A U.S. military recovery team has found the remains of American servicemembers who died in plane crashes in Papua New Guinea during World War II, according to several media reports.

The bones and personal effects of aircrew were found in recent weeks during excavations of crash sites in the mountains of Morobe Province on this major island north of Australia, according to Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Three recovery teams from the Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command based in Hawaii have been in the area since Jan. 18 employing local labor and Papua New Guinea police as security as they excavated the sites.

The recovery teams’ chief, Maj. Albert Tabarez, told the Daily Telegraph that they were looking for the remains of 14 U.S. servicemembers at the three crash sites.

So far, two teams had found remains and personal effects, he said.

Forensic scientists in Hawaii would examine the teeth and bones they had found to determine the identities of the servicemen; the human remains could then be buried with full military honors, the Daily Telegraph reported.

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