U.S. Military & Veterans Affairs

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.