








































Forensic Anthropology Vol. 2, No. 2: 87–95
DOI: 10.5744/fa.2019.1004

© 2019 University of Florida Press

Introduction

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is 
responsible for the search for, recovery of, and identifica-
tion of unaccounted- for U.S. service members from past 
conflicts; the DPAA Scientific Analysis Directorate (DPAA- 
Laboratory) established the Tarawa Project in the autumn of 
2016 to assist with the identification of U.S. casualties from 
the Battle of Tarawa. This project is tasked with resolving the 
commingling of casualties (including the segregation of the 
U.S. from Japanese/Korean remains), associating remains 
recovered directly from the Tarawa Atoll and/or disin-
terred from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific 
(NMCP), and proposing potential identifications of service 
members to the science director/medical examiner. The 
nature of the battle, the complex post- depositional history of 

the casualties, and the ongoing recovery efforts highlight 
how remains can become commingled and the need to have 
a multidisciplinary approach to resolving this commingling.

Even though the list of unaccounted- for U.S. casualties 
from the Battle of Tarawa is generally known, the wartime 
burial procedures combined with the postwar recovery and 
identification efforts have resulted in a complex commingled 
assemblage. The post- depositional changes to the island, the 
extended interval since the incident, the poor preservation of 
the remains, and the large size of the assemblage all affect 
the ability to resolve the commingling and identify the 
unaccounted- for U.S. casualties (Adams & Byrd 2014). Fur-
ther, the prevalence of an open context of commingling in this 
assemblage, where the primary burial location is unknown, 
limits the utility of the burial records associated with a par-
ticular casualty (Puerto et al. 2014). Similar to current- day 
disaster victim identification (DVI) scenarios, a multidisci-
plinary approach is necessary to systematically analyze 
the remains and resolve the commingling, especially given 
the likelihood of non- U.S. remains commingled with U.S. 
remains in the assemblage (Puerto et al. 2014).

Historical Background

In November 1943, U.S. forces began an initiative to invade 
the Japanese- occupied Gilbert Islands (now the Republic of 

CASE REPORT

The Tarawa Project Part I
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Resolve Commingled Human Remains 
from the Battle of Tarawa

Rebecca J. Taylora* ● Audrey L. Scotta ● Anthony J. Koehla,b ● Willa R. Traska ● Heli Maijanenc

ABSTRACT: As part of the U.S. Navy’s campaign against the Japanese during World War II, the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943 
resulted in over 1,100 U.S. and over 6,000 Japanese and Korean conscript casualties on and around Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Republic of 
Kiribati. Casualties were buried in isolated and mass graves, which were negatively affected by the wartime renovations of the island, 
resulting in only ~47% of the remains being recovered in the late 1940s. The nature of the wartime burials, multiple postwar disinterments 
and reinterments, identification efforts in the late 1940s, and postwar anthropogenic changes to the island by the local population have 
contributed to the commingling of casualties. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency established the Tarawa Project in 2016 to assist 
in the sorting, association, and identification of the often commingled remains recovered directly from the Republic of Kiribati and 94 
caskets of Battle of Tarawa unknowns disinterred from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawai’i. The project has 
been able to confirm a minimum number of individuals (MNI) of 243 based on unique mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences, while 
inventory of ~9,000 elements indicates a MNI of 131 from disinterments and 96 from recent field recoveries. The Tarawa Project has used 
a combination of historical research, DNA testing, chest radiograph and odontological comparisons, and forensic anthropological and mate-
rial evidence analyses to help identify 41 of the 84 total service members accounted for from the Battle of Tarawa since the 1940s.

KEYWORDS: forensic anthropology, commingling, Tarawa

aDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–
Hickam, Hawai’i, USA

bSNA International, Alexandria, VA, USA
cOulun Seudun Ammattikorkeakoulu, Archaeology, Oulu, Finland
*Correspondence to: Rebecca J. Taylor, Defense POW/MIA 

Accounting Agency, 590 Moffet Street, Joint Base Pearl Harbor– Hickam, 
JBPHH Hawai’i 96853, USA

E-mail: rjwbones@gmail.com

Received 5 June 2018; Revised 18 August 2018;  
Accepted 21 August 2018



88 Tarawa Project I

Kiribati), termed Operation Galvanic. The largest assault took 
place on Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll from 20 to 23 Novem-
ber 1943, resulting in a large number of casualties (Alexander 
1993). The U.S. Second Marine Division reported 997 marines 
and 30 sailors (medical corpsmen) dead, 88 marines missing 
and presumed dead, and 2,292 injured (Alexander 1993). The 
reported numbers for the Japanese forces included 4,690 dead 
and 146 Japanese and Korean prisoners taken (Alexander 
1995; Wukovits 2006). Due to post- battle accounting efforts, 
the initial reported numbers have been increased to ~1,150 
U.S. and ~6,000 Japanese and Korean casualties.

The large number of fatalities, small size of Betio Island, 
and rapid rate of decomposition necessitated quick burial of 
the casualties (Alexander 1993). Often trench burials were 
established using bulldozers with casualties placed shoulder 
to shoulder wrapped in ponchos and a single marker erected 
to signify a whole unit (e.g., a single wooden cross inscribed 
simply with “D- 2- 18” to refer to D Company, Second Battal-
ion, 18th Marine Regiment; Alexander 1993) or inscribed as 
“unknown” (Wukovits 2006). These burial practices resulted 
in incomplete documentation of grave locations and the indi-
viduals interred in them as well as the accidental commin-
gling of remains (e.g., appendages overlapping with adjacent 
remains). At least five compulsory cemeteries were created 
on Betio Island by the assault troops prior to 24 Novem-
ber 1943, with a total of 43 isolated gravesites or cemeteries 
reported by 1946 (Steere & Boardman 1957; Wukovits 2006). 
Further, U.S. Navy Construction members (“Seabees”) phys-
ically modified Betio Island (1943– 1946) to meet wartime 
needs and “beautified” the cemeteries, resulting in burials 
becoming disassociated from their corresponding markers 
(Steere & Boardman 1957).

In March 1946 the American Graves Registration Ser-
vice (AGRS) arrived at Betio Island to recover the war dead 
and began consolidating U.S. casualties from Betio and its 
neighboring islands into a single Lone Palm Cemetery, but 
they often found remains skewed from or no remains associ-
ated with burial markers (Steere & Boardman 1957). By 
May 1946 the AGRS had recovered and interred 532 remains 
(~50% of U.S. casualties) into the Lone Palm Cemetery. Just 
over half of these remains were interred with name associa-
tions through in- field analysis of grave markers, dental charts, 
and/or identification media. The rest were designated with an 
X- number (e.g., X- 001) and buried as an unknown. Due to 
the lack of trained recovery personnel and the speed of the 
1946 operations, many remains became commingled and/or 
were not completely recovered. In 1947 the AGRS disin-
terred, chemically treated with a paraformaldehyde powder, 
and relocated the remains from the Lone Palm Cemetery to 
the Schofield Barrack’s Central Identification Laboratory 
(CIL), Oahu, Hawai’i, for processing and analysis.

Due to the return of the local residents and population 
growth, the landscape was further altered after the war (e.g., 

houses built on top of cemeteries), including evidence of the 
cemeteries (e.g., removal of grave markers). Remains have 
been intermittently recovered from Betio Island since the end 
of World War II due to accidental discovery through natural 
disasters and infrastructure developments, as well as formal 
excavation by the DPAA, its predecessor organizations, and 
nongovernmental organizations. The nature of these recov-
eries often resulted in groups of commingled remains being 
unilaterally turned over to the U.S. government or remains 
being reburied near their primary discovery location and 
later excavated from the secondary burial. Thus, remains 
accessioned into the DPAA- Laboratory have been primarily 
commingled assemblages of articulated portions of remains 
and miscellaneous unarticulated elements with minimal 
associated provenience information, which represent U.S., 
Japanese, and Koreans casualties from the Battle of Tarawa 
and Kiribati nationals. In rare instances, intact in situ buri-
als from wartime trench features have been recovered.

Historical Analysis

The Schofield- CIL processed all casualties from the Lone 
Palm Cemetery between 1947 and 1949. Laboratory person-
nel confirmed AGRS field identifications and identified many 
of the unknowns through anthropological assessment and 
comparison to antemortem dental records. Historical records 
of the Schofield- CIL anthropological analyses indicate that 
48 of the 92 unknowns processed through the CIL showed 
some level of commingling, usually duplicated or non- 
matching elements. Further, multiple unknowns (X- numbers) 
believed to be commingled were often processed simulta-
neously, with elements being removed from or exchanged 
between unknowns in an effort to segregate the remains. For 
example, the CIL assumed that continuous X- numbers had a 
shared provenance when in most cases they came from dif-
ferent cemeteries. Further, a 1948 AGRS Review Board 
approved the burial of all of the unknowns as a group. Sets of 
remains were sorted by element in preparation for the group 
burial, but approval was later rescinded and the 92 unknowns 
were interred at the NMCP between 1949 and 1950. Subse-
quent to these “individual” interments, one casket containing 
the remains of at least 10 individuals recovered from Betio 
Island in the late 1960s after storms, and another casket con-
taining at least two individuals recovered in the 1970s during 
infrastructure construction (analyzed by the CIL- HI without 
success), were interred at the NMCP.

Present- Day Analysis

The Tarawa Project team employs a systematic multidisci-
plinary commingled human remains (CHR) approach follow-
ing standard DPAA protocols. The six MA-  and PhD- level 



Taylor et al. 89

anthropologists making up the team process and analyze 
the project assemblage both to facilitate the association of 
skeletal and dental elements to a single individual and as a 
means to identify missing U.S. service members (Jin et al. 
2014; Fig. 1).

Materials

The Tarawa Project assemblage is a compilation of the 94 
caskets disinterred from the NMCP and 83 accessions (aka 
field accessions) of remains recently excavated from Betio 
Island, Tarawa Atoll, Republic of Kiribati by the DPAA, its 
predecessor organizations, and nongovernmental organiza-
tions (see Fig. 1, Ia and Ib). To date there are nearly 9,000 
elements or groups of elements (i.e., complete articulated 
hands or feet or seriated sets of ribs and vertebrae) in the 
assemblage. Field accessions comprise ~6,000 of these 
~9,000 elements, while remains from disinterred caskets 
comprise the remainder, with ~75% of the inventorying com-
plete (see Fig. 1, IIa and IIb). The field accessions contain 
material evidence (ME) and osseous remains ranging from 
a single element to hundreds of elements. Further, eviden-
tiary material continues to be recovered and accessioned 
into the Tarawa Project assemblage as a result of the DPAA 
partnering with nongovernmental organizations to maintain 
active recovery efforts on Betio Island.

Preservation of remains varies from excellent to poor 
across the assemblage. Even though most NMCP- derived 
remains were treated with a paraformaldehyde preservative 
prior to interment, many of the remains exhibit water ero-
sion and are friable. The remains being recovered from Betio 
Island are generally in good to excellent condition, but some 
exhibit evidence of burning and postmortem fragmentation.

Analytical Procedures

All remains are systematically inventoried, each element or 
group of articulated elements is given a unique designator, 
and preliminary analyses are conducted and peer- reviewed 
(e.g., completeness, developmental status, measurements, and 
articulation or refit with other elements or fragments within 
the accession; see Fig. 1, IIa and IIb). After the initial inven-
tory and assessment of morphological re- associations, proj-
ect personnel select specific elements for mtDNA and/or 
isotope testing. Although destructive, these analyses are an 
important means to reassociate elements given the lack of 
context for many of the remains. Isotopes are being used in 
lieu of mtDNA testing in many instances to help segregate 
Japanese/Korean remains from U.S. casualties to ensure 
efficient use of limited resources. Both Sanger and next- 
generation sequencing (NGS) methods are being utilized by 
the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), 
who conducts DNA testing for the DPAA, for yielding 

mtDNA sequences. All preliminary data are entered into the 
Commingled Remains Analytics (CoRA) (Pawaskar 2016) 
web application and database for subsequent analyses.

The segregation portion of analysis is twofold: segrega-
tion of U.S. casualties from foreign nationals, and associa-
tion of elements for individuation (see Fig. 1, IIIa and IIIb). 
This step utilizes data from DNA and isotope testing, CXR 
and dental comparisons (Shiroma 2017; Stephan et al. 2011), 
morphological assessments (e.g., refitting of fragments, joint 
articulation, visual and/or statistical pair matching [Adams & 
Byrd 2006; Lynch 2018a; Lynch et al. 2018], and osteo-
metric sorting [Byrd 2008; Byrd & LeGarde 2014; Lynch 
2018b]), historical record and archaeological provenience 
reviews, and/or biological profile criteria (e.g., age, sex, 
ancestry, stature, trauma, pathology, etc.) to determine if ele-
ments are consistent with a single individual. In addition to 
reassociating skeletal elements, these methods are used to 
differentiate Japanese and Korean from U.S. casualties 
during the segregation process (Christensen 2014; Marshall 
et al. 2018; Shiroma 2017). This series of analytical tests 
are summarized in a Report of Segregation, which is peer- 
reviewed by another team member (Fig. 1, Va and Vc). Unlike 
other DPAA projects, segregation of remains is not attempted 
entirely in the blind since the association of the remains 
and identification can be intertwined.

Comparison between disinterred remains and field 
accessions is made when the data from preliminary assess-
ments and the segregation process support a possible associ-
ation between the two (see Fig. 1, IV). For example, when one 
or more elements return mtDNA sequence data, an effort to 
directly associate these elements with other elements from 
that accession or provenience is completed. Additional com-
parisons are made with relevant field accessions when the 
original cemetery information for a NMCP disinterment is 
known and can be linked to an area that has been excavated. 
Further, historical information from the unknown X- files can 
be used as a means to track prior efforts to solve commin-
gling issues, as well as identify potential sources of histori-
cal laboratory error and commingling. When the X- file 
indicates commingling or attempted segregation with other 
cases, all disinterred cases that were simultaneously pro-
cessed or had elements interchanged at the Schofield- CIL 
are evaluated for possible associations (see Fig. 1, IV). As this 
is part of the segregation process, it too is summarized in a 
Report of Segregation (see Fig. 1, Vb).

The project attempts to associate casualty names to 
remains once they are successfully segregated into discrete 
individuals (see Fig. 1, VI). The association of a set of remains 
to a specific U.S. casualty is accomplished through compar-
ison of DNA sequence data to available family references 
samples (FRS) for U.S. Battle of Tarawa casualties, postmor-
tem dental charts and radiographs to antemortem dental 
records and chest radiographs, biological profile criteria to 



90 Tarawa Project I

FIG. 1—The Tarawa Project workflow outlining the commingled human remains (CHR) processes. At the completion of the Reports of Association or 
Consolidation (*), the science director/medical examiner is briefed to determine if a case will move forward toward identification. A nonpartisan analyst 
will conduct a full forensic anthropological analysis in the blind subsequent to the CHR process.



Taylor et al. 91

FIG. 2—The process by which a name association is generated during 
the consolidation/association step. The list of possible individuals is 
reduced as identification criteria are added until one name is 
associated with the remains.

official military records, and recorded recovery location to 
disposition records (Fig. 2). For example, when an mtDNA 
sequence is obtained, these data are used to generate short-
lists of service members with matching FRS mitochondrial 
lines. Conversely, if no sequence data was obtained or there 
is no FRS match, the initial shortlist is created from a dental 
or biological profile comparison to all U.S. casualties and/or 
historical burial location records (e.g., chaplain’s book, 
Marine Corps rosters, and individual casualty cards). Ideally, 
this initial shortlist is iteratively parsed until one name 
remains, who represents the most likely candidate (see Fig. 2). 
When a list cannot be parsed to one name, additional DNA 
testing may be requested. The additional FRS comparison 
depends on the type of sequencing method used to obtain the 
mtDNA sequence; NGS samples will undergo whole genome 
comparisons, and Sanger- derived samples will undergo 
nuclear testing (e.g., Y- STR or auSTR testing).

The summary of the potential name association pro-
cesses are outlined in a Report of Association or Consolida-
tion, dependent on whether the remains came from a single 
accession or multiple accessions, respectively, and like all 
other analytical reports is peer reviewed (see Fig. 1, VII). At 
this time the medical examiner/science director is briefed on 
the case and decides on whether the case moves forward 
toward identification. If they agree with the project’s findings, 
a full forensic anthropology analysis is completed in the blind 
by an analyst not associated with the Tarawa Project (see 
Fig. 1). If they do not agree with the findings, additional test-
ing is initiated and the case remains with the project until all 
concerns are addressed.

Results and Discussion

Extent of Commingling

Thus far, the ~6,000 elements recently recovered from Betio 
Island represent a minimum number of 96 individuals (MNI). 
The MNI is based on duplication of hand elements and high-
lights the larger number of small elements recovered from 
Betio Island compared to the more diagnostic elements of the 
skeleton. The majority of the field accessions represent iso-
lated body segments— such as hands, feet, patellae, and mis-
cellaneous elements from throughout the body— and are 
often associated with material evidence of U.S. origin. This 
assemblage, when compared to the disinterred accessions, 
indicates that these elements are the remnants of the AGRS 
recovery efforts in the 1940s likely left in their original burial 
locations and that they likely reflect additional portions of 
some of the remains disinterred from the NMCP. Archaeo-
logical field documentation and preliminary mtDNA results 
indicate that large assemblages of highly commingled, frag-
mented, and/or burned remains recovered from secondary 
burial locations are more likely to be Japanese in origin (see 
Challenges section below for further details).

The ~3,000 elements from the 94 caskets disinterred 
from the NMCP represent a MNI of 131 individuals based 
on the duplication of elements and morphological and artic-
ulation discrepancies. Present- day analyses of the disinterred 
NMCP remains confirm the commingling noted in the his-
torical records. Thirty- one of the 94 disinterred caskets 
exhibit duplication of elements or poor articulation among 
elements. Preliminary mtDNA results support these conclu-
sions in six cases. Duplication of elements is most common 
in the hands, feet, and ribs, with 23 unknowns demonstrat-
ing this. Six cases exhibit poor articulation between elements, 
with five involving the major elements of the upper limb. The 
recent excavation of intact burial trenches from Betio Island 
revealed the overlap of upper and/or lower limbs between 
adjacent individuals during their initial interment in 1943. 
This revelation supports the need for a critical approach to 
the reanalysis of the disinterred accessions. In these cases, 
DNA analysis is required to resolve the commingling.

The AFDIL analyses have produced 243 unique mtDNA 
sequences with Sanger sequencing and 75 complete mitoge-
nome sequences with NGS from 655 samples at the time of 
publication. These sequences include both U.S. service mem-
bers and Japanese casualties. Based on FRS and population 
database searches, 124 of the 243 (~50%) unique Sanger- 
generated mtDNA sequences are consistent with Asian hap-
logroups, 92 (41%) of the sequences are European, and 9 
(~4%) are undetermined haplogroups (Marshall et al. 2018). 
The Sanger- derived sequences provide a conservative MNI 
of 243 for the entire Tarawa Project given the possibility that 



FIG. 3—The number of identified individuals from the Battle of Tarawa since the 1980s. The increase in identifications in recent years is associated with 
the inception of the Tarawa Project in 2016 and the recovery efforts on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Republic of Kiribati.

92 Tarawa Project I

mtDNA sequences represent multiple individuals and there is 
overlap between field and disinterred accessions. The chemi-
cal treatment of most NMCP remains prevents successful 
Sanger sequencing of these samples, and the Tarawa Project 
success rate for NGS is ~47.7% (75 sequences generated from 
157). To date there are ~80 NGS samples, 420 Sanger sequence 
samples, and 40 samples for nuclear testing awaiting analy-
ses, so a more definitive MNI is not possible at this time.

Association of Remains

The systematic inventorying of the field accessions and dis-
interred Battle of Tarawa unknowns in conjunction with 
analyses of the historical records and archaeological prove-
nience have allowed the Tarawa Project to associate com-
mingled elements within and between the NMCP and field 
accessions. Most cases successfully processed through the 
project since 2016 have been nearly complete skeletons that 
did not require DNA analysis for reassociation of elements to 
a single individual. However, 15 of the 41 identified cases have 
utilized DNA in combination with articulation, osteometric 

sorting, and provenience to confirm the association of the 
elements. Seven of these 15 cases required the association of 
elements from a disinterred accession to one or more field 
accessions and led to the refitting of additional fragments 
beyond the DNA- sampled elements in six cases. Two of the 
15 cases involved positively associated remains that origi-
nated from four different NMCP caskets. To date, six cases 
have had non- articulating clavicles and/or cervical vertebrae 
included in an accession based on the positive association 
of the CXR to the same name as a dental and/or DNA FRS 
comparison.

Identifications

Prior to the inception of the project, identifications of U.S. 
Battle of Tarawa casualties were sporadic and primarily 
relied on biological profile and dental record congruency 
(Figs. 3 and 4). Identifications increased after 2013 as a result 
of the increase in Betio Island field excavations, FRS DNA 
availability, and the integration of CXR comparison as a rou-
tine laboratory procedure. At the time of publication, the 



FIG. 4—The types of analyses contributing to individual identifications. The peaks in December 2015 and September 2017 are directly related to the 
recovery of undisturbed wartime graves. Anthropological and dental analysis contribute to nearly all identifications, but other analytical methods are 
becoming vital for the successful outcome of a case.

Taylor et al. 93

Tarawa Project has assisted with the identification of 41 
(~50%) of the 82 unaccounted- for service members from Bat-
tle of Tarawa since the 1940s. These numbers are a direct 
result of the focused efforts of a dedicated commingled 
human remains team, the approval to disinter the unknowns 
buried at the NMCP, and the increase in FRS DNA availabil-
ity. Since 2016, 26 cases utilized a combination of NGS (n = 23) 
or Sanger (n = 11) sequencing, as well as nuclear ySTR (n = 2) 
and autosomal (n = 1) testing (see Fig. 4).

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges for the Tarawa Project is seg-
regating U.S., Japanese, and Korean casualties due to the 
extensive commingling of remains recovered from Betio 
Island. The project has taken a three- pronged approach to 
sorting U.S. from Japanese and Korean remains: analysis of 

skeletal and dental morphology, DNA haplogroup analysis, 
and isotope analysis. The overall morphology has been most 
useful with dental remains, especially those with non- 
Western dentistry (Shiroma 2017). Any elements that can be 
directly articulated with the dental remains are currently not 
submitted for DNA sampling. Other elements suspected of 
being non- U.S. in origin based on recovery context are 
submitted for haplogroup testing prior to producing a full 
sequence (Marshall et al. 2018). Elements for which a sequence 
has already been generated and are unique in the AFDIL 
population database also undergo haplogroup testing. Based 
on the mtDNA results and the ongoing recoveries on Betio 
Island, isotope analysis should allow for the relatively quick 
segregation of Japanese/Korean remains from U.S. remains 
and help prioritize mtDNA samples. Isotope analysis is the 
newest method added to the project’s toolkit and, thus, results 
are not yet reportable.



94 Tarawa Project I

Another challenge facing this project is the low number 
of appropriate FRS on file for the unaccounted- for U.S. 
casualties. AFDIL has an FRS on file for 86% of all of the 
unaccounted- for from the Battle of Tarawa, but only 69% of 
these are mitochondrial references. The Tarawa Project is 
limited in the fact that samples processed through NGS can-
not undergo nuclear testing as of yet, so the individuals who 
only have a paternal FRS on file cannot be compared to these 
samples. This limits the ability to reassociate elements and/or 
eliminate individuals from a shortlist.

The Tarawa Project, like other commingled projects, 
also has had to contend with limited antemortem records and 
documentation. Chest radiographs are only available for 
~25% of all U.S. casualties, and often the only dental records 
available are from induction records, so may not reflect sub-
sequent dental work. Additionally, archaeological field notes 
(e.g., provenience information and maps) of recovery opera-
tions from the 1940s to present are difficult to use to support 
the association of remains due to lack of or inconsistencies 
in the field notes. Further, it is not uncommon to find identi-
fication media (e.g., ID tags) with remains that are not the 
individual; it was common for service members to collect 
identification tags to account for the fallen, so some individ-
uals may have multiple ID media found with them. For these 
reasons, the project relies on many lines of evidence from 
multiple disciplines to support the segregation of remains and 
the identification of a service member.

Conclusions

The confounding disposition history of the U.S. and Japanese 
Battle of Tarawa casualties has led to many graves being lost 
over time. The renewed efforts to account for these service 
members, through the establishment of the Tarawa Project 
in 2016, highlight the successes and challenges of undertak-
ing such a complex project. The Tarawa project has assisted 
in the identification of 41 previously unaccounted- for service 
members, including 26 unknowns disinterred from the 
NMCP. Several of these cases relied on the ability to associ-
ate elements recently recovered from Betio Island to disin-
terred remains through a multifaceted approach that included 
the articulation of elements, refitting of fragments, osteomet-
ric sorting, dental and CXR comparisons, and/or DNA test-
ing (for examples of individual identifications, see Scott et al. 
2019). Furthermore, the systematic inventory and prelimi-
nary analysis of remains have allowed us to determine possi-
ble relationships between disinterred remains and field 
recoveries, focus the DNA sampling strategy employed, 
establish an isotope initiative for segregating Japanese and 
U.S. remains, and target areas for excavation on Betio Island. 
Associations between remains and identifications of service 
members being made from the Tarawa Project rely on the 

totality of evidence and interdisciplinary collaborations from 
geneticists, historians, archaeologists, odontologists, and 
anthropologists; no one scientist works in a vacuum.

The formation processes associated with commingled 
contexts vary significantly (e.g., mass disasters versus human- 
rights violations); however, there are several commonalties 
between these different commingled assemblages (Puerto 
et al. 2014). Forensic practitioners working on CHR projects 
must contend with the passage of time, preservation of 
remains and recovery context issues, poor record keeping, 
and the availability of antemortem data. As the literature on 
DVI and commingled remains proposes, and as this project 
highlights, multidisciplinary approaches are vital to success-
fully identifying individuals from commingled assemblages.

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge all of the service members 
who have made the ultimate sacrifice; DPAA’s strategic part-
ner, History Flight, Inc., for their recovery efforts on Betio 
Island; and our project team and colleagues for feedback on 
this paper.

The opinions presented here are those of the authors and 
do not necessarily reflect those of the DPAA, the Department 
of Defense, or the United States government.

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