The United States government is set to exhume the remains of unidentified USS Arizona crew members killed in the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, following a key DNA milestone. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on Friday that enough family reference samples have been collected to identify at least 60% of the crew members to be disinterred.
The DPAA stated that reaching this threshold allows it to formally request and begin planning the disinterments, though Pentagon approval is still required. The exact timing remains unclear. The effort aims to identify 141 unknowns buried in possibly commingled graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor killed over 2,400 US military personnel, including 1,177 USS Arizona crew members. Many of those recovered from the wreckage were burned beyond recognition and buried as unknowns. In 1947, 170 remains were exhumed, with over 100 identified, but dozens were declared unrecoverable and reburied.
The DPAA thanked Operation 85, a civilian-led organisation founded by Kevin Kline, great-nephew of fallen sailor Robert Edwin Kline, for its efforts in locating families. Operation 85 hopes to replicate the success of a prior project that identified over 360 USS Oklahoma crew members.
In a social media post, Kline called the identification effort a 'calling' and welcomed the announcement. The DPAA continues to seek family members of missing Arizona crew members to assist with DNA identification.
