NORFOLK, Va. — The family of a Norfolk WWII veteran finally has closure after their relative was identified in November 2023 according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Mess Attendant 3rd Class David Walker, 19, of Norfolk was killed in WWII and accounted for on November 27, 2023.
His family received their full briefing on his identification on Thursday, March 28, the DPAA said.
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Walker was assigned to the battleship USS California which was stationed at Pear Harbor during the attack.
The USS California was hit by multiple torpedoes and bombs which caused it to catch fire and flood. The DPAA said 103 crewmen died in the attack including Walker.
The DPAA said the remains of all deceased crew recovered were interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu cemeteries in Hawaii from December 1941 to April 1941.
In September 1947, efforts were made to identify fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theatre. Ultimately, Walker was among a number of unidentified remains that a military board would classify as non-recoverable in October 1949.
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In 2018 the DPAA exhumed the 25 USS California unknowns for analysis using mitochondrial DNA.
Walker will be buried on September 5, 2024, in Arlington National Cemetery.
For more information on the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency please visit their website.
