THE US department of defense has joined hands with Gandhinagar-based National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) to step up efforts to recover the remains of its over 400 personnel who had gone missing in India during World War II.
Scientific experts at the University will help the defense prisoner of war/missing in action accounting agency (DPAA) to recover and identify these missing personnel.
The DPAA mission project manager at NFSU, Dr Gargi Jani, has said that these agencies will locate, identify, and repatriate the remains of the service members from America's past conflicts including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and Iraq and Persian Gulf Wars.
"There are over 81,800 department of defense personnel of the US who are still unaccounted for from these wars and over 400 are missing in India. The NFSU will scientifically and logistically assist the DPAA in their mission," said Jani.
"We are privileged and enthusiastic to enter into this formal partnership with Indias National Forensic Science University. Their renowned expertise and capabilities will advance our efforts to find and recover the remains of Americans missing from World War II in India," said Kelly McKeague, DPAA director.
NFSU vice-chancellor Dr J M Vyas said the partnership with the DPAA will enable the scientific exchange in the areas of forensic anthropology and odontology and develop best practices for human identification.
"The NFSU has always taken a lead to promote forensics in a criminal investigation. This kind of partnership will create unique research opportunities and student exchange also," he said in a statement.
The DPAA has also established a three-way partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the NSFU with the virtual signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 27, to develop academic exchanges and cooperation in teaching and research.
The DAPP recently facilitated the last rites of US citizen Justin G Mills (25) who had died in World War II in 1943.
"Marine Corps Reserve First Lt. Justin G.Mills of Galveston, Texas, killed during World War II, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery May 26, 2021. In November 1943, Mills was killed on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island in the fight with Japanese forces," according to the DAPP website.
"His remains were reportedly buried in the Central Division Cemetery, and later to the Lone Palm Cemetery on Betio Island. Mills was recovered in 2014 and accounted for in 2019. Mills niece and nephew were on hand to finally welcome their uncle home and lay him to rest."
The Gilbert Islands after its independence from the British are now called the Republic of Kiribati and it is an independent island nation in the central Pacific Ocean.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.