Indonesia Returns US Soldier Remains, Over 2,500 Still Missing

Résumé détaillé

Over 2,500 US soldiers remain unaccounted for in Indonesia. Asked about the USS Houston wreckage in the Sunda Strait, DPAA principal deputy director Jennifer Walsh said Washington…

Jakarta. Indonesia returned the remains of fallen US service members on Friday as Washington continues the search for thousands more of its World War II soldiers who had lost their lives in the archipelagic country.

Earlier this year, the Defense Ministry agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US to locate their remains in Indonesian territory in search efforts that Washington framed as its commitment to “not leave any fallen comrade behind”. These soldiers reportedly had gone missing in action in Papuan jungles and North Maluku’s Morotai, which was an American military base during the war.

“Our intent, certainly, is to bring everyone home. This is an area of deep cooperation between Indonesia and the US. … We will never rest in our search for all of our missing,” US Indo-Pacific Command Deputy Commander George Rowell said at the repatriation ceremony at Jakarta’s Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force Base.

The ceremony saw Indonesian and US military men carrying a casket to an American airlifter. The remains were unearthed from the grounds of Morotai. DPAA — the US agency in charge of identifying the missing service members overseas — said that they still had to identify the repatriated remains.

Asked about the USS Houston wreckage in the Sunda Strait, DPAA principal deputy director Jennifer Walsh said Washington would investigate “wherever evidence leads”.

Walsh gave her word that the agency would secure permits and go-aheads from local authorities and communities before any search effort begins.

“We work with communities. We respect local heritage. We respect tradition. We want to work these issues in partnership,” Walsh said.

In 1942, the American heavy cruiser USS Houston sank during combat in the Sunda Strait. As many as 650 American sailors and Marine personnel died, according to US estimates.

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin not long ago told lawmakers that the remains recovery would entirely come out of the US’ pockets amid public concerns over…

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