The Navy has started the long a arduous task of identifying as many of the unknown Sailors and Marines who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor. They are starting, by disinterring men of the USS Oklahoma. With modern DNA, they think they can identify as many as 80% of the men! http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2015/06/17/exhumation-begins-for-unidentified-remains-from-uss-oklahoma/28885777/
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USS Oklahaoma Unknown Men
- Thread starter Stearmen
- Start date
- Messages
- 14,376
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- Small Town Ohio, USA
I'm not sure how I feel about disturbing their resting place.
MisterCairo
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 7,005
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- Gads Hill, Ontario
Do we know if the families were asking for this, presumably they're supportive?
Not sure if they were asked! Turns out, a lot of these individual grave sights, were actually mass graves. Apparently, with the start of the war, there was not much reverence for the dead, just hurry up and bury them!
Treetopflyer
Practically Family
- Messages
- 674
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- Patuxent River, MD
It is true they were in a hurry to bury them, mainly because they didn't have any way to store that many dead bodies. Let alone transport them back to the U.S. from different theaters of operation. A dead body is not something that is pleasant to see or smell when not properly placed in a refrigerated container.
On the note of the OKLAHOMA, I am not sure why the Navy wants to ID these remains now. I would presume that everyone that is entombed in the hull is known. Simply based on the ships roster of crew members.
Since almost all the unknowns of The Vietnam War have been Identified, they are now working back while the DNA trail is still fresh. There are still siblings that would like to know where their brothers remains are. We tend to forget, lots of people still need final closure even after 74 years!
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