Vet Killed at Pearl Harbor Finally Getting Burial He's Due

Remains of Vernon Luke have been identified after 70 years
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 8, 2016 10:33 AM CST
Vet Killed at Pearl Harbor Finally Getting Burial He's Due
In this Dec. 7, 1941, photo, part of the hull of the capsized USS Oklahoma is seen at right.   (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, File)

The US military plans to bury a sailor from the USS Oklahoma whose remains were unidentified for more than 70 years after he died in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Machinist's Mate 1st Class Vernon Luke of Green Bay will be buried will full military honors at a veterans cemetery in Honolulu. The 43-year-old was killed in action on Dec. 7, 1941, and his funeral at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is scheduled for Wednesday. Luke was among nearly 400 sailors and Marines from the Oklahoma who were buried as "unknowns." The military exhumed the servicemen last year, saying advances in forensic science and technology had improved their ability to identify them. Luke is the first to be reburied in Honolulu after identification. (The Green Bay Press-Gazette has a photo of him.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X