Department Of Defense Holds Event For Families Of Missing In Action Military Members In Southwest Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Hundreds of people, whose family members have been declared missing in action military members, came together in Southwest Philadelphia Saturday.

Each face represents a unique journey, different paths that lead to uncertainty in search of closure.

"My father was Lieutenant Commander Fredrick Peter Crosby who was a naval aviator who was shot down June 1, 1965 in Vietnam," said one woman.

"May 12, 1943 he was declared missing," another spoke about her relative.

More than 300 relatives of missing in action United State Military members, who fought in the Vietnam War, Korean War, Cold War, or World War II, gathered to grieve.

"I may never recover his remains but I'm here to honor my father, God bless you dad," said another woman.

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The pain is still raw for some and seven decades later the Department of Defense organized a remembrance ceremony in Philadelphia, offering a chance to give DNA to finally identify loved ones.

"They have next generation sequencing that allows sample sizes of your pinky nail," said Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency Director, Kelly McKeague.

The process takes a few months to years to complete but just ask Ann Mills-Griffiths, finding a match happens.

"We just got him home," said Ann Mills-Griffiths. "He was just accounted for in August of this year."

The Department of Defense has conducted these family update programs since 1995. They've now met with more than 26,000 family members in person.