The Australian Army has recognised two archeologists from the Australian National University (ANU) for their work in locating, recovering and identifying Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who died in the service of their country.
The pair, Professor Marc Oxenham and Felicity Gilbert (pictured), were honoured by the Unrecovered War Casualties–Army (UWC-A), the Army unit responsible for finding, recovering and identifying Australian servicemen and women who remain unaccounted for (missing or presumed deceased) from all past conflicts.
UWC-A acknowledged Professor Oxenham’s contributions with an Army Silver Level commendation, while Ms Gilbert, a PhD Candidate in Biological Anthropology, received a recognition.
Professor Oxenham said the honour also represented the opportunities and resources provided by the ANU.
“This commendation recognises the strong partnership formed between the ANU and Department of Defence — the Australian Army in particular in this instance — by way of engagement and shared commitments to service and community engagement,” Professor Oxenham said.
Professor Oxenham, who trained and has extensive practical experience in archaeological excavation and human skeletal anatomy, began working with the UWC-A in 2009.
Ms Gilbert became involved in May last year, when Professor Oxenham and UWC-A asked her opinion on a specific case.
Since then, she has been analysing remains and working on identifications for UWC-A from the ANU campus.
“I was keen to volunteer for this type of work as it is extremely interesting and I feel it is a way to apply my research and experience to something that is very important to the relatives of those lost in past conflicts and can contribute to the significant work that the UWC-A conducts,” Ms Gilbert said.
