A Virginia man who was killed in World War II has been accounted for, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced this week.
David Walker, 19, was assigned to the battleship USS California when it was torpedoed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Walker was one of 103 crewmen who died on the ship during the attack, the DPAA said. Remains from the ship were recovered by U.S. Navy personnel and interred in Hawaii cemeteries, including the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, but it wasn't until 2018 that the 25 men who were buried as "Unknowns" were exhumed.
The remains were analyzed with anthropological and dental analysis by the DPAA and mitochondrial DNA analysis by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.
Now that Walker has been identified, a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in September, the DPAA said.
Walker, a native of Norfolk, Virginia, enlisted in the U.S. Navy about a year before his death, leaving high school early to serve his country. His personnel file does not provide information about surviving relatives or his exact entry date into the Navy. According to a news clipping shared by the DPAA, Walker made the decision to enlist at a young age, demonstrating his dedication to his service.
For more information, you can view Walker's personnel file and news clippings related to his service.
