Film Maker Steven C. Barber and Producer Matthew Hausle are setting out on a mission to bring back the fallen soldiers of the WWII Battle of Tarawa. After 68 years, these soldiers will be given the burial they deserve, and their families will receive the closure they have been waiting for. This documentary shows the amazing story of the young men and women of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) who embed themselves in beyond rugged and brutal conditions to bring fallen service members home.
This is not the first time that a mission like this has been attempted. In Thomas T. Smith’s memoir Until They Are Home: Bringing Back the MIAs from Vietnam, a Personal Memoir (Texas A&M Press), he recounts his experiences, leading a joint task force established to recover the remains of Vietnam POW/MIA soldiers.
Describing everything from diplomatic negotiations between the Vietnamese and American governments to his views on commanding a remarkably complex mission in an unforgiving environment, Smith draws on memory, e-mails, letters, and journal entries to recreate the story of his mission in Vietnam. Smith and the forces serving under him found the remains of fourteen lost American servicemen—including two graduates of Texas A&M University.
