Navy Seaman 2nd Class Hubert P. Hall, of Floyd County, was killed Dec. 7, 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Media Contact: Nicole Burton
502-564-2611
Nicole.Burton@ky.gov
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 18, 2019) – Gov. Matt Bevin today recognized the sacrifice of a Kentucky sailor who died in World War II, but whose remains have just been positively identified.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted for from World War II are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Hubert P. Hall, 20, of Floyd County (accounted for on August 14, 2019) will be buried in the spring of 2020 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On Dec. 7, 1941, Hall was assigned to the battleship 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 Hall.
From 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 Punchbowl. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Hall.
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the Punchbowl for analysis.
To identify Hall’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,652 still unaccounted for from World War II with approximately 30,000 assessed as possibly recoverable. Hall’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Gov. Bevin will order flags lowered to half-staff in Hall's honor on his date of reinterment.
To download a photo of Navy Seaman 2nd Class Hall, click here.