Marine Corps CPL Elmer Edwin Drefahl, 22, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
On December 7, 1941, Drefahl was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Drefahl.
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 Elmer "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 Sept. 29, 2020, the DPAA officially accounted for CPL Drefahl and soonafter the family received "The Call" from the Marines with the good news.
Elmer was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest next to his parents with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Elmer Edwin Drefahl is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Drefahl's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56129088), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282754). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Elmer has finally been found.
SOURCE
DPAA Release No: 20-110 (Oct. 2, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On December 7, 1941, Drefahl was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Drefahl.
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 Elmer "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 Sept. 29, 2020, the DPAA officially accounted for CPL Drefahl and soonafter the family received "The Call" from the Marines with the good news.
Elmer was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest next to his parents with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Elmer Edwin Drefahl is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Drefahl's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56129088), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282754). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Elmer has finally been found.
SOURCE
DPAA Release No: 20-110 (Oct. 2, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
Marine Corps CPL Elmer Edwin Drefahl, 22, killed in World War II, was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest - in American soil - with full military honors.
On December 7, 1941, Drefahl was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Drefahl.
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 Elmer "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 Sept. 29, 2020, the DPAA officially accounted for CPL Drefahl and soonafter the family received "The Call" from the Marines with the good news.
Elmer was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest next to his parents with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Elmer Edwin Drefahl is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Drefahl's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56129088), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282754). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Elmer has finally been found.
SOURCE
DPAA Release No: 20-110 (Oct. 2, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
On December 7, 1941, Drefahl was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Drefahl.
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 Elmer "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 Sept. 29, 2020, the DPAA officially accounted for CPL Drefahl and soonafter the family received "The Call" from the Marines with the good news.
Elmer was finally returned to his family and, on June 19, 2021, laid to rest next to his parents with full military honors.
Marine Corps Corporal Elmer Edwin Drefahl is memorialized among the NMCP's Honolulu Memorial. Although he has now been recovered and identified, CPL Drefahl's name shall remain permanently inscribed among Court 2 of the "Courts of the Missing" (56129088), as well as the white marble standards of the USS Oklahoma Memorial at Pearl Harbor (77282754). A rosette has been placed next to his name at the Courts, indicating that Elmer has finally been found.
SOURCE
DPAA Release No: 20-110 (Oct. 2, 2020)
American Battle Monuments Commission
Jennifer Morrison, independent volunteer forensic genealogist
