pearl harbor

Edward Casinger, a native of Senath, Missouri, who died aboard the USS Oklahoma during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack of Pearl Harbor, will have his remains buried November 19 in Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors.

On December 7, 1941, the USS Oklahoma was moored next to the USS Maryland on battleship row along with nearly hald of the US Pacific Fleet. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Maryland and the Oklahoma were two of the first ships hit. 429 sailors lost their lives that day on the Oklahoma, among them Edward Casinger.  Casinger was a Fireman 2nd Class and probably would have been in the engine room during the attack.

When the remains of the sailors were recovered 388 of the sailors were unrecognizable and remained unidentified until 2015 when the Defense POWMIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began a project to identify the remains using new technology.

Family members were asked to supply a DNA sample to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii so they could match DNA to the remains of the unidentified sailors. Dental and Medical records were also used to identify victims.  By Dec 2017, 100 bodies had been identified. By Jan 2021, all but 33 unidentified remains remained because the office had not been able to get DNA samples to use for comparison.

Once identification was made, the US Navy Office DPAA contacted the next of kin and informs them of the identification and disposition of their loved one. For some families, this final step brings a close to decades of wondering.  According to Capt. Robert McMahon of the DPAA, families are often very emotional, relieved and often surprised that the remains had been found after all these years.