India lets U.S. teams search for remains NEW DELHI, June 7 (UPI) -- India agreed to let U.S. military teams search the Himalayan mountains for remains of U.S. service members missing since World War II. The Himalayas were part of a major air supply route known as "flying over the hump," The Washington Post reported. The route began at the eastern end of the Himalayas, crossed over Burma, then Japanese-occupied, and into China. Several dozen U.S. planes crashed along the route, dangerous because of mountain peaks that rose into the clouds and bad weather, and the remains of hundreds of U.S. service members went missing during World War II. Pilots flew the route to avoid Burma and had no other choice after the Japanese blocked the Burma Road, the Post said. With India's agreement Wednesday, teams from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command can now search for the remains and bring them back to the United States. "This is a humanitarian gesture by a government with whom we share so many values," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. The ability to return heroes to their loved ones is something that America deeply, deeply appreciates. Vietnam also opened three sites this week for similar search missions. Arizona businessman Clayton Kuhles has searched the Himalayan region for years and found human remains along with engine parts and other pieces of planes. He has posted updates at www.miarecoveries.org.