Remains of Arkansas-born sailor lost at Pearl Harbor identified, set to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – The remains of a sailor born in Arkansas and killed in the early hours of the Pearl Harbor attack that pulled the US into World War II have been identified and will receive a formal military internment.
Seaman 2nd Class Joseph Morris Robertson was stationed on the battleship USS Oklahoma as it was berthed in Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. It was the Paragould-born 18-year-old’s first duty station after boot camp.
His recently identified remains will be reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery on July 8 after his death in a battle that marked America’s entry into World War II.
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On that fateful Dec. 7 at 7:55 a.m., the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor base, and the Oklahoma was one of the first ships hit by three air-launched torpedoes followed by machine gun strafing.
FILE – This April 1938 file photo shows the USS Oklahoma. The ship sank during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans are gathering in Hawaii this week to remember those killed in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. Those attending will observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began. The ceremony will mark the 80th anniversary of the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II. (AP Photo/File) Heavy black smoke billows as oil fuel burns from shattered tanks on ships that were hit during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 during World War II. Visible through the murk is the U.S. battleship Maryland, center, and the hulk of the capsized USS Oklahoma to the right of it. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy) FILE – In this Dec. 7, 1941, file photo, part of the hull of the capsized USS Oklahoma is seen at right as the battleship USS West Virginia, center, begins to sink after suffering heavy damage, while the USS Maryland, left, is still afloat in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans are gathering in Hawaii this week to remember those killed in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. Those attending will observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began. The ceremony will mark the 80th anniversary of the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II. (U.S. Navy via AP, File)
Within 15 minutes the 27,900-ton ship capsized, trapping sailors who were below decks in its hull. Navy officials report sailors trapped in the Oklahoma’s hull began banging on it with hammers, leading to rescue efforts as holes were cut in the metal to provide an escape route on Dec. 8 and 9.
Remains of Arkansan Killed in Pearl Harbor Attack Identified
Ultimately 32 sailors were pulled out alive through holes. Banging continued from other sailors trapped below the waterline who rescuers were unable to reach. Those standing watch on the overturned hull reported no banging was heard after Dec. 10.
The wreckage of the U.S.S. Oklahoma as it lies in the mud at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii after the Japanese aerial attack on Dec. 7, 1941. (AP Photo) FILE – In this Nov. 27, 1944 file photo, the wreckage of the USS Oklahoma leaves Pearl Harbor drydock in Hawaii. It was sunk in the Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack. (AP Photo) FILE – In this May 24, 1943 file photo, the capsized battleship USS Oklahoma is lifted out of the water at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor survivors and World War II veterans are gathering in Hawaii this week to remember those killed in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. Those attending will observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the bombing began. The ceremony will mark the 80th anniversary of the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II. (AP Photo, File)
Records show that 429 sailors had lost their lives, including Robertson.
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Robertson was born in Arkansas before his parents moved to Kentucky. He was the son of Ophus “Arkie” Sterling Robertson and Syble Lorane Haley Robinson, both buried side-by-side in Covington, Kentucky, listed as Joseph Robertson’s hometown.
Robertson’s sacrifice was honored in a condolence letter to his family from the president.
“Seaman Robertson stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase its blessings. Freedom lives and through it he lives in a way that humbles endeavors of most men.”
President Franklin Roosevelt, letter of condolence to Mr. and Mrs. Ophus Robertson.
Robertson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His other awards and decorations are the Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.
Joseph was the oldest of three brothers and one sister. The youngest sibling, Donald, was born in 1943, two years after Joseph’s death. Robertson’s family has declined to speak with the press following the news of his identification.
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The Oklahoma was righted in a 1944 salvage operation, and the remains of the 429 sailors were recovered by Navy specialists. Of those recovered, naval officials report 35 were identified, with the remaining 388 classified as unidentified and buried in 61 caskets in 45 grave sites at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in 1950.
FILE – In this Dec. 5, 2012, file photo, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu displays a gravestone identifying it as the resting place of seven unknown people from the USS Oklahoma who died in Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. More than 75 years after nearly 2,400 members of the U.S. military were killed in the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor some who died on Dec. 7, 1941, are finally being laid to rest in cemeteries across the United States. After DNA allowed the men to be identified and returned home, their remains are being buried in places such as Traer, Iowa and Ontonagon, Michigan. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File) Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency forensic anthropologist Carrie Brown looks at photos of service members from the USS Oklahoma on a wall at Offutt Air Force Base, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Bellevue, Neb. Generations of American families have grown up without ever knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones who served in the military. But a lab tucked away above the bowling alley on Offutt Air Force Base in the Omaha suburbs and a sister lab in Hawaii that are part of the federal DPAA are steadily answering those lingering questions and offering about 200 families a year the chance to honor their relatives with a proper burial. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Navy officials said that in 2015, a process began where the remains were exhumed for DNA analysis coordinated with samples from surviving family members. They said by December 2017, the remains of 100 sailors had been identified, and with an ongoing investigation by Dec. 7, 2021, all but 33 had been identified, with an additional single sailor identified in 2023.
Remains of Arkansan Killed in WWII Welcomed Home
Arkansas records show an estimated 194,645 Arkansans served in World War II, over 3,500 of whom were killed in combat. In the December attack on Pearl Harbor, 2,403 Natural State residents were killed, including 68 civilians and 2,008 Navy members, the majority on the battleship USS Arizona.
Since 1990, the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has accounted for 21 previously missing Arkansas World War II veterans, 12 of whom were killed at Pearl Harbor.
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Only two other ships, the USS Arizona and USS Utah, both battleships, were lost on Dec. 7 alongside the Oklahoma. Four additional ships sank that day but were refloated and repaired for service, including the battleship USS West Virginia.
The Arizona and Utah remain at Pearl Harbor as memorials.
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The USS Oklahoma was sold for salvage in 1944. It sank roughly 500 miles from Hawaii during a storm while being towed to California, the exact location of its final resting place unknown.
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