Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and Papua New Guinea’s National Museum and Art Gallery sign memorandum of understanding

Hawaii’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam hosted the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 8 between the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, an agreement intended to strengthen collaboration on the recovery and repatriation of American service members missing from World War II.

The ceremony took place in the atrium of the Daniel K. Inouye DPAA Center of Excellence, where DPAA Principal Deputy Director Jennifer Walsh and Dr. Greg Bablis, principal curator of the Modern History Branch at the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery, underscored the significance of the long-running partnership and the broader bilateral relationship.

“The bond between the United States and Papua New Guinea was forged in the crucible of World War II, across some of the most unforgiving terrain on Earth. But the work that brings us together today began in peacetime,” said Walsh. “U.S. recovery missions in Papua New Guinea commenced in 1978, just three years after the nation achieved its independence.”

Over the past 48 years, DPAA and its predecessor organizations have conducted recovery missions across Papua New Guinea’s mountains, valleys, and jungles to find and return the remains of fallen American personnel.

“Let me be clear, the National Museum and Art Gallery is not just a part of the DPAA mission in Papua New Guinea; you are an essential partner,” Walsh emphasized. “You are the bedrock upon which our success in the region is built. Your involvement touches every phase of our operations. It begins with your invaluable expertise during the complex, initial planning of our missions, and it carries through all the way to the sacred repatriation ceremonies that honor our fallen.”

Founded in 1975—the year Papua New Guinea achieved independence—the National Museum and Art Gallery in Port Moresby focuses on collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the nation’s cultural heritage. Under Papua New Guinea law, the institution also has sovereign responsibility for “war surplus materials,” a designation that extends to the physical remains of thousands of foreign military personnel who did not return home.

“It is an honor to stand before you today to talk about a sacred duty that connects our nations across oceans and generations: the accounting, recovery, and repatriation of foreign service personnel who fell on Papua New Guinea soil, waterways, and seascape during the cataclysm of the Second World War,” said Bablis. “At the heart of this immense and enduring effort for the U.S. in PNG stands the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery.”

Bablis expressed optimism that the agreement would bring additional support for the museum’s mission. “It is our sincere hope that through the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding, signed between the DPAA and NMAG, the United States will proactively increase its general support for our institution,” said Bablis. “We look forward to seeing enhanced support from the DPAA and other relevant U.S. agencies in whatever forms are practicable in their capacities.”

More than eight decades after World War II, over 71,700 U.S. service members from the conflict remain unaccounted for, with approximately 3,300 in Papua New Guinea. This year also marks 51 years of Papua New Guinea’s independence and 51 years of continuous diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“This signing takes place during a monumental year, as we celebrate 51 years of independence for Papua New Guinea; alongside that milestone, we are also celebrating 51 years of unbroken diplomatic relations between our two nations,” said Walsh. “The strength of our bilateral ties, and the collective benefits of the United States and Papua New Guinea relationship, are perfectly exemplified by the partnership between DPAA and NMAG.”