US, Italy Push to Recover Missing WWII Soldiers' Remains

The United States and Italy have formalized an agreement aimed at intensifying the search for the remains of American soldiers who went missing in action during World War II and are still unaccounted for. The pact, announced Tuesday, was signed by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and Italy's culture ministry. According to Italian officials, the deal is aimed at ramping up efforts to pinpoint and recover the remains of US military personnel who have not been accounted for in Italy, while also ensuring that archaeological sites are protected during the search process.

CBS News reports there's no clear count of how many soldiers died on Italian soil and remain missing. For context, the DPAA notes that approximately 72,000 Americans from World War II remain unaccounted for worldwide. Since the 1970s, nearly 1,000 Americans who died in the conflict have been identified thanks to renewed recovery efforts; modern-day forensic techniques such as DNA analysis, dental and sinus records, and chest X-rays are used in a process that can sometimes take years. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)