IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 192-13
March 29, 2013

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman from World War II have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army 1st Lt. John E. Terpning, of Mount Prospect, Ill., will be buried on April 3, in Arlington National Cemetery.  On May 7, 1944, Terpning was a pilot of a B-24D Liberator that departed Nadzab, New Guinea on a bombing mission.  

 Due to mechanical troubles, the B-24D was delayed in departing the airbase and was unable to join the formation after takeoff.  The aircraft, Terpning, nor the nine other crewmen aboard the plane were seen after takeoff.  In 1946, the War Department declared all ten men to be presumed dead.

In 1973, a Papua New Guinea Forest Department official reported a wartime aircraft in the mountains northeast of the city of Lae.  In October 1973, a team of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) responded to the report and visited the site, where they found aircraft wreckage that corresponded to that of a B-24D.  At that time the RAAF recovered possible human remains, which were transferred to the U.S. Army Mortuary in Tachikawa, Japan; however, given the limited technology at the time, no human remains were individually identified.  In 1974, the remains were buried as a group at Arlington National Cemetery.

In April 2008, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team was sent to investigate and survey the crash site.  The team recovered aircraft wreckage, including a radio call sign data plate that matched the aircraft, from a B-24D and additional remains.

To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools such as dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA, which matched Terpning's brother.

At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans.  Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169.

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2013 - As service members start to receive their orders for summer moves, it's time for working spouses to update resumes, start networking for job opportunities and contact career counselors at their new locations, a Pentagon official recommends.

In an interview with American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel, Meg O'Grady, program manager for the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program, said Defense Department officials are "absolutely dedicated" to helping military spouses overcome challenges they face in looking for education and career opportunities.

from an email

We operate an online business called The DocSafe, which is a virtual safe deposit box. We started this business as an offshoot of my estate planning law practice in Tampa, Florida near MacDill AFB.

Since we represent many military families in Florida, we have learned that they are oftentimes quickly displaced and need to keep themselves organized. As such, The DocSafe allows them to become organized online with the storage of certain documents, such as their Will, Power of Attorney, deeds, mortgages and insurance policies, which can be accessed anywhere they have an internet connection.