Warren Paul Hickok was a United States Navy sailor who was killed on the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His remains were identified on December 15, 2005.
Background[]
Warren Hickok was born on March 26, 1923 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Later in life, Warren enlisted in the United States Navy. He rose through the ranks and became a Seaman, 2nd class, and was assigned to the light mine layer USS Sicard.
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. Many crewmembers from the USS Sicard, including Warren, were dispatched to assist the crew of the USS Cummings, a destroyer docked nearby. The USS Cummings was able to get underway and clear Pearl Harbor and no casualties were reported aboard that ship.
At the same time, other crewmen from the USS Sicard, were dispatched to the USS Pennsylvania. Warren was with them, although there was no record that he was dispatched to that ship. While the battleship weathered the attack's first wave, a Japanese bomb penetrated her main deck and detonated in its ninth casement during the second wave. This caused a fire in the forward part of the ship, but this was quickly taken out by the crew.
Overall, 2,335 Americans were killed in the attack; 24 USS Pennsylvania sailors and Marines were killed, and 11 crew members from other ships were also killed on the Pennsylvania. 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 United States Congress declared war on Japan, which led to the United States' formal entry into World War II.
Aftermath[]
Within a few days, only four of the USS Pennsylvania sailors, and four sailors from other ships on the USS Pennsylvania, did not have their remains accounted for. The remains of unknown servicemen, including a set of unidentified remains dubbed "X-2", that were discovered following the attack were buried at the Halawa Naval Cemetery in Honolulu on December 9, 1941. In 1949, they were reburied at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, AKA the "Punchbowl," in Honolulu. "X-2" was specifically buried in Section E, Grave 731.
On December 12, the USS Pennsylvania was refloated and taken out of the drydock. The battleship departed Pearl Harbor eight days later and arrived in San Francisco, California on December 29. Repairs were completed on January 12, 1942.
Warren was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
Identification[]
In 2004, Ray Emory, a survivor of Pearl Harbor and national historian for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association who pushed to identify the unknown Pearl Harbor remains, suggested "X-2" was Warren. In June 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed the remains. On December 15, 2005, dental and medical records correctly identified "X-2" as Warren Paul Hickok.
After his identification, his headstone was replaced, bearing his name, service details, and the phrase "Until Jesus Comes." Before Warren's identification, one of the USS Pennsylvania sailors, Payton Vanderpool Jr., was identified. As of 2022, the remaining six sailors are unaccounted for.
Grave at Punchbowl Cemetery.