eFortSmith.com | KIA by Thomas Holland

How could Jimmy Tenkiller, a soldier long presumed killed in action in Vietnam, be connected to a string of present day murders that are linked by the gruesome twist of scalping? That's the question driving K.I.A., the second novel by Dr. Thomas Holland published in January 2008 by Simon & Schuster.

We took advantage of Holland's annual holiday visit from his home in Hawaii to his hometown, Fort Smith, Ark. to talk about his second mystery to feature Dr. Robert "Kel" McKelvey, a fictional forensic anthropologist in charge of identifying the bodies of all U.S. combat soldiers, which also is Holland's current real-life career.

Holland's first novel, One Drop of Blood, introduced Kel, the wry, overworked but dedicated scientific director of the Department of Defense Central Investigative Laboratory - Hawaii, where he leads the scientific teams charged to search for, recover and identify the remains of U.S. soldiers from all past wars.

Forensic science drives the plot of both books. One Drop of Blood is set on a seemingly impossible mitochondrial DNA connection between recovered remains from a Vietnam soldier and an unsolved murder in Arkansas. K.I.A.'s investigation turns on clues from skeletal remains.

While such fascinating forensic methods are explained and used by Kel in both novels, Holland downplays the science and focuses instead on the mysteries of human behavior. Unraveling the motivations of living people helps Kel and his fellow investigators break the cases in each book, making each story a compelling mystery read rather than a laboratory procedural.

K.I.A. concerns the conflicts between the ideals of national and personal honor and the disintegration of both in the waning years of the Vietnam War; specifically, the collusion of an American quartermaster who diverted U.S. goods and weapons to a corrupt South Vietnamese black market ring. The soldier, Jimmy Tenkiller, is a BNR case (Body Not Recovered) deemed years later to have been KIA, Killed in Action.

When Kel's lab team attempts to recover and identify a body thought to be Tenkiller's, the case oddly overlaps with bizarre murders of two former Vietnamese officers living near U.S. Army bases. As Kel joins with an Army investigator, Shuck Devereaux, in the legwork of interviewing living suspects and witnesses in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the murders continue. And only someone with Kel's expertise can get answers from the dead.

Holland's memorable characters personify both the rebels who chafe at government red tape and the servicemen whose sense of honor and duty defines them.Although his fictitious counterpart, Kel, complains colorfully and bitterly about the crushing burden of bureaucracy and its interference with scientific investigation, Holland also considers his challenging job to be deeply rewarding. At the end of an official identification are answers and a measure of solace for the fallen soldier's family and friends. Holland and his entire team are solemnly devoted to keep the country's promise that the fallen who served will never be forgotten.

"War has a lot more victims than the ones who died," Holland said. "I could not have predicted or imagined the grief so raw, as raw as it was 60 years ago," as in the families of World War II dead who have waited for decades not knowing the final fate of their loved ones. Families of the unidentified dead in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts have now waited almost as long.

Holland meets with survivors of unidentified soldiers, in mass briefings to families about the capabilities of the laboratory and then individually to gather more information and DNA samples. After his Fort Smith visit, he traveled to Houston for such an event. The briefings are held annually all over the country.

There are still 78,000 individuals whose remains have not been found and identified
from World War II; 8,100 from the Korean War; 1,800 from the Vietnam War, 120 from the Cold War era and one from the first Gulf War. To date, more than 1,400 Americans have been identified and the CIL-HI identifies about six cases a month. Holland expects future identification cases will result from the U.S. combat deaths in the ongoing war in the Middle East.

For Holland, the dry procedures of science are often crossed with the warmth of human emotion. In one case solved by his lab, DNA was found on the back of postage stamps, licked and fastened to long-ago love letters. In another, the identifying evidence was found in a lock of baby hair, tenderly saved in an old photograph album kept by the dead soldier's mother.

"I thought it was somehow fitting that what winds up binding up these wounds of war are these acts of maternal and romantic love," Holland said.

Both the Dr. Kel McKelvey novels blend scientific brilliance and human empathy, qualities to count on in Thomas Holland’s next novel and also, in the author himself.

–By Lynn Wasson

Second mystery novel stars forensic investigator, alter ego of Fort Smith native Thomas Holland February 2008 How could Jimmy Tenkiller, a soldier long presumed killed in action in Vietnam, be connected to a string of present day murders that are linked by the gruesome twist of scalping? That's the question driving K.I.A., the second novel by Dr. Thomas Holland published in January 2008 by Simon & Schuster. We took advantage of Holland's annual holiday visit from his home in Hawaii to his hometown, Fort Smith, Ark. to talk about his second mystery to feature Dr. Robert "Kel" McKelvey, a fictional forensic anthropologist in charge of identifying the bodies of all U.S. combat soldiers, which also is Holland's current real-life career. Holland's first novel, One Drop of Blood, introduced Kel, the wry, overworked but dedicated scientific director of the Department of Defense Central Investigative Laboratory - Hawaii, where he leads the scientific teams charged to search for, recover and identify the remains of U.S. soldiers from all past wars. Forensic science drives the plot of both books. One Drop of Blood is set on a seemingly impossible mitochondrial DNA connection between recovered remains from a Vietnam soldier and an unsolved murder in Arkansas. K.I.A.'s investigation turns on clues from skeletal remains. While such fascinating forensic methods are explained and used by Kel in both novels, Holland downplays the science and focuses instead on the mysteries of human behavior. Unraveling the motivations of living people helps Kel and his fellow investigators break the cases in each book, making each story a compelling mystery read rather than a laboratory procedural. K.I.A. concerns the conflicts between the ideals of national and personal honor and the disintegration of both in the waning years of the Vietnam War; specifically, the collusion of an American quartermaster who diverted U.S. goods and weapons to a corrupt South Vietnamese black market ring. The soldier, Jimmy Tenkiller, is a BNR case (Body Not Recovered) deemed years later to have been KIA, Killed in Action. When Kel's lab team attempts to recover and identify a body thought to be Tenkiller's, the case oddly overlaps with bizarre murders of two former Vietnamese officers living near U.S. Army bases. As Kel joins with an Army investigator, Shuck Devereaux, in the legwork of interviewing living suspects and witnesses in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the murders continue. And only someone with Kel's expertise can get answers from the dead. Holland's memorable characters personify both the rebels who chafe at government red tape and the servicemen whose sense of honor and duty defines them.Although his fictitious counterpart, Kel, complains colorfully and bitterly about the crushing burden of bureaucracy and its interference with scientific investigation, Holland also considers his challenging job to be deeply rewarding. At the end of an official identification are answers and a measure of solace for the fallen soldier's family and friends. Holland and his entire team are solemnly devoted to keep the country's promise that the fallen who served will never be forgotten. "War has a lot more victims than the ones who died," Holland said. "I could not have predicted or imagined the grief so raw, as raw as it was 60 years ago," as in the families of World War II dead who have waited for decades not knowing the final fate of their loved ones. Families of the unidentified dead in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts have now waited almost as long. Holland meets with survivors of unidentified soldiers, in mass briefings to families about the capabilities of the laboratory and then individually to gather more information and DNA samples. After his Fort Smith visit, he traveled to Houston for such an event. The briefings are held annually all over the country. There are still 78,000 individuals whose remains have not been found and identified from World War II; 8,100 from the Korean War; 1,800 from the Vietnam War, 120 from the Cold War era and one from the first Gulf War. To date, more than 1,400 Americans have been identified and the CIL-HI identifies about six cases a month. Holland expects future identification cases will result from the U.S. combat deaths in the ongoing war in the Middle East. For Holland, the dry procedures of science are often crossed with the warmth of human emotion. In one case solved by his lab, DNA was found on the back of postage stamps, licked and fastened to long-ago love letters. In another, the identifying evidence was found in a lock of baby hair, tenderly saved in an old photograph album kept by the dead soldier's mother. "I thought it was somehow fitting that what winds up binding up these wounds of war are these acts of maternal and romantic love," Holland said. Both the Dr. Kel McKelvey novels blend scientific brilliance and human empathy, qualities to count on in Thomas Holland’s next novel and also, in the author himself. –By Lynn Wasson Lynn Wasson is the managing editor of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine. Copyright © 2008 eFortSmith Media.com, Incorporated, P.O. Box 1341, Fort Smith, AR 72902 efortsmith.com and Entertainment Fort Smith are registered trademarks. All rights reserved. HOME	This article appears in the February 2008 issue of Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine

	RELATED LINKS: Archived Stories A profile of Dr. Thomas Holland from Entertainment Fort Smith Magazine, July 2006. Author's website www.thomas-holland.com Publisher website Simon & Schuster www.simonsays.com Dr. Thomas D. Holland, bio JPAC - Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command

Second mystery novel stars forensic investigator, alter ego of Fort Smith native Thomas Holland

Second mystery novel stars forensic investigator, alter ego
of Fort Smith native Thomas Holland