US and Italy launch new effort to find remains of soldiers who went missing during WWII
In a post on social media, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said that the new pact 'reflects values shared' between the two nations.
'This will formalize & facilitate our efforts to search for & recover Americans missing from WWII throughout Italy & it reflects values shared between our countries,' the DPAA said.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Rome on Tuesday by Luigi La Rocca, the head of Italy's Department for Heritage Protection, and Kelly McKeague, the director of DPAA.
"The right to research and remember those dead during the war is now combined with the protection of the archaeological heritage for which the Ministry of Culture is responsible," Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said on Tuesday, CBS reported.
Giuli said the agreement was a further step in "our decade-long cooperation with the U.S. agency for prisoners of war and missing in action, as a tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to contribute to our freedom."
The recovery of the remains will be facilitated in compliance with archaeological regulations, according to Italy's Ministry of Culture.
Around 72,000 American service members still remain unaccounted for from the war around the world, according to DPAA. Though the exact number that died in Italy is difficult to know, the peninsula was the site of multiple battles from 1943 to 1945, after America entered the fight.
Since efforts were renewed in the 1970s, the remains of nearly 1,000 Americans who died in World War II have been identified.
Earlier this year, the remains of a soldier who went missing in action during an aquatic operation in Italy, were recovered.
U.S. Army Pfc. Robert L. Bryant, 23, was assigned to Company B, in the 4th Ranger Battalion, as part of a group known as Darby's Rangers, according to the DPAA. The battalion was trained by Colonel William Darby, and was active in areas including Italy, northern Africa and the Middle East.
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