ARMY SGT. 1st Class Mike Chilcote enlisted in 2000 and went to war in Mosul, Iraq, in 2003 as an infantryman. In 2011, Chilcote returned to Mosul as an Army construction engineer, helping to wind down U.S. military operations there.
"I thought that returning to the same place in Iraq
where I started was a dream assignment," he said.
Today, Chilcote is working on what he terms another "dream mission," which will also be a highlight of his career when he retires from the Army in several months.
That mission is being a team sergeant assigned to the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in charge of troops from nearly all branches
of the military on a 25-person team in northern Germany.
The team is seeking to recover the remains of the 10 airmen
flying in a B-24H Liberator bomber that, which was presumably shot down by
enemy fire after returning from a bombing run during World War II.
The team assigned to the agency is still in the early stages
of the mission, recovering parts of the aircraft and the airmen's personal
effects, among other items.
The agency, which is part of the Defense Department,
searches in 45 countries for missing service members from World War II and
onward. Over 81,000 are still missing, so the agency work will continue into
the foreseeable future.
Once remains are recovered and the agency's laboratory
determines the person's identity through DNA analysis and other means of
identification, then that person's family is notified and arrangements are made
for a military funeral.
A lot of construction activity takes place at the site,
which is located on a farm. Heavy equipment is needed to excavate, and wet and
dry screening areas need to be constructed. Those screening areas are used to
sift through dirt and recover items from the crash site, he said.
"To work here bringing home the missing is the most
fulfilling job I have ever done," he said.
Chilcote, who has also worked on recovery sites in remote
parts of Vietnam, Panama and Laos, said he had the privilege of meeting some of
the family members whose loved ones are still missing during the update
briefing that the agency holds for family members almost monthly. He also
attended multiple funerals of the missing persons who have been recovered and
identified.
Coincidentally, Chilcote's wife is from Germany. They met
and married in 2001 when he was stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedberg,
Germany.
He and his wife have three children, and one is an Army
infantryman just like he was.
Army Spc. Damian Chilcote did his infantry training at the
same Georgia post where his father trained. The name of that installation was
recently changed to Fort Moore.
As for his retirement plans, Chilcote, a native of Wheeling,
West Virginia, said he hasn't decided if he'll stay on in Germany or live in
southern Missouri.
He said he plans to
continue working construction as a civilian to keep from getting bored and to
stay sharp mentally and physically. (David Vergun)
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