The National World War II Museum is honored to participate in the mission of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) by acting as a host institution for DPAA Research Partner Fellows. Our current fellow, Jennifer Putnam, PhD, is the DPAA Research Partner Fellow through October 2025. Her work supports the DPAA’s mission to offer “the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation.” The Agency’s teams locate, identify, and, if requested, repatriate the remains of missing personnel from America’s past conflicts. The DPAA Research Partner Fellow supports this mission by contributing to research on missing World War II personnel.

Several times a year the Agency holds meetings across America to provide the latest information from senior officials, scientists, geographers, linguists, and historians, amongst others. These meetings are designed to address the individual needs of the family members while bringing information to their communities. The Department of Defense, under whose purview the DPAA falls, has met with over 17,000 family members since 1995. At these meetings, family members can meet with civilian and military personnel who specialize in foreign government negotiations, DNA science, archival research as well as remains recovery and identification. It is important that the public and family members know there is information available to them now and in the future, and that the US government has not forgotten their loved one’s sacrifice.

There are over 72,000 service members still unaccounted for from World War II.  It is our hope that by supporting the DPAA, we can help to bring a sense of closure to families who lost a loved one and show that those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom will not be forgotten. We are honored to be part of this endeavor.