Pentagon to Exhume 88 Unknown USS Arizona Crew for DNA IDs
The Pentagon plans to exhume and attempt DNA identification of 88 unknown USS Arizona crew members buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, with work expected to begin in November or December and proceed at roughly eight sets of remains every two to three weeks. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency records note many Arizona casualties were burned and unrecognizable after the Pearl Harbor attack, and Operation 85 organizer Kevin Kline said families have carried “generational grief” — about 1,500 relatives were contacted for DNA and only roughly 15 declined.
📌 Key Facts
- The Pentagon plans to exhume and attempt DNA identifications for 88 USS Arizona (Pearl Harbor) crew members.
- Exhumations will be conducted at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific beginning in November or December, at a pace of about eight sets of remains every two to three weeks.
- The effort is intended to recover remains for DNA testing to provide identifications for families.
- DPAA records describe many Arizona casualties as burned and unrecognizable and provide additional detail about early rescue efforts after the attack.
- Operation 85 organizer Kevin Kline said the project responds to decades of "generational grief" among families.
- Of roughly 1,500 relatives contacted for DNA, only about 15 declined to provide samples.
📊 Relevant Data
Harold Chadwick was an African American mess attendant first class on the USS Arizona, killed in the Pearl Harbor attack, serving in the segregated messman branch, which was the only role open to Black sailors in the Navy at that time.
MATT1c Harold Chadwick - The U.S.S. Arizona Operation 85 — Operation 85
In the U.S. military during World War II, Black recruits tended to come from lower socioeconomic strata within their population compared to White recruits, who were more representative of middle and upper strata.
Social Representation in the U.S. Military — Congressional Budget Office
Black volunteer enlistment rates in the U.S. Army increased immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, reflecting patterns where economic opportunities from military service appealed more to those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Discrimination and State Capacity: Evidence from WWII U.S. Army Enlistment — London School of Economics
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms exhumations will proceed from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific beginning in November or December, at a pace of about eight sets of remains every two to three weeks.
- Provides additional narrative detail from DPAA records about the condition of burned, unrecognizable Arizona casualties and early rescue efforts.
- Expands on Operation 85 organizer Kevin Kline’s account of "generational grief" in families and notes that only about 15 of roughly 1,500 contacted relatives declined to provide DNA.