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David Walker

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David Walker was a United States Navy sailor who was killed on the USS California when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His remains were identified on November 27, 2023 and he is the fifth of the USS California unknowns to be identified.

Background[]

David was born on April 16, 1922 in Norfolk, Virginia to David, a farm laborer, and Edna Elliot Ward. When he was a year old, his father had passed away in part to typhoid fever. Edna would marry John Arthur Ward in 1928, although David would keep his father's surname. At some point in his life, he enlisted in the United States Navy. He was assigned to the battleship USS California (BB-44) as Mess Attendant, Third Class.

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 California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood for the next three days. David was killed during the attack, although the exact circumstances of his death are not stated. His remains were recovered between the attack and when the California was raised in April 23, 1942, but they were not identified. As a result, he was declared missing in action while his remains were buried in the Punchbowl at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Overall, 2,335 Americans were killed in the attack; 102[1], including David, were on the USS California. The surprise attack led to 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[]

David was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His name is featured in Court 2 of the Courts of the Missing of the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu.

Between the day of the attack and April 23, 1942, the sailors and Marines killed on the USS California were individually buried at the Halawa Naval and Nuuanu Cemeteries. In September 1947, their remains were disinterred to be identified at the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory. At the time, the laboratory made 40 positive identifications among those on the USS California who were buried as "Unknown." Those who were not identified were listed as "killed in action - body not recovered."

Before the start of the USS California Project in 2018, about 25 sets of unidentified remains were potentially associated with the USS California. Since only 20 USS California personal were listed as unaccounted for, this may suggest that crew members from other ships were killed on the USS California.

Identification[]

In 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began the USS California Project which led to the exhumation of the 25 sets of remains which are being reexamined by advanced forensic technology. Due to these advances in forensic technology, the remains of David Walker were identified on November 27, 2023. His identification was announced on March 28, 2024. He will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on September 5, 2024.

Sources[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ↑ Some sources say 98 to 104 were killed. A complete list can be found here: Pearl Harbor Casualties: USS California
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