Fulfilling our nation's promise

May 28—The ethos to never leave a fallen comrade behind is a promise made to each other in the U.S. Armed Forces, that even if we die, our brothers in arms will do everything they can to bring us home. It is a mission that has not ended, and if wars continue, it never will.

In order to find that start of that ethos in the American military, your best bet might be to start with the French and Indian War that began in 1756, 20 years before the United States declared independence from the British.

During that war, a group of American soldiers known as Rogers' Rangers fought for the British against the French, using a combination of pioneer techniques and native-American tactics to outsmart enemy soldiers in wooded terrain where traditional militias struggled. They were also known for holding a certain standard, according to Paul Springer, an associate professor of comparative military studies at the Air Command and Staff College, which was to leave no fellow soldier behind.

According to George Galdorisi Phillips, coauthor of "Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue," the ethos has been, "I'm not going to leave my buddy on the battlefield if he's wounded. I'm going to try not to leave him on the battlefield if he's dead."

Far away from Southeastern Indiana, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, resides a military unit called the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), whose mission is to find and collect the remains of soldiers/sailors/marines/airmen, male and female alike, who have died in wars that have long been over.

Our mission is not about numbers, it is about the fullest possible accounting of all Americans who are still missing from past conflicts dating back to World War II; staying the course until the job is done. Helping to bring closure to families that have lost a loved one, who gave the ultimate sacrifice and that Memorial Day helps to remember.

When American personnel remain captive, missing, or otherwise unaccounted-for at the conclusion of hostilities, the DoD accounting community becomes the responsible agent for determining the fate of the missing and where possible, recovering them alive or recovering and identifying the remains of the dead.

For those killed-in-action, the accounting community is charged with locating, recovering, and identifying their remains. More than 81,900 Americans remain missing from World War II onwards.

One of the recently found military members is Chaplain (Captain) Emil J. Kapaun, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War and was accounted for on March 4, 2021. In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Kapaun a Servant of God, the first stage toward possible canonization, which is the culmination of the Roman Catholic Church's recognition of a deceased person as a saint.

The Department of Defense uses specialized laboratory techniques to locate, copy, and analyze DNA sequences from the remains of our missing — such as bones or dental records. We then compare these DNA sequences to DNA reference samples that we have on file. DNA reference samples can come from either the missing individual or from a family member.

I am the Lead Records and Information Manager for DPAA. In that role, I am responsible for the information, electronic and paper files, that is collected through our mission. This year alone, 54 lost military members of past wars have been discovered. It is a huge and rewarding role and one that I had done similarly while serving in the U.S. Air Force for more than 25 years.

I am originally from Batesville, Indiana, and left home for a career in the military in 1985. My parents were Robert (Bob) and Wilma Maple Sr. My brother, Bobby, owns RedForge Weld, and my sister, Pam, works in hospital administration in Greensburg. My wife, Welhelmina, and I live in Honolulu, Hawaii, while our two children and three grandchildren live in Melbourne, Australia, where I worked for over four years as a business banker for the National Australia Bank, just recently returning in 2018 to work in Hawaii and DPAA.

Paul Maple, MSgt, USAF-Ret., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency