Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
David Walker, a native of Norfolk, Virginia, was 19 years old when his battleship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Walker was presumed dead after the attack on the Hawaii naval base. However, his body was not recovered until recently.
Officials said Thursday that Walker's body was finally identified thanks to scientists from the Defense POW and MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), whose mission is to retrieve and return service members missing in past conflicts. Announced.
In 2018, military officials exhumed the remains of 25 unidentified people buried in Honolulu from Walker's battleship USS California, the DPAA said in a news release. Scientists used anthropology, dentistry and DNA analysis to determine that Walker was among the remains, the agency said.
The DPAA announced that Walker will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on September 5th. A rosette will also be placed next to his name in the Missing Persons Court at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu to mark Walker's burial. occupies.
On December 7, 1941, two torpedoes struck the port side of the USS California while it was anchored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. The attack killed 103 of her crew, including Walker. The ship sank slowly over the next three days, according to the DPAA.
Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor killed a total of approximately 2,300 military personnel and 68 civilians, and later led the United States into World War II. According to some sources, 960 sailors and marines were reported missing at the time. new york times Article from 1942.
In recent years, advances in DNA technology have greatly contributed to the identification of the remains of missing military personnel. DNA testing was recognized as an important method to determine the identity of the majority of approximately 400 people. Military personnel missing from the USS Oklahoma, another battleship that sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor.