Tim Gocha and Lara McCormick, spent fall quarter in Vietnam, on a recovery mission.

Last summer, the graduate teaching associates and doctoral candidates in anthropology, were appointed to the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) to participate in investigations and recovery operations of American military war dead. They are two of only six graduate students from across the United States selected for the fall 2010 installation of the program.

“JPAC selects only the nation’s top postgraduates in anthropology,” said Clark Larsen, chair of the Department of Anthropology. “We have been enormously successful in placing our graduate students at JPAC, reflecting Ohio State as the go-to place for excellence in graduate training in forensic anthropology and skeletal biology.”

The mission of JPAC is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts. Recovery Teams travel throughout the world to recover Americans missing from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, World War II, and the Cold War.

Talking with Gocha and McCormick about their appointments, it’s evident that they were well suited to work on this kind of project. Neither viewed the JPAC appointment as simply a career-building opportunity; it was a personal commitment.

“Military service runs in my family,” said Gocha. “My great-great-great grandfather fought for the Union in the Civil War, my great grandfather saw battle in World War I, both of my grandfathers served in World War II, two uncles fought in Vietnam and my cousin is currently stationed in Iraq.” McCormick shares a similar family history, “My father served in Korea and my brother, a national guardsman, volunteered for duty in Kuwait, during the ‘Iraqi Freedom’ campaign.”

Gocha and McCormick spent August and September on Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii in JPAC’s Central Identification Laboratory, the largest forensic anthropology laboratory in operation. There, they received intensive training in the identification and reconstruction of fragmentary and complete human skeletons, recovery and analysis, and scene processing.

In October, they were deployed to serve five weeks as team members on military search and recovery teams in Vietnam. Gocha and McCormick joined over 60 other JPAC team members investigating and excavating several sites associated with Vietnam War losses. Recovery teams searched the Yen Bai, Dien Bien, and Kon Tum provinces at sites where six Americans may have perished. Investigation teams authenticated eyewitness leads and conducted field research, searching for information for 21 solved cases. Their approximately 40-day long undertaking marked the 101st Joint Field Activity in Vietnam.

 "Working with so many scientists and researchers from a variety of backgrounds allows for the kind of research collaborations you just can’t find in a traditional academic environment." reported Gocha. McCormick agreed saying, "The applied nature of the forensic work and the importance of this mission made this appointment a once in a lifetime opportunity.” 

Gocha and McCormick returned to Hickam Air Force Base in December, where they participated in two arrival ceremonies in honor of the sacrifice made by the individuals whose remains were recovered.

You can view Gocha, McCormick and their archaeological and investigation team http://www.flickr.com/photos/51525202@N08/sets/72157625875572304/show/