Identifying the Fallen: The USS Arizona Unknowns at Pearl Harbor
The U.S. military is set to exhume the remains of 88 sailors and Marines who died during the bombing of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. These individuals were buried as unknowns in a Honolulu cemetery following the Japanese attack. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency will use DNA technology to identify these servicemen, starting in November or December. The process will involve removing about eight sets of remains every two to three weeks and comparing the DNA with samples from family members.
The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 resulted in the sinking and damage of numerous ships, with the USS Arizona being one of the most heavily impacted. The identification effort for the unknowns from the Arizona follows previous projects that successfully identified crew members from other ships using DNA technology. The Arizona sank quickly after being bombed, with over 900 sailors and Marines still entombed inside the sunken battleship. The remains in the underwater grave will remain undisturbed, while those in the cemetery will be exhumed for identification.
One family member, Kevin Kline, shared his experience of learning that his great-uncle, Robert Edwin Kline, was among the unknowns buried in the cemetery. Despite not having high expectations of his great-uncle being identified, Kline believes that families who receive a DNA match will find closure. He highlighted the generational grief experienced by families of the fallen servicemen and the impact it has had on their lives. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency initially resisted the exhumation of the Arizona remains due to limited medical records and DNA samples, but efforts by Kline and Operation 85 have helped gather DNA from a significant number of families.
The remains of the sailors and Marines will be transported to the agency's lab at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for analysis, with DNA samples sent to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Delaware. The decision to exhume the Arizona unknowns was reported by Stars and Stripes, an independent military newspaper. The identification process aims to provide closure to families who have long awaited news about their loved ones lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor.