MIA Update - October 23, 2020

[boardman]

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced three burial updates and four new identifications for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from WWII. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Earl W. Smith, 22, of Oakland, California, was a pilot assigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. On Aug. 20, 1943, Smith was piloting a P-38 Lightning fighter on a test flight near Port Moresby, Australian Territory of Papua (current day Papua New Guinea), when he crashed into the harbor off Paga Point. Smith did not bail out and his body was not recovered. Smith will be buried Aug. 20, 2021, at a location yet to be determined. Read about Smith https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2123071/pilot-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-smith-e/.
-- Navy Seaman 2nd Class James M. Flanagan, 22, of Jacksonville, Florida, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Flanagan. Flanagan will be buried on Nov. 6, 2020, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Read about Flanagan https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2217928/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-flanagan-j/.
-- Navy Seaman 2nd Class D.T. Kyser, 18, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Kyser. The date and location for Kyser’s burial have yet to be decided by the family. Read about Kyser https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/1970292/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-kyser-d/.
-- Navy Fireman 3rd Class William L. Barnett, 21, was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple torpedo hits, but timely counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Barnett. Interment services are pending. Read about Barnett https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2385880/uss-west-virginia-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-barnett-w/.
-- Navy Shipfitter 1st Class Charles F. Perdue, 32, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Perdue. Interment services are pending. Read about Perdue https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2385869/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-perdue-c/.
-- Navy Fireman 1st Class Edward D. Johnson, 24, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Johnson. Interment services are pending. Read about Johnson https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2385854/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-johnson-e/.
-- Navy Ship’s Cook 1st Class Rodger C. Butts, 47, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Butts. Interment services are pending. Read about Butts https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2388686/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-butts-r/.