Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI)
Missing In Action (MIA) Conference, Port Moresby
Airways Hotel, Port Moresby April 10-12, 2001
The U.S. military is taking extra
initiative to resolve Pacific MIA cases. Bolstered by a spate
of recent successes in the Pacific, especially the
recovery of U.S. airmen from World War II, mainly from the Fifth
Air Force in Papua New Guinea, the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii
(CILHI) held a conference in Port Moresby from 10–12 April
2001 to which they invited the who's who of Pacific wartime
archaeology and history. Also included were a contingent from
the Royal Australian Air Force who have proven credentials
and expertise in this field.
It was clear from the conference
that CILHI has a difficult and challenging task ahead of them.
Their past record inspires a determination to bring home lost
US soldiers and airmen however. Resolve is not a quality which
CILHI lacks, and their recovery work to date has been marked
by meticulous recoveries, taking considerable time and resources.
CILHI will be expanding its PNG program significantly in the
next few years, working closely with many of the above authorities
and experts.
The conference was a remarkable
success. In their vision to assemble a panel of world-wide
experts, CILHI both learned and imparted invaluable information
about tracing the lost airmen of WWII in this hostile theater.
Major points covered included:
- The paucity of certain WWII US
records for a multitude of reasons; difficulty in identifying
wrecks
- The need to correlate a comprehensive
wreck data base (made difficult by the thousands of unidentified wrecks in PNG);
- The irretrievable loss of evidence
at wreck sites when unauthorized people foraging for human remains or aircraft parts;
- The reality that underwater
wrecks can still contain human remains as proved by a recent RAAF
Beaufort wreck
- Forensic techniques in identifying
human remains
The conference included the following attendees
(by alphabetical surname):
Nick Araho |
PNG National Museum, archaeologist |
Col Michael Baier |
U.S. Embassy Defense Attaché |
|
CILHI Forward Contingent |
Lt-Commander Matthew Blenkin |
Royal Australian
Navy |
|
Aerothentic
Publications |
Captain Howard Coe |
CILHI |
Lt-Col John David |
Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) |
Wing Commander Lynton
Dixon |
Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) |
|
Resident of Port
Moresby and wreck researcher |
Denise Donlon |
Expert in Anatomy
and Histology |
|
PNG National Museum, senior curator |
Prof. J. G. C. Griffiths |
Oral Medicinal &
Surgical Science |
Colin Healy |
Technical Supervisor |
Capt Drew Hovarth |
CILHI |
Richard Huston |
Chief Casualty Data
Officer, CILHI |
Susan Jacobs |
U.S. Ambassador to
PNG |
|
PNG National Museum modern history curator |
Herman Mandui |
PNG National Museum archaeology curator |
Capt Jessie Massey |
CILHI |
Jennifer Nasarenko |
Senior Policy Analyst,
U.S. Secretary of Defense |
Rachel Philips |
CILHI |
Capt Tod Pingrey |
CILHI |
Capt Daniel Rouse |
CILHI |
Major Scott Thomas |
CILHI |
|
Pacific Wrecks |
Cheryl Udui |
CILHI |
|
Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) |
References
Post-Courier "Conference on recovery of WWII soldiers' remains" April 10, 2011
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