Papua New Guinea MIAs

A research team, organized by the Pentagon, has begun an exhaustive search for the remains of soldiers "Missing in Action" in the dense jungles of Papua New Guinea.

The team, comprised of 30 active-duty soldiers, forensic anthropologists, bomb experts and local experts, will attempt to track down physical evidence that can be tested to determine the final resting place of some of the 20,782 service members thought to be lost in the South Pacific during World War II.

The research team has spotted the locations of several downed airplane wrecks, which they are using to focus their search.

The operation is part of a new Pentagon initiative to find MIAs from past wars that have been lost for decades.

Fast Facts

1. Operation organized by the Pentagon
2. Team made up of 30 active-duty soldiers, forensic anthropologists, bomb experts and local experts
3. The Pentagon estimates 88,000 MIA's remain
4. 78,000 of that number are from World War II
5. 20,782 were lost in the South Pacific

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