So few of the soldiers wore dog tags,
they had to use billfolds, letters in the
pockets, inscriptions on rings. When that failed, they used tattoos. But, he
said, the worst of it all was trying to match up two legs, two arms, a head and
a torso for the burial. The Army selected a piece of ground in Schofield
Barracks. The Navy selected Nuuanu Cemetery, but they had only 300 plots. So
they chose Red Hill. Red Hill overlooks Pearl Harbor. For both services, the
ceremony was the same. A large trench was dug. The chaplains demanded that each
plot be surveyed and marked. Thornton Miller was the Navy Chaplain. The honor
guard lined up on two sides of this large trench. The firing squad and the
bugler on the third side of the trench and three chaplains on the fourth side of
the trench - a Protestant, a Catholic and a Jewish chaplain. If the faith of the
individual was known, that chaplain stepped forward and conducted the interment.
If the faith of the deceased was not known, or if the deceased was unknown, as
was the case in many instances, all three chaplains stepped forward. A brief
scripture, acceptable to all, was read and then each chaplain offered a prayer
in the English, in the Latin, and in the Hebrew. It was the integrity of burial
so that every man could have in death what had been his choice in life. As one
of the chaplains later wrote, "The God of the universe heard the prayers of us
all." Pearl Harbor changed America. Pearl Harbor changed the military.
Burials in photos:
Changing the Markers:
The original markers placed in the Punchbowl
Cemetery are shown being removed:
Shown below is a (Click on) thumbnail photo of one of the
new markers. Although they do not identify individuals, they
identify their ship or unit.
USS Utah personnel remains buried at the "Punchbowl."
Notice: If anyone viewing this web site has a photo of
Ensign Jackson please notify the webmaster; Mail to:william.hughes2ATtx.r.com
It has been known for a long time that the
remains of Ensign David W. Jackson and Seaman Pallas F. Brown (above) were
interred at the "Punchbowl."
Recently, a grave Marker has been erected to
indicate the location of the remains for seven more USS Utah Personnel are
interred in the "punchbowl."
Some questions exist today regarding the
whereabouts of the remains of those KIA aboard Utah; i.e., On 4 June, 1948, a
letter written reporting casualties aboard USS Arizona and USS Utah on 7
December, 1941 by LCDR H.E. STALEY, USN, Officer in Charge, Casualty Section
states"
"One Officer's body was found and identified.
This was Ensign David W. Jackson, USNR [Grave marker pictured above.]
The bodies of 3 enlisted men were found and
identified. These are marked "ID" in enclosure (B), page 28.
The attached page listed the following names:
BROWN, Pallas Franklin
632 01 27 SEA2 USNR
DIECKHOFF, Douglas Raymond 299 90 40
SM1 USN
JACKSON, David W.
95057 ENS
USNR
SMITH, George Randolph
266 04 STM1
USN
As shown above, Ensign Jackson and Seaman Brown
are interred in The Punchbowl.
Anyone having documentation on the whereabouts of
the remains of SM1 DIECKHOFF and Seaman Smith are requested to e-mail william.hughes2ATcomcast.net.
At this point we have 2 grave markers -
Brown and Jackson, 7 "unknowns" i.e unidentified remains in the Punchbowl
Cemetery and the remains of DIECKHOFF and SMITH unaccounted for on this web
site. If our facts are correct, that leaves the remains of 47 personnel and a
tiny baby girl in the hull of USS Utah.
An article published recently by the Honolulu
Advertiser tells the long story of the fight to bring about the identification
of many Pearl Harbor attack victims with their ship or unit assignment. The lead
article written by Mr. William Cole of The Honolulu Advertiser is partially
quoted below:
The
ultimate sacrifice of 528 sailors and others during the attack on Pearl Harbor
has been brought into clearer focus at Punchbowl with additional information
inscribed on graves marked "Unknown." [Please click links to this and
other stories at bottom of this page]
Below is a descriptive list of grave locations
for the nine USS Utah personnel.
Here are some beautiful shots of this great
national cemetery:
For additional information please check the following links:
http://www.airbornepress.com/pearlharbor.html - An article written by Captain Samuel David Chambers, CHC, USN (retired) and partially quoted above.
Pearl Harbor headstones return
identity to remains A story from the Honolulu Star Bulletin
Punchbowl Markers Updated - A story from the Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 20,
2002
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