Missing in action

Missing in action (MIA) is a military status for personnel whose whereabouts or fate after an operation are unknown. It can remain unresolved until evidence establishes whether they are alive, captured, dead, or otherwise unaccounted for.

Personnel accounting: The process of tracking, documenting, and resolving the status of military personnel. MIA status begins when routine accounting cannot establish a person’s whereabouts or fate.
American Civil War: The United States war between the Union and Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. Its large numbers of unaccounted-for soldiers helped spur formal efforts to identify and recover the dead.
National League of Families: A U.S. organization formed by families of Americans missing or captured during the Vietnam War. It organized families’ advocacy for information and accounting of missing personnel.
Unidentified decedent: A deceased person whose identity has not been established by authorities. Unidentified remains may belong to a service member still listed as missing.
Prisoner of war: A member of an armed force captured by an opposing party during an armed conflict. Evidence of capture can resolve an MIA case by establishing the person’s status.
Francis Lieber: A German-American legal scholar whose 1863 code set rules for Union conduct during the Civil War. The Lieber Code addressed the recording and reporting of prisoners and battlefield dead.
POW/MIA flag: A flag honoring American prisoners of war and service members missing in action. Its display makes unresolved military cases a visible part of public remembrance.
Missing persons investigation: A formal effort to determine the location or fate of a person whose whereabouts are unknown. MIA cases use investigative methods shared with civilian missing-person inquiries.
Killed in action: A military casualty classification for personnel killed by hostile action. Confirmation of death in combat can replace an unresolved MIA classification.
Geneva Convention: A set of international treaties establishing humanitarian rules for armed conflict. Its rules require parties to account for the dead and provide information about missing persons.

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