The Pentagon's POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) wants blood. Specifically, it is seeking blood samples from maternal relatives of missing GIs to perform DNA matching tests. DPMO officials say VFW members can be a big help in this endeavor.

"We want VFW magazine readers to encourage people they know who are maternally related to a missing service member to provide a blood sample," said J. Alan Liotta, acting deputy assistant secretary of Defense for DPMO. "VFW has supported our efforts in the past, and I look forward to our continued collaboration."

Liotta says a vital part of DPMO's success in identifying MIA remains from the Vietnam War has been in locating family members of the missing and obtaining their blood samples. Finding relatives of missing Korean War vets, however, has been more difficult.

"Contact with most of the families of Korean War missing was lost over the last 50 years," Liotta said. "We have located about 36" of the family members for the more than 8,100 Korean War MIAs."

When a GI has been missing for 50 or even 60 years (in the case of WWII remains), Liotta says a blood sample from a maternal relative, which contains mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), is often the only piece of evidence that can positively identify a set of remains.

He adds that DPMO's scientists have built a database of blood samples from thousands of family members, and it assists in about 45% of DPMO's identifications.

"But we are far short of our goal, and we need your help," Liotta said. "If you know of a family member who is in the maternal bloodline of a missing GI, have them contact the military services casualty offices [at the toll-free numbers listed below]. Many family members have told us they want to leave this legacy behind in the event their loved one's remains are recovered in the future."

Military Services Casualty Offices

Army - (800) 892-2490
Air Force - (800) 531-5501
Navy - (800) 443-9298
Marine Corps - (800) 847-1597