ARIZONA SAILORS’ FAMILIES PRESS FOR IDENTIFICATION
t 7:48 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, the first of two waves of 353 Japanese planes crested the hills of Oahu, Hawaii, to launch a surprise attack on warships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. Some 20 minutes later USS —already struck by several bombs—took a direct hit to its forward magazines. The resulting explosion effectively cut the battleship in half, sending a plume of flame and smoke into the morning sky and killing many of the 1,177 crewmen who died that day. Though most are entombed in the sunken vessel, the remains of 85 unknown sailors are buried in the without first identifying them, as the agency did for hundreds of unknowns killed aboard USS on that “date which will live in infamy.” Families of the unknowns are outraged at the plan.
