US D 101.2:N84 
B\SON 
Cover: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific ( Punchbowl) , Honolulu , Hawaii 
UNITED STATES ARMY 
CENTRAL IDENTIFICATION LABORATORY 

HAWAII 

MISSION AND ORGANIZATION 

The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI), is the only organization in the U.S. military that is solely responsible for the search for, recovery and identification of servicemembers killed or listed as missing. 
The mission of the CILHI is to: 
• 	
Conduct search and recovery operations in the Pacific for World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War dead; 

• 	
Process remains and establish identities through the use of anthropological, odontological and other sophisticated scientific techniques; 

• 	
Accumulate and catalogue information on American and allied personnel listed as missing in action or declared dead but body not recovered; 

• 	
Provide worldwide emergency support to the Army Mortuary Affairs Program and, as required, to the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, for search, recovery and identification of remains of servicemembers killed or missing in current operations; 

• 
Perform 	humanitarian missions as directed. CILHI is a field operating ele


ment of the Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operations Center of the 
U.S. Total Army Personnel Agency, Alexandria, Virginia. 
The laboratory employs more than 40 military and Department of the Army civilians who are organized into three sections: Search and Recovery, Casualty Data Analysis and the Laboratory. Those sections are supported by the command element which includes the office of the commander, unit supply, training and operations . 
The military and civilian staff of CILHI represents a wide range of training, education and experience. The majority of the military personnel are experienced Graves Registration Specialists with extensive additional training in map reading, search and recovery operations, archeological excavation techniques, records management and data processing. Other critical specialty areas within CILHI include administration , logistics management and photography. 
The majority of the scientific staff have advanced degrees, primarily doctorates , and are members of professional associations. Some staff members are board-certified in their forensic specialty. Many staff members have years of experience in Southeast Asia and have participated in the recovery and identification of thousands of casualties of aircraft crashes, multiple-death incidents and major battles such as the Tet Offensive and Khe Sanh. 


Dedicated military and civilian technical experts make up the staff of the U.S . Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii. Three major elements of CILHI are the Search and Recovery, Casualty Data Analysis , and Laboratory sections . 
HISTORY 

Throughout U.S. history, those killed in war have been recovered and interred to the best of the government's ability at the time . Some efforts to identify and return the dead can be traced back as far as the Seminole Wars of the 1840's . However, it was in the Civil War that the government assumed an obligation to identify and bury war dead in registered graves. This was possible through the aid of large numbers of citizen volunteer soldiers. Through their efforts, mortuary records were collected by posts and various units, and forwarded to the Adjutant General. In addition , systematic records were maintained for soldiers who died in hospitals. 
However, it is true that many men who fell in battle were interred where they fell with little attempt at identification . The SpanishAmerican War marked a major development of policy when remains were disinterred from their burial sites in Cuba, casketed, and returned to the U.S. for permanent burial . 
A Graves Registration Service was introduced during World War I to recover and identify war dead. Congress authorized a return of remains program following the precedent established after the SpanishAmerican War. 
During World War II, Congress again authorized a return of remains 
program and made the Secretary of the Army responsible for the program. Congress set a time limit of five years after the war for final resolution of the issue. Remains were processed by several Army identification laboratories which were dissolved in 1951 . 
A central identification laboratory was established in Japan during the Korean War to process United Nations Forces war dead. The laboratory remained in Japan until it was dissolved in 1956. Some of the laboratory personnel remained in Japan and later provided assistance in identifying those killed during the Vietnam War. 
During the war in Southeast Asia, the two U .S. Army mortuaries in Vietnam identified all servicemembers. The immediate predecessor of CILHI was the U .S . Army Central Identification Laboratory, Thailand (CIL-THAI). It was established in March , 1973 at Camp Samae San, Thailand , following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam and the closing of the Army mortuaries. Working with the South Vietnamese government until its fall in 1975, CIL-THAI was responsible for the search for, recovery and identification of remains of U.S. servicemembers killed in Southeast Asia only. 
In May 1976, CIL-THAI was relocated to Honolulu , Hawaii andre


named CILHI. The organization's mission was expanded to include identification of servicemembers killed in Korea and WWII and those killed in current operations. Since 1976, the CILHI staff has assisted in the identification of casualties from several recent incidents to include: the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983; the Arrow Air crash in Gander, Newfoundland in 1985; and the USS Stark missile attack in the Persian Gulf in 1987. 
SEARCH AND RECOVERY SECTION 

Before the identification process can begin, the remains of servicemembers must be returned to the 
U.S. government. 

From Southeast Asia, remains have been received primarily through official repatriations , whereby, a foreign government recovers the remains and returns them to U.S. custody. Remains are also returned through other sources such as refugees or recovery operations conducted by U.S. military organizations in allied countries. Additionally, CILHI conducts search and recovery operations with the cooperation of foreign governments. 
CILHI has three fully qualified search and recovery teams which conduct thorough area searches and excavations of crash and burial sites to recover remains and personal effects. Through the use of detailed grid searches and other excavation techniques, the teams gather vital material and information from aircraft crash sites that are used in the identification process. 
Most recently, search and recovery operations have been conducted in cooperation with the governments of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Lao People 's Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines , the Solomon Islands and Malaysia. 
During one mission to Papua New Guinea, a CILHI team located and identified a World War II aircraft which had crashed in 1944. The search team worked for a week in the dense jungle to recover remains and personal effects from the crash site . Specialists in the laboratory later were able to establish the identities of all personnel aboard the aircraft and return their remains to the next of kin nearly 40 years after their loss. 
A CILHI search and recovery team member prepares to photograph the wreckage of a recently discovered U.S. Army Air Corps cargo plane lost during WWII in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. 

Applying standard 
archeological field 
techniques, a CILHI 
team assists in the 
recovery of Korean 
War era remains and 
personal effects from a 
hillside burial site in the 
Republic of Korea . 
A CILHI representative reviews documents prepared by Vietnamese officials during a repatriation of the remains of U.S. servicemen in Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
As the team 's interpreter looks on , workers provided by the Lao People's Dem ocratic Republic assist CILHI search and recovery team members in the recovery of remains and personal effects from the site of a downed U.S. aircraft. 
LABORATORY SECTION 

After CILHI receives the remains, the physical anthropologists and the forensic odontologist attempt to establish individual identities, using standard , recognized forensic techniques and procedures. 
Since remains received at the CILHI are often commingled , the first task of the laboratory staff is to segregate them into separate individuals. 
Mter segregating the remains, the anthropologists and odontologist examine them to determine all dental and anthropological data that can be obtained and then document their findings onto a series of charts, forms and special narratives. The skilled scientific staff can determine numerous characteristics of an individual through examination of skeletal remains: age , race, sex, muscularity, handedness, height, dental patterns and indications of injuries the person may have sustained or abnormalities that may have existed while the person was alive. 
If dentition is received with the remains, the forensic odontologist examines it to document restorations or unusual characteristics. The 

The forensic odontologist carefully searches for dentition among the fragmented skeletal material brought back by a recovery team . 

odontologist's findings are entered into the Computer Assisted Post Mortem Identification (CAPMI) system, a computer program that has stored within its data base, the antemortem dental records of the 
U.S. servicemen whose remains are listed as unrecovered. The CAPMI system compares the characteristics of the recovered dentition against the data base and generates a list of the most likely candidates for a match. The odontologist physically checks the dental records of the individuals listed by the CAPMI system with the actual remains and the postmortem X-rays to try to establish an identity. 
State-of-the-art computers, microscopes and radiographic equipment are among the items used by the anthropologists and odontologist in the identification process. The staff photographer operates a photo lab which also aids the scientists in their analysis and documentation of the skeletal remains . 
Even with all the technology available and their many years of experience, the scientific staff is not without its limitations. They can estimate the physical characteristics of a person and establish scientific probabilities, but they must have a probable population against which they can compare the physical data to establish an identification. 
The CILHI staff photographer documents the serial number on a weapon recovered from a downed 
U.S. aircraft. 
Dual eyepieces on this specialized microscope make simultaneous viewing possible for training and identification purposes. 
CASUALTY DATA ANALYSIS SECTION 

The casualty data analysts collect and maintain personnel, medical and dental files on U.S. servicemembers whose remains have not been recovered. The number of unrecovered servicemembers from all three wars make this a monumental task . For instance, the casualty analysts maintain records on the approximately 2,400 who have not been recovered from Southeast Asia as well as the 58,000 who died and were recovered in the Vietnam War. The section also collects records and information on the more than 8,000 personnel from the Korean War and the nearly 79 ,000 from wwn whose remains have not been recovered. 
While the scientific staff examines the remains , the casualty data analysts research records to compile the name s of the individuals that could be associated with the remains. If remains have been recovered from an identified crash site, the records of the people who were manifested on that specific aircraft are analyzed to extract physical data that could assist in the comparison. 
If, however, the remains have been returned through a repatriation, the source, whether a government or an individual , often provides a presumed name , probable date of death , and general location of recovery. Using this information , the data analysts determine which 
A casualty data anal yst plots a "circle search" around the last known location of an unaccou nted tor 
Vj 	U.S. service man in Southeast Asia. 


unaccounted for serviceman's loss scenario best matche s the information provided by the source. That individual's last known location is plotted on a map and a circle with an established radius is drawn from that point. The files of all unaccounted for servicemen whose last known locations fall within the circle are screened by the analysts. 
The medical , dental and biographical information compiled on each individual by the analysts is then compared by the anthropologists and odontologist with the biological data they obtained from the remains. If a favorable comparison is not pos sible , the records search is expanded until a match can be made. Only then , is CILHI ready to make a recommendation for identification . 
Throughout the identification process , the staff can consult or request the assistance of several specialized agencies such as Tripier Army Medical Center, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation, the Smithsonian Institution and the Naval Investigative Service. CILHI has obtained assistance from recognized leaders in many forensic specialties. Its Visiting Scientists Program has brought several members of the scientific community on the mainland to Hawaii for professional visits and consultations. 
Computerized records enable a casualty data analyst to rapidly cross-check new information on a crash site. 
The original health and dental records of U.S . servicemen still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia are among the thousands of records maintained at CILHI which are vital to the identification process. 
REVIEW PROCESS FOR IDENTIFICATION 

CILHI 's recommendation for identification is forwarded to the Chief, Armed Services Graves Registration Office, who presents the case to board certified forensic consultants for their review. 
After the consultants review the case and concur with the recommendation, it is sent to the Service to which the deceased was assigned. The Service representative then notifies the primary next of kin of the recommended identification and review s the entire case file with them . 
The family can choose to have the case reviewed by an independent expert of their own choice. If the family's expert differs with CILHI 's recommendation, the case file and the comments of the family's expert are returned to the Army's forensic consultants for further evaluation . 
The family may also submit additional information to the Armed Forces Identification Review Board (AFIRB) for consideration in thereview process. The AFIRB is a board of senior officers with one voting member from the Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force who are responsible for reviewing all information submitted with the recommendation for identification . If the case concerns a Marine , the Navy may designate a Marine Corps representative as its member. The AFIRB is the final approval authority for each recommendation . It bases its decision on the preponderance of all relevant facts and circumstances surrounding the case . 
After the AFIRB approves an identification , the case is forwarded to the appropriate Service Secretary who is responsible for returning the remains to the family and for their final disposition . 

Each case is reviewed in committee by the CILHI staff before it is submitted by the Commander as a recommended identification . 

Having made the ultimate sacrifice, a Vietnam veteran returns home to full military honors. 
" I renew my pledge to the families ofthose listed as missing in action , that this nation will work unceasingly until afull accounting is made. It's our sacred duty and we will never forget them." 
Ronald Reagan President of the United States 
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