Francis Leon "Bud" Hannon was a United States Navy sailor who was killed on the USS Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His remains were recovered between December 1941 and June 1944. They were identified on August 28, 2017.
Background[]
Francis Hannon was born on February 7, 1921, in Van Buren Township, Indiana, to Francis Michael and Eva Mary (née: Windoffer) Hannon. The youngest of four siblings, he was nicknamed "Bud." The family would later move to Middletown, Indiana.
On August 23, 1939, Bud enlisted in the United States Navy. Months later, he was assigned to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37). During his time on the ship, the battleship operations included joint operations with the United States Army and the training of reservists. Bud was a Shopfitter, 3rd Class, at the time of his death.
Pearl Harbor[]
At about 7:48 AM on December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service conducted a surprise military strike against the United States at the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The USS Oklahoma was one of the first ships to be attacked. The ship was torpedoed and capsized, killing Bud in the process.
Overall, 2,335 Americans were killed in the attack; 429, including Bud, were on the USS Oklahoma. The surprise attack led US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to declare December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy". The following day, the US Congress declared war on Japan, which led to the United States' formal entry into World War II.
Aftermath[]
Between December 1941 and June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the USS Oklahoma personnel, who were subsequently buried at the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries. In September 1947, the American Graves Registration Service was tasked with identifying the remains from the Pacific Theatre. However, they were only able to identify 35 of the crew members. In October 1949, the AGRS ruled Bud and the remaining crew members unrecoverable, and the unidentified remains were buried in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and was memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial and Row 2 of the USS Oklahoma Memorial.
Identification[]
In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began the USS Oklahoma Project, whose goal was to identify the USS Oklahoma crew members individually. The unidentified remains were exhumed between June and November 2015 for analysis. DPAA scientists and scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used dental and anthropological analysis and mtDNA analysis, respectively. By the time of the project's closing on the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, 361 of the 394 sailors and Marines were individually identified, with all the Marines being identified.
Thanks to these advancements in forensic technology, Francis "Bud" Hannon's remains were identified on August 28, 2017. His identification was announced on June 29, 2022. By the time of his identification, both of his parents and at least two of his siblings were deceased. He was buried at the Punchbowl on October 13, 2022.