LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Even though more than 30 years have passed since the end of the Vietnam War, more than 1,800 service members are still missing in action.

In an effort to search and recover evidence of people missing in action, Tech. Sgt. Joe Baker, 302nd Fighter Squadron life support craftsman, volunteered to go to Vietnam to assist the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

Based in Hawaii, the JPAC's mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of previous conflicts.

During Sergeant Baker's 40 days in Vietnam, he and 11 other team members from various branches of service, including civilians, worked at two sites bagging and tagging evidence to send to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for processing.

At their first site, 30 Vietnamese villagers helped dig in a remote area of Quang Nam Province, about 25 miles southwest of DaNang near the Laotian border. With the help of the villagers, the team was able to open and close the case in 10 days.

They determined, based on the evidence they recovered -- canteen tops; jungle boot metal plates; ammunition pouches; M-16 rounds and magazines; and a web belt with blood and enemy rounds -- that a team of Soldiers assigned to a special observation group were dropped at a landing zone from a helicopter. As they headed into the jungle, the Soldiers came under enemy fire. Two of them were able to move downhill and were picked up by a helicopter but couldn't return for the third person.

At the second site, the recovery team spent seven days digging. Because of eight straight days of rain, the team members didn't get as far as they would have liked, Sergeant Baker said.

They were, however, able to conclude that four American and three Republic of Vietnam troops were dropped off at a landing zone and attacked by village militia. The seven of them fired until they ran out of ammunition. The case remains open.

Sergeant Baker thought he would have mixed emotions about traveling to Vietnam, but he found the people very good-natured.

"I have a whole new respect for Vietnam veterans since this experience," he said. "These missions are worth it because our comrades in arms are being accounted for and we're able to close the door on some of the cases." 

According to Sergeant Baker, his team dug a total of about 585 square meters of earth and was able to dig more than any other team, even though it faced eight straight days of rain.

Despite the hard work of digging 10 to 12 hours a day in 85- to 90-degree temperatures with 90 percent humidity, Sergeant Baker said he'd go back tomorrow if he could. He has already volunteered for another mission with JPAC.

For more information about JPAC, visit its Web site at http://www.jpac.pacom.mil.