Anthropology Department Hosts Forensic Anthropologist for ‘Finding the Fallen’ Lecture

Posted By Gettysburgian Staff on Feb 19, 2025 | 1 comment

Katie Pompeani ’10 spoke in the Pennsylvania Hall Lyceum on Monday. (Grace Jurchak/The Gettysburgian)

By Rodrigo Cabrales, Contributing Writer

The anthropology department welcomed forensic anthropologist Katie Pompeani ’10 to the Penn Hall Lyceum Monday evening for a discussion on the use of forensic anthropology for retrieving the remains of U.S. service members who have gone missing throughout history.

Pompeani currently works for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). During her lecture, she provided an in-depth look at the agency’s history, its ongoing challenges in recovering remains and the vital role of its laboratory in fulfilling its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting of U.S. personnel.

Pompeani personally plays a key role in locating, recovering and identifying the remains of those missing in past conflicts.

“In the past decade, the DPAA has accounted for more than 1,600 U.S. service members dating back to the Pearl Harbor attacks, who were unaccounted for, considered killed or missing in action, and have recovered their remains,” Pompeani said.

Pompeani detailed the scientific recovery operations carried out by the DPAA, including the work by teams of active-duty military personnel and forensic specialists in carefully excavating potential burial sites and aircraft crash locations across the globe. Once recovered, the remains are brought to the agency’s accredited skeletal laboratory (the largest of its kind) where forensic experts employ advanced analytical techniques to make identifications, including DNA analysis, isotope testing and forensic odontology.

Pompeani highlighted the emotional impact of this work: “It’s incredibly rewarding when we’re able to make an identification and provide closure to the families of those who have been missing for decades.”

She offered her expertise and dedication as an example of the significant contributions Gettysburg College graduates can make in serving their country and honoring the sacrifices of those who have served.

Pompeani concluded with the story of Eugene Blanchard, an American serviceman who was one of those killed on Dec. 7 in the attack at Pearl Harbor. His remains were only identified and returned to his family last year, 83 years after he died. This, she stated, is evidence of the DPAA’s unwavering dedication to bringing closure to families who have waited decades to learn the truth.