There are currently 88,000 missing and unknown American military dead from WWII, Korea and Vietnam, with 2% from Vietnam, 8% from Korea and 90% from WWII. The US Department of Defense estimates that 24,000-35,000 of these dead are still recoverable. The Department recovers the remains of 100 per year from all three wars combined.  Until recently, the Department of Defense had termed "Ancient" all wars prior to Vietnam.

The non-proft corporation has been set up to fund the production of a film series, “MIAs-You Are Forgotten”. It was conceived by Leon Cooper, who served four years during WWII as a Naval officer, primarily in the Pacific Theatre, as Boat Group Commander for his ship. In that capacity he assisted in the direction of landings, in Higgins Boats, of assault troops on the beaches of Japanese-held island strongholds. He took part in six invasions, starting with Tarawa and ending with Iwo Jima. In 2008, he produced “Return to Tarawa-the Leon Cooper Story,” a documentary film about his return visit to the islands of his first battle experience.

During his return visit to Tarawa he learned that hundreds of Americans still lay where they fell, sixty five years before, in the fury of the three days of savagery that became known as “Bloody Tarawa.” At the time,  Cooper wondered whether there were “other Tarawas” among the many battles fought during the Pacific War.

Back home, he learned indeed there were, and was shocked and saddened to learn how little our government had done to recover the remains of those who had died in defense of our nation’s freedom, and how seemingly callous our nation’s leaders had been to the needs of the relatives of the fallen—to bring closure to a painful chapter in their lives. Where were his remains? What were the circumstances of his death? Why hadn’t the remains of their husbands, their uncles, their brothers, their grandfathers been found and repatriated?

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