Erich Baker and Lori Baker

Thousands of people have died trying to cross from Mexico into the United States. The unidentified remains of those who are found often end up in small, border town cemeteries, buried in unmarked graves.

Dr. Lori Baker, a forensic scientist at Baylor University in Texas, is trying to identify these remains and match them with families who are looking for lost relatives.

Lori sat down for StoryCorps with her husband, Erich Baker, to talk about how she got started.

You can learn more about Lori’s work at the Reuniting Families Project website.

Originally aired September 19, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

Frank Curre

On December 7, 1941, 2,403 Americans died when hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.

After convincing his mother to sign his enlistment papers, Frank Curre joined the Navy at 17 years old. In August 1941, he went aboard the battleship USS Tennessee and was in the mess cooking on the day of the attack.

At StoryCorps, he shared his harrowing recollections.

Frank died on December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was 88 years old.

Originally aired November 11, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Ruben Salazar and Rachel Salazar

In January 2007, Rachel P. Salazar was living in Bangkok, Thailand. Ruben P. Salazar was in Waco, Texas. They were 9,000 miles apart and completely unaware of each other’s existence. But when an email meant for Rachel accidentally went to Ruben, it wasn’t long before an ordinary mistake began to look like an extraordinary stroke of luck.

At StoryCorps, they remember how an errant keystroke led to an enduring romance. See their first email exchange above.

Watch “To R.P. Salazar, With Love,” the animation of Rachel and Ruben’s story.

Originally aired May 13, 2011, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

Lee Mottern and his girlfriend, Linda Eldredge

Lee Mottern tells his girlfriend, Linda Eldredge, a story about his Uncle Abe.