Closure, At Last – Murkowski Applauds DoD Decision to Identify Remains of WWII Pearl Harbor Victims
Senator: We Must Write the Final Chapter of This Sacrifice Story
Senator Lisa Murkowski today welcomed the news that the Department of Defense has decided that remains of 388 unaccounted-for victims of the USS OKLAHOMA at Pearl Harbor will be exhumed for identification where possible, in order for families to give their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers a proper burial. Now that 21st century technology exists that can determine the identity of many of these fallen sailors and Marines, the remains will be transferred to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory in Hawaii for examination.
“These brave men died in service for our country, and their families and loved ones deserve the right to have closure and to write the final chapter of their sacrifice story,” said Murkowski. “I thank everyone involved for their dedication to this effort, that the families of these husbands, sons, fathers, and grandfathers can finally pay their last respects.”
(Click image for footage of Pearl Harbor, USS OKLAHOMA.)
Background: The USS OKLAHOMA sank on December 7, 1941 when it was struck by Japanese bombers. Last year, Senator Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of 15 Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Defense, urging the Pentagon to have remains exhumed and identified so that they can either be brought home for burial in their hometown, or be buried in a marked grave in Hawaii.
