10/6/2008:
The remains of tens of thousands of American POWs and MIAs ranging from World War Two to the Gulf War have yet to be located and identified. Leading the charge to search for these servicemen and women missing in action is the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. Known simply as JPAC, it’s staffed by 400 civilian contractors and military personnel from all branches of the Armed Forces working towards the JPAC motto, “Until they are home.”
With fifteen Recovery Teams and the largest forensic anthropology laboratory in the world, JPAC recovers and identifies on average six MIA Americans each month. To date, over 1,400 Americans have been identified.
Among those successfully recovered and identified by JPAC was North Dakota native, Corporal Allen Mettler.
Born in Morton County in 1930 Allen L. Mettler graduated from Mandan High School in 1948 before serving in the Korean War as a Light Weapons Infantryman. On February 11, 1951, Mettler's Army unit was overtaken by enemy soldiers. One of the few to survive the ambush, Mettler was marched to a POW camp where he died shortly after his capture. Mettler’s family was informed two years after his death that he had died of malnutrition.
Over 40 years later, after an agreement with North Korea, the remains of several unidentified American servicemen were transported to Hawaii. With the assistance of family members, the remains of Allen Mettler were positively identified in 2006.
Fifty-five years after leaving home for the Korean War, Corporal Allen Mettler finally returned to North Dakota. On this day in 2006, Mettler’s body was laid to rest with full military honors in the North Dakota Veteran's Cemetery south of Mandan. Over thirty family members attended the ceremony including Mettler’s mother and step-brother. Also in attendance was Korean War veteran, John Schafer. For Schafer, who witnessed Mettler’s capture in 1951, the ceremony brought back a lot of memories. "I still have nightmares…” Schafer recalled at the ceremony, “So, it brings back those memories, but it's part of healing."
For Allen Mettler’s family and friends, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command was able to bring a sense of closure after more than fifty years. But their work goes on, pledging to continue searching “Until they are home.”
Written by Christina Sunwall
Sources:
Gribble, Kevin. "Pow/Mia Found and Laid to Rest " KFYR-TV Online (October 6, 2006). http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=3278.
"Joint Pow-Mia Accounting Command: Accounting for Americans Lost During Past U.S. Conflicts", http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/ .
"P.O.W Funeral - 50 Years Later." KXNet.com (October 6, 2006). http://www.kxma.com/t/army/52567.asp.
"Records on Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties: Allen L Mettler", The US National Archives and Record Administration http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=230&rid=85798.
"Remains of Korean War Soldier to Be Buried in Mandan" KXNet.com (October 6, 2006). http://kxmb.com/t/mandan-high-school/52408.asp.