Military labs do the detective work to identify soldiers decades after they died in World War II

By JOSH FUNK
Associated Press

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — Generations of American families have grown up not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones who died while serving their country in World War II and other conflicts. But a federal lab tucked away above the bowling alley at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha and a sister lab in Hawaii are steadily answering those lingering questions. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency experts strive to offer about 200 families annually the chance to honor their relatives with a proper burial. Advances in DNA technology, combined with innovative techniques including comparing bones to chest X-rays taken by the military, mean the labs can identify more of the missing soldiers every year.