BYUThursday, November 12
BYU students are helping match missing service members with living relatives
The Daily Provo team
If you have a family member who never came home from war, BYU students may be able to help. They research cases sent by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to find living relatives, who may then be asked for DNA reference samples. The students research family lines; they don't identify remains.
7service members returned to their families through BYU's project
That's over nearly 10 years of research, mostly on World War II cases, with some from the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Source: KUTV
Suzanne Adams directs BYU's Center for Family History and Genealogy. KSL reports one man the program returned home was Marine A-6 pilot Jim Chipman, whose remains came back to his family in American Fork in 2023.
Two cases ended with service members coming home
| Service member | Lost | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Chipman, Marine pilot | North Vietnam, Dec. 1972 | Returned in 2023 |
| Lts. Blaine Wilcox, Edgar W. Nevois | Politz, Germany | Recently brought home |
Source: KSL Sports
- Records searched: census, birth, death, marriage, obituaries
- Adams gave DNA to help identify her great-uncle Richard Harris
- Next of kin can register at dpaa.mil
Sources: KSL Sports, KUTV