Advances in technology have made it easier to bring American soldiers home, including Navy Seamen Mitchell, who was 19 years old when he was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1941, Navy Seaman 1st Class Wallace Mitchell went off to war at just 19 years old. He served on the USS Oklahoma. At the time, World War II was raging across Europe, with Allied forces fighting off Hitler’s regime. But the war encroached on US territory when Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7.
The USS Oklahoma was bombed, and 429 of the battleship’s crew members perished. Seaman Mitchell was one of those crewmembers. Despite military efforts at the time, the remains of only 35 of Oklahoma’s crew were identified.
Now 80 years later, advances in technology have made it easier to bring American soldiers and seamen home. And after decades of being classified as “non-recoverable” and being listed on the Courts of the Missing, Navy Seaman Wallace Mitchell’s remains have been identified. He will be buried in San Diego, California.
