The search for America's missing.

In the thin, freezing air of the Himalayas, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Harris and Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Behn of the Defense Department's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) search the mountains for the World War II crash site of a U.S. C-47 cargo plane. In the steaming jungles of Papua New Guinea, Sgt. Tamara Gross finds a dirt-encrusted American dog tag buried in the earth where a B-24 bomber crashed during World War II.

In Lybia, negotiators from the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) seek permission from the newly opened government of Muammar al-Qadhafi to search for the remains of a missing F-111 pilot who disappeared during a 1986 bombing raid on Tripoli and the crew from a lost World War II bomber named Lady Be Good. In Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, JPAC teams search for the remains of those missing during the Vietnam War. Searches go on in North Korea, Russia, and anywhere an American service member might have fallen but whose remains were not recovered.

Since it was formed on Oct. 1, 2003, JPAC's mission has been the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing in war. The highest priority is the return of any living American who may remain a prisoner.

"The service performed by these military and civilian personnel comforts many of the families of those missing in action," said National Legislative Director Joseph A. Violante. "With more than 88,000 service members missing since World War II, the mission is incredibly large and difficult, but the closure they bring fulfills an obligation owed by our government to the families of those who have served the cause of liberty."

Most of those missing in action. 78,000, are from World War II. Only 35,000 of them are considered recoverable, with most of the rest lost at sea or aboard warships resting on the ocean floor. Another 8,100 are missing from the Korean War, 120 from the Cold War, 1,800 from the Vietnam War, and one from the Gulf War a decade ago.

But progress is being made. In April remains believed to be missing Americans from World War 11 and [lie Vietnam War were returned from Papua New Guinea and Laos. Remains were also returned in March from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Met by a joint services honor guard at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, the remains were seas to the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory where the forensic identification process began.

Based on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. JPAC has 19 recovery teams--10 working in Southeast Asia, five dedicated to the Korean War, and three teams recovering missing Americans from World War II, the Cold War, and the Gulf War. Recovery teams searched Vietnam and Laos five times a year, and go to Cambodia annually. Recovery team operations in North Korea began in 1996 with a single search, but that increased to five visits in 2001. Teams spend from 30 to 45 days in the field on each mission in some of the roughest territory in the world. Most are in the field 6 months each year.

Once remains are discovered and resumed to Hawaii, the Central Identification Lab begins its process of identification. On average, the lab identifies two Americans per week, but the full process from recovery to identification may take years. Remains may mount to only a chipped bone from it missing pilot who slammed into a ragged unnamed Central Highlands mountain at hundreds of miles per hour more than 30 years ago.

In some cases, forensic analysis finds the remains are individuals from other nations, including those who fought alongside American soldiers. In that case, the retrains are returned with a military escort to their native land.

"Our nation's recovery efforts have resulted in the return of 748 missing in action from Vietnam," Violante said. "That's nearly 30% of the number of missing when the war ended 30 years ago."

While outside its mission, the lab was called on to identify two sets of remains recovered from the Civil War vessel USS Monitor, which went down with 16 hands off the coast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., in 1962. The remains were discovered inside the turret of the Union ironclad when is wits raised from the depths in 2002. Work continues at the lab to identify the remains.

When U.S. negotiator's visited Libya last year, the DPMO team visited the grave site of 13 American sailors and Marines from the USS Intrepid. They were killed when the ship exploded and sank in Tripoli Harbor in 1904 as America tattled the Barbary pirates. The grave sites were photographed and the information was given to the Department of the Navy.

"The dedication of these tireless service members and civilians to recovery those lost in the fog of war is commendable," said Violante. "They risk their lives in the effort to leave no one behind. The motto of JPAC is 'until they are home. I have no doubt that as many as possible missing in action will be brought home through their efforts."