DOVER, Del. (AP) — Remains thought to be those of U.S. troops who died in the Mexican-American War have been flown to a military mortuary in Delaware in an effort to determine whether they belonged to militia members of a Tennessee regiment known as "The Bloody First."
An Army twin-engine turbotrop bearing two aluminum cases topped by American flags arrived Wednesday afternoon at Dover Air Force Base, home to the nation's largest military mortuary. White-gloved members of the 3rd Infantry "Old Guard" unit, which stands vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery near the nation's capital, solemnly transferred the cases to a vehicle bound for the mortuary.
The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System will work with a team of scientists to analyze the remains, discovered in 2011, in the hopes of gleaning more information. The scientists will use DNA testing, elemental analysis, forensic dentistry and other methods in examining the commingled bones, which officials say appear to be those of at least 11, and possibly 13, individuals.
"We don't know how much we can get, but we have a number of experts who can try a number of different things," said Hugh Berryman, a forensic anthropologist and director of the Forensic Institute for Research and Education at Middle Tennessee State University.
[excerpted]https://www.yahoo.com/news/170-years-remains-us-troops-return-mexico-152943396.html
