DPAA identifies remains of 250 missing service members in record year

Among the 250, 198 fought in World War II, 51 in the Korean War and one service member fought in Vietnam. Members of the Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment perform a 21-gun salute at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency had a record year in fiscal 2026 — identifying the remains of 250 service members lost in past conflicts. The effort embodied the U.S. military’s principle to “never leave a fallen comrade,” the agency said Tuesday. Among the 250, 198 fought in World War II, 51 in the Korean War and one service member fought in Vietnam. “The United States of America is resolved to never forget the warriors who answered the call to duty, made the supreme sacrifice, and never came home,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

“Through DPAA’s determined efforts, all 250 of these heroes will finally be home.” The military began in 1973 the more deliberate tracking of its personnel accounting mission to recover and identify Americans missing from past conflicts, which paved the way for DPAA’s establishment in 2015. Nearly 81,000 Americans remain missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf Wars and other conflicts, according to DPAA. Roughly 75% of the losses are located in the Indo-Pacific region,