Those who volunteer to defend the United States do so expecting the rest of us to keep the solemn promise that we will use our full and best effort to bring them home if they fall in battle.  Yet there are still approximately 82,000 Missing-in-action (MIA) service members from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam who have not come home.  While half were lost at sea, approximately 30,000 still lie where they fell and another 10,000 are interred in US military cemeteries. Unfortunately, only about 185 MIAs are recovered and identified each year. 

    The Wisconsin MIA Foundation is a philanthropic 501(c)(3) organization committed to accelerating the rate of MIA recovery because the families of the fallen cannot wait 200 years for their loved ones to come home.  Each day increases the difficulty in recovering and identifying the missing, and as time passes, their memory fades more and more.

    Since 2015, the work of the Department of Defense has been supplemented by a collaborative effort with the University of Wisconsin MIA Recovery and Identification Program (“UW MIA RIP”).  This unique multi-disciplined program brings together faculty, students, and forensics experts to tackle MIA cases around the world.  The Program has recovered MIA remains from WWII in Europe and South East Asia, and is currently investigating almost three dozen active cases covering the Civil War, WWI, and WWII.

    Today the work of the UW MIA RIP can only progress as fast as the limited funding from the DoD permits.  Because of those limits and recent budget cuts, the Wisconsin MIA Foundation’s mission is to accelerate recovery and identification work by providing the UW MIA RIP with private funding to cover the costs of additional recovery missions.   We also aim to educate the public and our legislators about the current state of recovery efforts and the critical, time-sensitive nature of the work, including the feasibility of identifying those 10,000 MIAs waiting in US military cemeteries.  

    We hope that you will support our mission by making a financial donation to the Wisconsin MIA Foundation.  All donations directly support the cost of field recovery missions, historical research, and DNA sequencing.  You can be assured that as stewards of your donations, the Foundation will use all monies received as efficiently as possible to advance the recovery and identification of our MIAs.