Tag Archives: Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam

News, Politics, Government

Thanking Service Members and Military Families Around the World

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By Dr. Jill Biden

Dr. Jill Biden talks with members of the USS Fitzgerald during their stop in Singapore

Dr. Jill Biden talks with members of the USS Fitzgerald during their stop in Singapore. (Photo Credit: Jay C. Pugh)

Before leaving Singapore this past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a BBQ with U.S. service members and their families stationed in Singapore, as well as crewmen from the USS Fitzgerald, docked in Singapore at the time. Joe and I also visited with service members, their families, and DOD employees in Hawaii, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. When Joe and I travel, we love nothing more than to meet with our men and women in uniform and their families to thank them for their service and sacrifice.

Military families face so many challenges, as spouses get deployed and families move around. When I was in Singapore, I met a woman who was in the Navy and she told me that this was her 14th move. As a military mom, I understand a bit of what these families are going through. Our son Beau was deployed for a year to Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard and our son Hunter is an Ensign in the Navy Reserves. This experience, as well as the joys and concerns we heard from military families as we traveled around the world led First Lady Michele Obama and I to start Joining Forces. It is our hope that we can rally all Americans to support our veterans and military families. Joining Forces brings together public and private resources to help with the employment, education, and wellness of our veterans, servicemen and women, and their families.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House

History

Remains of American WWII soldier reportedly found on Pacific’s Northern Mariana Islands

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By hnn

The remains of an American World War II soldier missing in action for nearly 70 years have reportedly been identified after they were found on the Pacific’s Northern Mariana Islands.

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command confirmed to FoxNews.com that its team currently working in Saipan has received “possible human remains” and material evidence consistent with an unresolved case from World War II.

“At this point, we cannot confirm the identity of these remains,” an email to FoxNews.com read. “Our next step is to get the remains and evidence back to JPAC’s Central Identification Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and conduct the appropriate forensic analyses.”…

Source:
AP

Source URL:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/26/remains-wwii-soldier-reportedly-found-on-pacifics-northern-mariana-islands/

Date:
3-26-13

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at History News Network – George Mason University

News, Politics, Government

Remains of American WWII soldier reportedly found on Pacific's Northern Mariana Islands

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By Joshua Rhett Miller

The remains of an American World War II soldier missing in action nearly 70 years have reportedly been identified after they were found on the Pacific’s Northern Mariana Islands.

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command confirmed to FoxNews.com that its team currently working in Saipan has received “possible human remains” and material evidence consistent with an unresolved case from World War II.

“At this point, we cannot confirm the identity of these remains,” an email to FoxNews.com read. “Our next step is to get the remains and evidence back to JPAC‘s Central Identification Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and conduct the appropriate forensic analyses.”

The team is expected back this week, according to Jamie Dobson, JPAC‘s chief of media operations.

Physical anthropologist Shuichiro Narasaki from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Tokyotold the Marianas Variety that a group of Japanese volunteers and members of the CNMI Historic Preservation recovered remains of the solider along with Japanese remains at a burial site in Tanapag – a settlement in Taipan — and on private property in Gualo Rai in the Northern Mariana Islands.

“We have identified the bones to belong to one William T. Carneal based on the information on the U.S. military dog tag found along with the bones, as well as high school ring and American coins,” Narasaki told the newspaper. “Carneal must have been around 18 or 19 when he was buried at the site over 68 years ago.”

Carneal’s dog tag also referred to relatives in Kentucky as his immediate contact. Narasaki said the team also recovered another set of bones believed to belong to an American soldier, but the remains had yet to be identified. The ashes of the two Japanese soldiers, meanwhile, were to be flown to Japan on Tuesday, he said.

It could take months before the findings can be verified, but if the bones happen to belong to a Japanese soldier, JPAC officials will return them to the Japanese government, Narasaki said.

More than 83,000 Americans remain classified as missing from past conflicts, including the wars in the Pacific, according to JPAC officials. Its Central Identification Laboratory is the largest and most diverse forensic skeletal laboratory in the world, according to its website.

Narasaki said an estimated 53,000 Japanese soldiers died in the Northern Mariana Islands during World War II. Of that number, the remains of 29,174 had been recovered since 1952.

Attempts to reach Carneal’s relatives in Kentucky were unsuccessful. According to online records, Carneal was serving in the U.S. Army’s 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, when he died on July 7, 1944.

Dobson, meanwhile, said a “strict protocol” is followed when analyzing and identifying fallen service members from previous wars.

“Our biggest concern is that a family is not misled, for example, being told early in the investigation that their loved one has been recovered only to find out later that was not true,” Dobson wrote in an email to FoxNews.com.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

News, Politics, Government

Remarks by the First Lady and Dr. Biden at the Kids Inaugural Concert

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By The White House

7:45 P.M. EST

DR. BIDEN: Hello, everyone! (Applause.) Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Jaelen. I’m so proud of Jaelen, and I know you brought some other kids from Lee Hall Elementary. It’s so good to see all of you. (Applause.) Oh, they’re over there. And I want to thank your mom and your whole family for their service to our country.

J.R. Martinez, it is always wonderful to see you. Thank you for your service and all that you continue to do for our military families. The First Lady and I are so excited to be here with all these military kids.

I want to give a special welcome to some very brave kids from the Delaware Army National Guard 153rd Military Police Company. (Applause.) Just a few weeks ago, I was with them when their moms or dads were deployed to Afghanistan. I want you all to know that we are so proud of you and we will be here for you while your moms and dads are away.

The First Lady and I knew from the start that we wanted to celebrate the strength and service of our military families. That’s why we started Joining Forces — our effort to encourage all Americans to find ways to honor and support our troops, veterans and military families. Joining Forces is especially important to me because I know something about being a military mom. Our son Beau is a major in the Delaware Army National Guard, and he was deployed to Iraq for a year. Beau has two children, Natalie and Hunter, so I know — (applause) — thank you — so I know firsthand just how important it is for a child to have everyone’s support — their friends, their teachers, and their entire community — when mom or dad is away.

So we want tonight to be one special way that our country shows all of you just how much we appreciate everything you’re doing for our country. And we are so excited to be here with you tonight, here with everyone.

Now I would like to introduce someone else who is so proud of you and excited to be here. She’s been working so hard for military families. Please welcome my great friend and partner, First Lady Michelle Obama. (Applause.)

MRS. OBAMA: Wow. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jill. Big hand to Jill, my partner. (Applause.) How is everybody doing? (Applause.) Are you guys having fun? (Applause.) Are you excited to be here for the inauguration? (Applause.) Well, we are all excited that you could join us tonight, both here in Washington and from all across the country and around the world by video.

We’ve got kids from Fort Hood that are here. (Applause.) We’ve got folks who have joined us from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. They’re in the house. (Applause.) We have folks from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base here. (Applause.) We’ve got folks from Camp Pendleton who are here with us. (Applause.) And we’ve got Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater here as well. (Applause.) Yes!

And for the wonderful kids from Naval Air Station Sigonella who led the Pledge of Allegiance — (applause) — yes! — we have some very special guests that are here as well — your parents! (Applause.) Those are your parents. So let’s give them a round of applause. We’ve beamed them in. (Applause.) They’re right there. Wave to them. They can see you. (Applause.)

Now, inauguration is a pretty big deal. The President and the Vice President are sworn in. There are all these inaugural balls, everybody dresses up and dances. We had a wonderful day of service today, and hundreds of thousands of people come from all 50 states to join in the celebration. And let me tell you, I love every single minute of it. Every single minute. But I have to tell you that my very favorite part of this entire weekend is being right here with all of you. (Applause.) Absolutely. Because for me, this is what inauguration is all about. It’s about celebrating who we are as Americans and all the things that make this country so great. And when I think about who we are, when I think about what makes America great, I think about all of you –our men and women in uniform, our military spouses, and our amazing military kids.

And that’s why Jill and I wanted to host this event. And we’re not the only ones that wanted to pay tribute to all of you today. You see, when we said we wanted to host a concert to honor our military kids, let me tell you, everyone wanted to be here. Usher wanted to be here. (Applause.) Katy Perry wanted to be here. (Applause.) Nick Cannon, the folks from Glee, and all the other amazing performers — they wanted to be here, too. (Applause.) And let me tell you, they’re not here for me. They’re not here for Dr. Biden. They are here for all of you. Because they know the kind of sacrifices that you all make every single day.

Let me just share something. Did you know that the — that a military kid attends an average of six to nine schools by the time he or she graduates from high school? I mean, just think about that. Just imagine how much courage it takes to always be the new kid — to walk through the doors of a new school every couple of years; to have to make new friends again and again. And did you know that our men and women in uniform often have to be away from their families for months, sometimes years.

Just think about the level of maturity that is required for military kids during those times, just think about that. Think about how they have to step up at home without even being asked — taking out the trash when dad’s not there; helping brothers and sisters with their homework when mom is away.

Think about how hard it is for military kids to be apart from the people they love most, how they miss their moms and dads every day and would do anything to have them back home. And that’s just a glimpse of what it means to be a military kid. It means always thinking about things that are so much bigger than yourself. It means growing up just a little faster and working just a little harder than other kids. And it means doing the greatest thing you can ever do with your life at such a young age, and that is to serve our country.

So to America’s military kids, let me tell you, make no mistake about it, you all are an important part of the greatest military on Earth. (Applause.) By supporting your families, you all are helping to protect this country and keep every single one of us safe. You’re doing that. And Dr. Biden and I are so incredibly proud of you all. Every day, we’re proud of you. Let me tell you, our husbands are proud — the Vice President, the President — they are proud of you.

And in the coming years, as these wars draw to an end and we draw down our troops, I want you all to know –(applause) — absolutely — but here’s the thing: I want you to know, you and your families to know that we will not be drawing down our work to support you. We will be doing just the opposite, because the fact is that today we have a greater obligation to serve you than ever before. And we will do everything in our power, everything to meet that obligation to make sure that our military families get the benefits they’ve earned and the support and recognition you all deserve.

So in the coming months and years through Joining Forces, Dr. Biden and I, we will keep calling on Americans to translate the love and pride that we all feel into action that makes a real difference for you and your families. Every single one of us has a role to play here. And I encourage everyone watching tonight to go to JoiningForces.gov and find out how you can give back to our military families. Because we cannot rest, no, we cannot be satisfied until we are serving all of you as well as you’ve served this country. You all deserve nothing less.

And with that, there is someone else here tonight who would like to show her appreciation for you all. She is our final performer for this evening. Should we bring her out? Are you ready? (Applause.) Are you really ready? (Applause.) All right, then. It is now my pleasure to introduce the fabulous Katy Perry!

Source: FULL ARTICLE at The White House Press Office