, the vast majority of these lie
in the Pacific.
Nobel Prize winning economist
and the World Bank's former Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, together with
Linda Bilmes, a Harvard budget analyst, released a joint paper estimating
that the war in Iraq will ultimately cost the American people between $1-2
trillion dollars. According to
The National Priorities Project,
the war in Iraq will have passed the $378 billion mark by March, 2007.
According to the recently released
Iraq Study Group Report
under the leadership of former Secretary of State James Baker, it already
has.
Regardless of
one’s politics, anyone who cares about the cause of MIA’s must be disturbed that such enormous sums are available for current
war while so little is earmarked for bringing home fallen veterans.
THE SOLUTION: Fulfilling
Congress's WWII Mandate
It is obvious
that despite Congress’s “mandate,” budgetary restraints will continue to
hamper government recovery efforts. In this regard, Moore's Marauders can
play a vital role in carrying out the United State's Congress's fiscal year
2000 directive.
The Marauders
are a "reasonable instrument to be utilized at no cost to the Department of
Defense, to search for the remains of the United States servicemen lost in
the Pacific theatre of operations during WWII." The Marauders do the
"searching." JPAC and the Dept of Defense's DPMO, "identify and recover."
It is a symbiotic relationship of national import, and it is dictated by
economic necessity.
The "Future" of the "Past"
Is In Our Hands...
I believe that
finding the remains of the WWII dead is not only an activity linked to our
past but a vitally relevant one in our present. "Accounting" brings closure
to family’s living right now. It also brings a reminder that
if mankind is to survive, such a level of hatred and violence can never
again be allowed to take hold of the hearts and minds of the people of this
earth.
The Second World
War is the only event in modern times to have literally changed the life
of every human being on the planet. It stands as a crucible, a point of
measure to guide those who have the privilege of living in its aftermath. To
this end, I believe that Moore's Marauders, with your help, can play a
modest but vitally important role in bringing peace and a long overdue
spiritual cleansing to our nation. We can also provide a warning to today's
generation of what the cost of yet another world gone mad might be.
Some people have
asked me why I care so much? Why should missing American servicemen mean so
much to me? My answer is simple: Yes, I've had the pleasure of being a
citizen who has never seen war. Who should be more grateful?
It's a matter of
accounting for our nation's fallen heroes. It's a matter of bringing closure
to families. It's a matter of cleansing the spirit of a nation. You can help
us do it all through your generous contributions.
God bless,
and...Thanks
About Moore's Marauders...
Moore's
Marauders is a non-profit organization that receives no government funding. We
rely solely on your contributions to help us locate the 35,000
WWII MIAs the
U.S. government maintains are still recoverable.
For as
little as 30 cents a day, you can help us bring home the thousands who made the
ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in freedom.
Donate today.
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