Pearl Harbor sailor's remains comes home to Redding, 80 years after his death

Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight
·4 min read

A North State family received the remains of a relative who died almost 82 years ago when his battleship, the U.S.S. Oklahoma, was torpedoed at Pearl Harbor.

Robert Thomas Stout came home on Monday, Sept. 11.

The U.S. Navy flew Stout’s casket to Sacramento International Airport, where a full Naval Honor Guard delivered it to Stout's great nephew, Kevin Jones.

On the drive to Shasta County, members of the fallen soldiers’ family support organization, the Patriot Guard Riders, escorted the hearse on their motorcycles, Jones said.

Jones was tasked with bringing the remains to his mother, Patricia Jones of Redding: Stout's niece and his closest living relative.

John and Patricia Jones of Redding. Patricia Jones received the remains of her uncle, Fire Controlman Third Class Robert Thomas Stout, on Sept. 11, 2023. Stout died aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
John and Patricia Jones of Redding. Patricia Jones received the remains of her uncle, Fire Controlman Third Class Robert Thomas Stout, on Sept. 11, 2023. Stout died aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

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Patricia Jones never met her Uncle Robert. She was born to his sister Betty Worden on April 9, 1943, more than a year after Stout’s death.

While not a lot is known about Stout, Kevin Jones said he remembers snippets of conversations about him from his childhood.

“Mom told me that we lost her uncle in Pearl Harbor. He was listed as KIA (killed in action),” said Jones, a retired Susanville Police Chief.

But he never thought his uncle’s remains would come home.

Retired Chief of Police Kevin Jones of Susanville.
Retired Chief of Police Kevin Jones of Susanville.

“My Nana (Worden) said” families of those who enlisted “knew they had a 50/50 chance. We kissed them goodbye, knowing they may not come back,” Kevin Jones said.

Sailor who died at Pearl Harbor was part of 'fighting that fight' in World War II

Robert Thomas Stout was born in El Reno, Oklahoma on Feb. 27, 1920.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Feb. 14, 1939, less than two weeks before his 19th birthday, according to a family statement issued by Kevin Jones.

Robert Thomas Stout was stationed on the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese military torpedoed the battleship on Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. Navy brought his remains home to Redding on Sept. 11, 2023.
Robert Thomas Stout was stationed on the U.S.S. Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese military torpedoed the battleship on Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. Navy brought his remains home to Redding on Sept. 11, 2023.

Stout was promoted to Fire Controlman Third Class three months later, on June 9, and reported for duty on the U.S.S. Oklahoma in California. His duties included maintaining and operating weapons on the battleship.

On Dec. 16, 1940 ― less than a year after Stout enlisted ― the Oklahoma sailed from its previous home port in San Pedro, and moored at its new home: Berth F-5 on Ford Island at Pearl Harbor.

“She took her place with six other battlewagons in a location that would forever be known as Battleship Row," according to the National Parks Service's Pearl Harbor National Memorial archive.

For almost a year, the crew performed drills near Hawaii, according to the parks service.

At 7:56 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese military bombed and torpedoed ships moored at Pearl Harbor. The first ship struck was the Oklahoma. She capsized at 8:08 A.M., 12 minutes after the first torpedo hit her hull, according to the parks service.

Of the more than 1,200 officers, sailors and marines on board the Oklahoma, 429 died, according to the National World War II museum. Stout was one of them.

Most of the dead were quickly buried in graves in Hawaii. With no ability at the time to do genetic testing, the bodies were identified as “unknown,” according to the parks service.

That changed in 2015, when advances in forensic science and growing databases of DNA samples made it possible to trace the dead soldiers’ relatives. Veteran organizations and the military began exhuming graves at Pearl Harbor.

In 2017, Patricia Jones received a letter telling her Stout’s skeletal remains were found, Kevin Jones said. The letter also asked if she would provide DNA evidence for comparison with Stout’s.

When the Navy found a match, Patricia Jones asked that her uncle’s remains “be put to rest at the Cottonwood Cemetery, next to his mother, Esta Mae Stout, and Patricia Jones’ grandmother,” Kevin Jones said.

Stout was interred at the Cottonwood Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15. His memorial service included a full honor guard, said Kevin Jones, who attended with his parents and Stout's other niece, Carolyn Susie Swartz (née Stout) of Overland Park, Kansas.

“You have pride about someone in your family being in Pearl Harbor," Kevin Jones said. Even though he died, "he was still part of fighting that fight.”

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: U.S. Navy returns Pearl Harbor sailor's remains to North State family