Navy Electrician’s Mate killed during World War II to be buried in Inglewood July 21

Honoring Our Fallen:  CalVet honors members of the U.S. Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation. Efforts continue to bring home those who went missing in action, including American service members unaccounted for from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.


Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class George H. Gibson, of Winchester, Kansas, killed during World War II, has been accounted for and will be buried July 21 in Inglewood.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Gibson was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. 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 Gibson.

George-H-Gibson---NayFrom December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Gibson.

In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma.

Gibson was accounted for on Feb. 12, 2018. To identify his remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA, as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,906 service members (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Gibson’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, along with the other MIAs from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

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