Forensic Science Advances Mean US War Fighters Are No Longer Likely to Be Buried as ‘Unknown’

[rangerrebew]

Forensic Science Advances Mean US War Fighters Are No Longer Likely to Be Buried as ‘Unknown’
 
The 8 millionth DNA reference card is processed at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
 
11 Nov 2021
Stars and Stripes | By Wyatt Olson

Twenty-three years ago, then-Defense Secretary William Cohen publicly pondered whether any American warfighter would ever again need to be buried as an unidentifiable "unknown."

Cohen's rumination came after DNA testing conclusively identified the remains lying in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the Vietnam War as 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, a 24-year-old Air Force flyer shot down May 11, 1972, in South Vietnam.

"It may be that forensic science has reached a point where there will be no other unknowns in any war," Cohen told reporters during a Pentagon briefing on June 30, 1998.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/11/11/forensic-science-advances-mean-us-war-fighters-are-no-longer-likely-be-buried-unknown.html

[rangerrebew]

I don't imagine anyone in the Pentagon or DOJ has come to the idea this gives the DOJ a whole new data base to capture, or harass, someone without warrants by sharing data.