California

California Marine Killed at Pearl Harbor in 1941 Identified

Pfc. Walter L. Collier of Burbank was killed during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

A U.S. Marine stands in front of the USS Missouri during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Officials gathered in Pearl Harbor to remember those killed in the 1941 Japanese attack, but public health measures adopted because of the coronavirus pandemic meant no survivors were present. The military broadcast video of the ceremony live online for survivors and members of the public to watch from afar. A moment of silence was held at 7:55 a.m., the same time the attack began 79 years ago. 
AP Photo/Caleb Jones, Pool

The remains of a Marine from California who was killed during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced.

Pfc. Walter L. Collier of Burbank was identified on May 25 but his family only recently received a full briefing, the agency said in a statement this week.

DPAA
Marine Pfc. Walter L. Collier, 20, of Burbank, California, killed during World War II, was identified, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Collier was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island when Japanese aircraft attacked. Multiple torpedo hits quickly caused the warship to capsize.

Collier was among 429 crewmen killed but his remains were among many that could not be identified for decades.

Re-examination of the USS Oklahoma unknowns began in 2015. Collier was identified through anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis, the agency said.

Collier will be buried on Dec. 8 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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