World War II Veteran’s Remains Identified & Returned Home 80 Years Later

Nearly 80 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor that killed more than 2,400, a World War II veteran is finally coming home.

Kefee Connolly, of Markesan, Wisconsin, served as a Navy hospital corpsman when he was 19 years old. Sadly, Connolly, along with 428 others, were killed when the USS Oklahoma was attacked by Japanese aircraft at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, along with veterans from the Abendroth-Connolly American Legion Post 282, had the honor of transferring Connolly’s remains back to his home in Wisconsin. He will be laid to rest in his hometown of Markesan on November 8th.

“His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl Crater, in Honolulu, Hawaii, along with others who are missing from WWII,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.”

Connolly is one of many World War II veterans whose remains have recently been identified through forensic testing by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Finally, they all will be heading home to get the burial they deserve.

“We are grateful to Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Connolly for his sacrifice,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “May he rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing to his loved ones.”