Families seek closure in POW, MIA cases
By Sarah Litz, Reno Gazette-Journal
John Abbott opened his mouth to have his cheek swabbed for DNA collection.
The 64-year-old from Susanville said he knew it wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do to find his uncle, who was a prisoner of war during World War II.
“Right now, there’s this big, empty hole,” Abbott said. “Maybe I can hope for closure. Maybe this (sample) will help.”
Abbott along with another 160 people from Nevada, California, Oregon and Idaho gathered at the Grand Sierra Resort on Saturday morning to be briefed on what the government is doing to help bring loved ones home. Personnel from the Department of Defense, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory met with families to inform them and the public of the efforts being made to account for missing service members.