Letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

April 23, 2006

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld,

The recent discovery of many hundreds of bone fragments on the roof of the former Deutsche Bank Headquarters, which suffered extensive damage when the World Trade Center's South Tower partially collapsed on it on 9-11, is compelling indication that the search for those lost at the World Trade Center on 9/11 is not yet complete. This development also indicates that - despite the considerable, sincere, and often excellent efforts of those involved in this endeavor to this point - more resources and expertise are needed to complete this essential task.

That is why I now ask you to deploy personnel from the world-renowned Joint POW/MIA Accountability Command (JPAC) to New York City to assist with the ongoing recovery efforts at the Deutsche Bank Building. I also ask that this elite unit launch their own, full-scale search effort to recover human remains in the area around Ground Zero. Simply put, there is no better outfit in the world to assist in the daunting and complex task of the recovery of human remains at Ground Zero, than the JPAC.

Employing the world's preeminent forensic experts, JPAC has located and identified American service personnel and civilians in battle zones and disaster areas around the world - some decades after they have perished. With their breadth of experience, JPAC is the organization best equipped to direct the search for remains in Lower Manhattan and to lead the painstaking efforts required in extracting DNA to identify them.

Many of the nearly 600 bone fragments found at the Deutsche Bank building are as small as 1/16 of an inch and have been exposed to outdoor elements for some time. Construction crews, in concert with the New York City Medical Examiner's office and the New York City Fire Department, have done a fine job locating these remains, and, when possible, identifying them. As the demolition of the Deutsche Bank will proceed for some time to come, I believe that workers currently at the site would benefit greatly from JPAC's assistance.

The finding of bone fragments at this one building, nearly 5 years after 9/11, also leads me to believe that we must cast a wider net in searching for additional remains. While I would leave it to the JPAC experts to determine the scope of a search, it stands to reason that many smaller fragments are dispersed near Ground Zero.

Of the 2,749 people who perished at the World Trade Center site on 9/11, no trace of 1,151 has been identified. In the New York area, this has meant that thousands of people have been unable to come to any closure on the deaths of their loved ones. Deploying JPAC to search for remains to provide assistance in identifying them would help countless families find the peace they so ardently seek, and so richly deserve.

I look forward to working with you to ensure JPAC has the resources necessary to add this recovery work to its current assignments without detracting from ongoing work.

Again, thank you for your consideration of this matter and please let me know if I can be of assistance to coordinate this effort with state and local authorities.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2006/PR124.Bone%20Fragments.042306.html