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Agency Accounts for All Sailors, Marines From USS Oklahoma Sunk at Pearl Harbor

The battleship USS Oklahoma disinterment and identification project at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has succeeded in accounting for all unaccounted-for personnel from the USS Oklahoma lost on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941.

That morning, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched formations of dive bombers, torpedo planes and fighters against Navy vessels moored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

The Oklahoma was torpedoed just before 8 a.m. 

Thick, black smoke fills the sky above several burning ships; one ship capsizes.
Pearl Harbor
In a historic photo, the battleship USS Oklahoma, foreground, capsizes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. The battleship USS Maryland is behind the Oklahoma; the battleship USS West Virginia is on the right.
Credit: National Archives
VIRIN: 411207-O-D0439-001M

Eight more torpedoes soon followed, ripping open the hull of the battleship, causing it to list and eventually capsize just 12 minutes after the first one hit. 

Because the ship turned over so quickly, many of the crew were trapped inside. Thirty-two were rescued, but 415 sailors and 14 Marines perished. 

A Marine in uniform poses for a photo.
Brought Home
Marine Corps Pfc. Charles Robert Taylor was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Taylor, who was killed that day, was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting office on July 26, 2021.
Credit: Marine Corps
VIRIN: 400710-O-D0439-005E

Only 35 of the 429 crew members who died were identified in the years following the attack.  

The remains of 394 unidentified others were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. 

A sailor in uniform poses for a photo.
Sailor Identified
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Frank Samuel Hoag Jr. was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Hoag, who was killed that day, was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting office on Oct. 18, 2021.
Credit: Navy
VIRIN: 400710-O-D0439-004D

DPAA has been working to identify the remains since 2015 when the USS Oklahoma project began. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System have used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis to aid in the process. Advances in that area were not available in the decades after the battleship's sinking. 

DPAA made the last individual identification on Oct. 14, 2021, and accounted for all remaining sailors and Marines later that month. 

Sailors load flag-draped coffin into vehicle.
Interment Ceremony
Navy sailors conduct an interment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 13, 2024, for Navy Seaman 2nd Class George T. George, who was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft Dec. 7, 1941. George, who was killed that day, was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting office on Dec. 2, 2016.
Credit: Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan McElderry
VIRIN: 240513-F-IY281-1002
At least 10 large cases are draped with U.S. flags. In the background, two service members attach a flag to a case.
Transfer Cases
Transfer cases are prepared for an honorable carry ceremony held on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, June 24, 2021. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency hosted the two honorable carry ceremonies to return the remains and pay tribute to the 429 sailors and Marines lost aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Credit: Army Staff Sgt. Michael ONeal
VIRIN: 210624-A-NI330-1128

A sailor in uniform poses for a photo.
Photo Day
Navy Seaman 2nd Class George A. Thompson was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Thompson, who was killed that day, was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting office on Oct. 29, 2018.
Credit: Navy
VIRIN: 400710-O-D0439-002B
There are thousands of U.S. service members still missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War who are still unaccounted for on land and at sea. About 75% of those are in the Indo-Pacific region.

Kelly K. McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, said the Defense Department has a steadfast commitment to finding, recovering, identifying and repatriating the remains of those who are unaccounted for. 

"The work is complex, arduous and often involves great risk." It is also a humanitarian effort that benefits from the strong cooperation of dozens of partner nations, he added.

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