01

The Mission

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) works to provide the fullest possible accounting for U.S. service members still missing from past conflicts.

Nearly 81,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and more recent conflicts (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency). Each case is a family that has lived for decades without answers—and a nation still responsible for bringing them home.

SuperFrens Archaeology supports that mission through research, archaeological recovery, and field partnership—so more loss sites can be investigated with care and scientific rigor.

02

Why Archaeology Matters

Many unresolved cases involve aircraft crashes, battlefield burials, or losses in remote and difficult terrain. Guesswork does not resolve them. Systematic survey, controlled excavation, and careful analysis of artifacts and remains do.

Archaeology recovers more than objects: it recovers context. Stratigraphy, associated wreckage, personal effects, and spatial relationships give forensic teams the evidence they need to connect a site to a historical loss.

These methods help DPAA locate remains, protect material evidence, and support identification (Holland & Anderson, 2020). SuperFrens applies that expertise in the field so promising leads can become documented recoveries.

03

Scale of the Challenge

More than 71,000 of the unaccounted-for are from World War II alone, with thousands more missing from the Korean and Vietnam Wars (DPAA; Congressional Research Service).

These losses span the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Europe, and beyond. The geography alone—jungles, mountains, islands, and ocean—means no single organization can investigate every site at once.

Partnerships between DPAA and outside research and recovery organizations expand capacity. SuperFrens Archaeology adds field capability and archaeological expertise so long-standing cases can move forward.

04

Why Families Wait

For families who have waited generations, identification and return bring something records alone cannot: the chance to properly honor a loved one’s sacrifice and to know, finally, what happened.

Each recovery reinforces a national commitment—that those who served will not be forgotten (Congressional Research Service). Bridging historical records and physical evidence on the ground is how that commitment becomes real.

By supporting DPAA through archaeological recovery, SuperFrens helps locate lost sites, preserve evidence, and enable the identification and repatriation of fallen service members.

05

By the Numbers

Source: DPAA — Our Missing