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A memorial to David Walker, a sailor killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II, rests at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Soon a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate that his name has been confirmed.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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A memorial to David Walker, a sailor killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II, rests at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Soon a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate that his name has been confirmed.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
David Walker, from Norfolk, Virginia, was 19 years old when his battleship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Walker was presumed dead in the attack on the Hawaii naval base. However, his body was not recovered until recently.
Officials announced Thursday that Walker's remains were finally recovered thanks to scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which is tasked with recovering and returning missing soldiers from past conflicts.
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DPAA said in a press release that in 2018, military officials exhumed 25 unidentified remains buried in Honolulu aboard Walker's battleship, the USS California. Scientists confirmed through anthropological, dental and DNA analysis that Walker was among the remains, according to the agency.
The DPAA said Walker will be buried Sept. 5 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. A rose will also be placed next to his name in the Missing Persons Court at National Pacific Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu. explained.
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On December 7, 1941, two torpedoes penetrated the port side of the USS California, which was anchored at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. The attack killed 103 of her crew, including her walkers. The ship sank slowly over the next three days, according to DPAA.
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The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor killed approximately 2,300 soldiers and 68 civilians, leading to the United States' entry into World War II. At the time, 960 sailors and marines were reported missing. new york times Article from 1942.
In recent years, advances in DNA technology have greatly assisted in identifying the remains of missing soldiers. DNA testing has been recognized as a key method of identifying the majority of nearly 400 people. Soldiers missing from the USS Oklahoma, another battleship that sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor.