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Austin Says POW/MIA Agency's Mission Gives Confidence to Service Members in War

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During a Friday visit to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, the secretary of defense visited the agency charged with attempting to locate, identify and return to families the remains of service members who were lost in combat.

A man in a business suit and a man in a military uniform talk to a woman wearing a lab coat.
Austin Tour
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III tours the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, April 30, 2021.
Photo By: Marine Corps Sgt. Jacqueline Clifford
VIRIN: 210430-M-PO745-1025C

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III told the civilian and military personnel at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency that their mission not only brings closure to families whose loved one never came home from conflict, but it also provides confidence to those who are in the fight today.

"You have a more profound impact on the business than you can imagine," said Austin. "I spent a lot of time in combat and told them that, whatever happens, I would never leave them if they went down; I would come to get them. That instills great confidence in them and allows them to fight fiercely. No other country in the world can make that claim."

Two men, one in a uniform and one in a suit, talk to three service members and two people dressed in civilian clothing.
Secretary Tour
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III tours the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, April 30, 2021.
Photo By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan McElderry
VIRIN: 210430-F-IY281-1089

During his tour of DPAA, Austin was able to see the research areas and labs and meet the professionals who work to return home the U.S. service members who were lost during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Today, more than 81,000 Americans remain missing from those conflicts. DPAA aims to locate them and return them to the United States.

On missions to recover remains, DPAA personnel travel around the globe to locations where service members once fought or where aircraft may have gone down. Many times those locations are still dangerous decades after conflict has ended.

A man uses a shovel to dig in the ground.
Shoveling Soil
Air Force Master Sgt. Paul White, who's assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s recovery team, shovels soil during an excavation in Laos, July 13, 2018.
Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Trey Hutcheson
VIRIN: 180713-N-VQ790-021
Two men work to manipulate a pipe that's attached to a wooden box while standing under a tarp in an outdoor work.
Tightening Pipes
Air Force Senior Airman Thomas Przybylek, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Mendoza, an aviation support equipment technician, use wrenches to tighten a pipe for a wet screen in Laos, July 17, 2018. Both are assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s recovery team.
Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Trey Hutcheson
VIRIN: 180717-N-VQ790-044

"It's dangerous; it's hard; it's tedious ... but the fact that we have people like you who are committed to do what you're doing is just absolutely terrific, and it sets us apart and it makes us different, so I want to thank you for what you do," Austin said. "I want to encourage you to keep doing it, and I really applaud the teamwork and the camaraderie."

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