Base honors fallen service members IDed through forensics
DOVER, Del. (AP) — They might have just appeared to be names on a list, but each name that was read over the public address system represented closure to the families of fallen U.S. service members from past wars and conflicts.
Dover Air Force Base hosted a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Retreat Ceremony around the flag pole near the air traffic control terminal on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 16.
Six staff members from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System at DAFB recited the names of 139 fallen service members who have been accounted for this year through the base's DNA Identification Laboratory.
Dr. Tim McMahon, the Armed Forces' DNA lab's deputy director for forensic services, has seen numerous advances in helping ID soldiers over his years at DAFB.
The ceremony began with an invocation before Colonel Lou Finelli, director of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, spoke briefly about his staff's enduring mission.
The Armed Forces Medical Examiners System and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency are fully committed with providing the fullest possible accounting to bring our armed service members home.