Marine Corps 2LT Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born October 26, 1917, in Annapolis, Maryland, Harry was the only child of Harry Sr & Helen Ellis (nee Gerard) Gaver.
Being the son of the first Headmaster of the prestigious Black-Foxe Military Institute, he would eventually join his father in California and attend there. After graduating from BFMI in 1935, young Harry returned to the east coast (and his mother) and attended the University of Virginia (his father's alma mater), graduating in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science.
Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps during his time at Virginia, LT Gaver would later serve with Golf Company, 6th Battalion of the 2nd Marines (G-6/2) and Easy/8/2 (among others) prior to being assigned to a Marine Detachment aboard the USS Oklahoma.
On that fateful December morning, Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr perished aboard the Oklahoma when she was struck and sunk by Imperial Japanese Forces in their attack on Pearl Harbor; he was just 24 years old.
For his service and sacrifice, Harry's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- American Defense Service Medal W/Fleet Clasp
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal W/Star
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military review board declared Harry "non-recoverable".
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma.
On April 28, 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of LT Gaver and provided their contact information to the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Harry's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin the opportunity to provide the Family Reference DNA Sample ultimately necessary for Harry's identification.
On June 15, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis.
On January 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for LT Gaver, and soon after his cousin received "The Call" from the Marines. To identify his remains, DPAA scientists and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching his cousin's, an analysis of Harry's military dental records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Harry was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors
Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, LT Gaver's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56131189, a cenotaph), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282844, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Harry has finally been found.
For both BFMI and Virginia, he was the first graduate to die in the war.
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-211 (Nov. 20, 2018)
DPAA, Recent News & Stories (05.May.2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, the DVA and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home.
"It takes a village!"
Born October 26, 1917, in Annapolis, Maryland, Harry was the only child of Harry Sr & Helen Ellis (nee Gerard) Gaver.
Being the son of the first Headmaster of the prestigious Black-Foxe Military Institute, he would eventually join his father in California and attend there. After graduating from BFMI in 1935, young Harry returned to the east coast (and his mother) and attended the University of Virginia (his father's alma mater), graduating in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science.
Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps during his time at Virginia, LT Gaver would later serve with Golf Company, 6th Battalion of the 2nd Marines (G-6/2) and Easy/8/2 (among others) prior to being assigned to a Marine Detachment aboard the USS Oklahoma.
On that fateful December morning, Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr perished aboard the Oklahoma when she was struck and sunk by Imperial Japanese Forces in their attack on Pearl Harbor; he was just 24 years old.
For his service and sacrifice, Harry's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- American Defense Service Medal W/Fleet Clasp
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal W/Star
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military review board declared Harry "non-recoverable".
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma.
On April 28, 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of LT Gaver and provided their contact information to the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Harry's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin the opportunity to provide the Family Reference DNA Sample ultimately necessary for Harry's identification.
On June 15, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis.
On January 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for LT Gaver, and soon after his cousin received "The Call" from the Marines. To identify his remains, DPAA scientists and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching his cousin's, an analysis of Harry's military dental records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Harry was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors
Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, LT Gaver's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56131189, a cenotaph), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282844, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Harry has finally been found.
For both BFMI and Virginia, he was the first graduate to die in the war.
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-211 (Nov. 20, 2018)
DPAA, Recent News & Stories (05.May.2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, the DVA and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home.
"It takes a village!"
Marine Corps 2LT Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
Born October 26, 1917, in Annapolis, Maryland, Harry was the only child of Harry Sr & Helen Ellis (nee Gerard) Gaver.
Being the son of the first Headmaster of the prestigious Black-Foxe Military Institute, he would eventually join his father in California and attend there. After graduating from BFMI in 1935, young Harry returned to the east coast (and his mother) and attended the University of Virginia (his father's alma mater), graduating in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science.
Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps during his time at Virginia, LT Gaver would later serve with Golf Company, 6th Battalion of the 2nd Marines (G-6/2) and Easy/8/2 (among others) prior to being assigned to a Marine Detachment aboard the USS Oklahoma.
On that fateful December morning, Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr perished aboard the Oklahoma when she was struck and sunk by Imperial Japanese Forces in their attack on Pearl Harbor; he was just 24 years old.
For his service and sacrifice, Harry's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- American Defense Service Medal W/Fleet Clasp
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal W/Star
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military review board declared Harry "non-recoverable".
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma.
On April 28, 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of LT Gaver and provided their contact information to the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Harry's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin the opportunity to provide the Family Reference DNA Sample ultimately necessary for Harry's identification.
On June 15, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis.
On January 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for LT Gaver, and soon after his cousin received "The Call" from the Marines. To identify his remains, DPAA scientists and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching his cousin's, an analysis of Harry's military dental records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Harry was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors
Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, LT Gaver's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56131189, a cenotaph), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282844, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Harry has finally been found.
For both BFMI and Virginia, he was the first graduate to die in the war.
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-211 (Nov. 20, 2018)
DPAA, Recent News & Stories (05.May.2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, the DVA and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home.
"It takes a village!"
Born October 26, 1917, in Annapolis, Maryland, Harry was the only child of Harry Sr & Helen Ellis (nee Gerard) Gaver.
Being the son of the first Headmaster of the prestigious Black-Foxe Military Institute, he would eventually join his father in California and attend there. After graduating from BFMI in 1935, young Harry returned to the east coast (and his mother) and attended the University of Virginia (his father's alma mater), graduating in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science.
Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps during his time at Virginia, LT Gaver would later serve with Golf Company, 6th Battalion of the 2nd Marines (G-6/2) and Easy/8/2 (among others) prior to being assigned to a Marine Detachment aboard the USS Oklahoma.
On that fateful December morning, Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr perished aboard the Oklahoma when she was struck and sunk by Imperial Japanese Forces in their attack on Pearl Harbor; he was just 24 years old.
For his service and sacrifice, Harry's parents accepted his awards and decorations, including:
- Purple Heart
- American Defense Service Medal W/Fleet Clasp
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal W/Star
From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP, known as "the Punchbowl"), in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military review board declared Harry "non-recoverable".
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma.
On April 28, 2015, Jennifer Morrison, an independent volunteer forensic genealogist, found the family of LT Gaver and provided their contact information to the Marine Corps POW/MIA (Repatriation) Section. This (re)established lines of communication with Harry's family regarding the ongoing recovery and repatriation efforts, and offered his cousin the opportunity to provide the Family Reference DNA Sample ultimately necessary for Harry's identification.
On June 15, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis.
On January 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for LT Gaver, and soon after his cousin received "The Call" from the Marines. To identify his remains, DPAA scientists and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) matching his cousin's, an analysis of Harry's military dental records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Harry was finally returned to his family and, on July 24, 2019, laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors
Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Harry Hamilton Gaver, Jr is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, LT Gaver's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56131189, a cenotaph), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282844, a cenotaph). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Harry has finally been found.
For both BFMI and Virginia, he was the first graduate to die in the war.
SOURCES
Marine Corps POW/MIA Section
DPAA Release No: 18-211 (Nov. 20, 2018)
DPAA, Recent News & Stories (05.May.2017)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note from the memorial maintainer:
I am grateful to Chuck Williams & Hattie Johnson (USMC POW/MIA Section), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab, the DVA and the DPAA for their efforts in bringing my Marine home.
"It takes a village!"
Inscription
HARRY / HAMILTON / GAVER JR
2NDLT / US MARINE CORPS / WORLD WAR II
OCT 26 1917 / DEC 7 1941
PURPLE HEART
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