Photo By Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Taranto | An honor guard member stands at attention during the Defense POW/MIA Accounting...... read more read more
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Preserving peace: DPAA Joint Repatriation of Remains
DMA Pacific - Hawaii Media Bureau
Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Taranto
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, DPAA, hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in for this year’s joint repatriation of remains ceremony on Sept. 22 2021.
This joint repatriation of remains ceremony was the largest transfer in recent years, returning 68 sets of remains to South Korea, and bringing home six fallen service members back to the United States.
DPAA has accounted for 343 sets of remains from the Korean War, and diligently works to bring closure and answers to gold star families. Events such as this repatriation are a hallmark of the agency’s core mission.
“I pay my highest respect to 68 Korean and six American soldiers, who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and peace for the Republic of Korea and extend my deepest sympathies to their families,” said South Korean President Jae-in.
Caskets with remains were ceremoniously transferred under cover of flags to their home nation. While the six sets of remains belonging to the United States had finished their long journey home, the South Korean remains were loaded carefully onto the presidential plane.
"Today, the Republic of Korea and the United States service members on the Korean Peninsula continued to carry on the mission to which these individuals dedicated their lives, with their unwavering commitment to preserving peace,” said Admiral John C. Aquilino, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander, who presided over the ceremony.
In 2007, DPAA and the Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed In Action Recovery and Identification, or MAKRI, solidified their partnership in recovering, identifying and returning remains of fallen service members to their respective countries and families.
“Now, I'm coming home with our heroes,” said Jae-in. “Our heroes that taught us to remain courageous and hopeful for peace are finally returning to a land where they were born and raised.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2021 21:11 |
| Story ID: | 407655 |
| Location: | PEARL HARBOR, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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