Texas sailor killed in 1941 Pearl Harbor bombing identified

FILE – In this May 24, 1943 file photo, the deck of the capsized battleship USS Oklahoma breaks water at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Pentagon says it will disinter and try to identify the remains of up to 388 unaccounted for sailors and Marines killed when the USS Oklahoma sank in the 1941 […]

by: The Associated Press

Posted: Apr 16, 2019 / 01:25 PM CDT

Updated: Apr 16, 2019 / 03:10 PM CDT

A 19-year-old Houston-area sailor who died in the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor has been identified.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Tuesday announced Navy Seaman 2nd Class Richard J. Thomson of League City has been accounted for 77 years after the attack.

Military officials say Thomson was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which capsized during the bombing. The attack on the battleship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Thomson.

From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were interred in cemeteries in Hawaii.

Military officials in 2015 exhumed USS Oklahoma unknown remains for analysis, including DNA testing. That led to Thomson being accounted for in March.