U.S. News
DNA Milestone Sparks New Hope for Pearl Harbor Identifications
Clear Facts
- The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reached the 60% DNA sample threshold required to begin exhuming unidentified remains from the Pearl Harbor attack.
- 141 service members buried as unknowns in Honolulu may finally be identified through the testing effort.
- Private citizen Kevin Kline helped locate hundreds of families after government estimates suggested the project could take a decade.
Researchers are moving closer to identifying 141 service members killed during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed that families of the USS Arizona crew provided enough genetic samples to meet federal exhumation requirements.
Department of War policy requires a 60% collection threshold of family reference samples before unknown remains can be disinterred for testing. The remains intended for identification are currently buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
The DPAA expects to begin the exhumation process in late 2024, focusing on 88 individuals linked to the USS Arizona. Director Kelly McKeague said officials would disinter the remains in small groups every few weeks once the project begins.
A civilian organization named Operation 85 helped secure the 643 necessary DNA samples after government reports suggested the task could take a decade. Kevin Kline, a relative of a fallen USS Arizona sailor, funded much of the search effort using personal resources.
“How could we all not feel proud?”
“We hit a major milestone, but there are still hundreds of families to find, disinterments ahead, and hopefully identifications to follow.”
The Pentagon granted the authority to disinter groups of unknown personnel in 2015 if identification of the majority was anticipated. This milestone represents a significant step in honoring the sacrifice of those who died during the start of American involvement in World War II.
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