Remains of Nebraska Navy man identified, nearly 40 years later

WASHINGTON (KLKN) — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has identified the remains of a Nebraska World War II soldier killed in battle.

According to DPAA, he was 21-year-old Navy Seaman 2nd Class Charles Jones, of Harvard, Nebraska.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Jones was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. When attacked by a Japanese aircraft, the USS Oklahoma was hit multiple times with torpedos, capsizing quickly.

The attack led to the death of 429 crewmen, including Jones.

Between 1941 and 1944, the Navy recovered the remains of the deceased crew.

In 1947, the remains were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks to be identified. At that time, only 35 men could be positively identified.

The remaining bodies were buried in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu.

Two years later, a military board would classify these remains as non-recoverable, including Jones.