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In the past, identifying dead soldiers without
ID tags was difficult - especially if the body was
badly damaged (because of fire or decay or bullet
holes, and so on) or dental records weren't available.
Within the past several years, however, the job
has become much easier thanks to DNA fingerprinting.
At the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii,
United States Army scientists can now extract mitochondrial
DNA (DNA only from the mother, originally in the
egg cell) from a skeleton, analyze it to determine
the base pair sequences, and then compare it with
the soldier's maternal relatives (member's of the
mother's family) to find a match. This process has
enabled the military to identify many MIAs - those
Missing In Action. In 1997, 161 bones from American
servicemen were recovered from a small island off
the Vietnamese coast where one of the last battles
of the Vietnam War took place; the Army was able
to identify the bodies thanks to DNA fingerprinting
(although it wasn't the only method used in the
identification process, it still provided conclusive
evidence). The Central Identification Lab is currently
studying the remains of another 300 soldiers.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The Pentagon (headquarters for the United States
military in Washington D.C.) has allowed the remains
of the last Unknown Soldier at Arlington National
Cemetery to be unearthed for DNA testing. Debate
ensues as to whether the man was Lt. Michael J.
Blassie or Capt. Rodney L. Strobridge; Blassie's
relatives claim that he is the Unknown Soldier because
his ID tag was found near the body, but others believe
it is Strobridge, whose helicopter crashed near
the body's location sight. DNA tests will soon clear
the matter.
All United States military personal have been
required to give blood to be placed in cold storage
for future DNA testings.
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