Teen Sailor Killed In Pearl Harbor Is Finally Identified & Laid To Rest 80 Years Later

A 19-year-old sailor from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is finally laid to rest 80 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Navy Fire Controlman 3rd Class Jack A. Breedlove enlisted in the Navy in 1939 and was later assigned to the USS Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the USS Oklahoma was moored at Pearl Harbor where it was later hit with multiple torpedoes, causing it to capsize and kill hundreds of military personnel.

Sadly, Petty Officer Breedlove was one of 429 crewmen on the USS Oklahoma Battleship who were killed in the attack, and among 388 military personnel who were unable to be identified.

Since the forensic technology back in the 1940s was not as advanced as it is today, they were only able to successfully identify 35 casualties, and Breedlove was not one of them.

As the years go by, forensic technology is improving, allowing scientists to identify more and more remains of people who were killed in past wars.

Breedlove’s remains were not identified until March of 2021. Scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used dental records to identify him and the experts at Armed Forces Medical Examiners used a DNA analysis.

His family was happy and relieved that their family member would finally be coming home.

After more than 80 years, the sailor will finally be laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, next to his shipmates.

Hear more of his story in the video below: