Navy concerned about exhumation plans in Hawaii (Pearl Harbor Attack KIA's) [View all]

[Cooley Hurd]

The story is 4 days old, but hadn't seen it posted yet.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/navy-concerned-about-exhumation-plans-hawaii

The Associated Press
© August 12, 2013
HONOLULU

A Hawaii-based military command responsible for finding, recovering and identifying missing-in-action service members is at odds with the U.S. Navy over exhuming unidentified sailors from the USS Oklahoma.

The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command wants to exhume all of the unidentified Dec. 7, 1941 casualties of the USS Oklahoma buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, but the Navy prefers to maintain the "sanctity" of the graves, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

It will be up to the Army, which has "next-of-kin" authority over all Punchbowl unknowns.

JPAC Central Identification Laboratory Director John Byrd said the command proposes disinterring comingled remains of more than 330 unidentified Oklahoma crew members buried in more than 50 graves.

"The Navy leadership, secretary of the Navy's office, from what we understand, is against it," Byrd said. The Army is getting the Navy's input as a courtesy, he said.
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