17-Year-Old US Navy Sailor Killed In 1941 Pearl Harbour Attack To Receive Military Burial After 82 Years

More than 80 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the remains of a 17-year-old US Navy sailor killed aboard the USS West Virginia have been identified through DNA analysis and will finally be returned home for burial.

Royle Bradford Luker, a Fireman Third Class in the US Navy, was among 106 crew members killed when Japanese aircraft attacked the battleship during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

According to his obituary published by Cornwell Funeral Homes, Luker will be buried with full military honours on May 30 in Plainview, Arkansas, alongside his parents, including his father George F. Luker, a World War I veteran.

The USS West Virginia was moored at Ford Island during the Japanese attack when it was hit by multiple torpedoes and sank into the shallow harbour floor, according to the US Navy.

After the attack, many remains recovered from the ship could not be identified because of the extensive damage.

Luker’s remains were buried as “unknown” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, while his name was added to the Courts of the Missing.

In 2017, the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began exhuming 35 caskets associated with USS West Virginia crew members as advances in forensic science and DNA testing created new opportunities to identify previously unknown casualties from World War II.

Authorities confirmed Luker’s identity on May 29, 2024 through laboratory analysis and comparisons with DNA from surviving relatives.

“More than 80 years later, DNA from Royle Luker and a family’s willingness to share their DNA bridged the gap between loss and knowing,” his obituary stated.

Luker received several posthumous military honours, including the Purple Heart, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.

He was also recognised as a World War II Gold Star Veteran.

USS West Virginia

The USS West Virginia was one of the US Navy battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941.

The vessel sustained multiple torpedo hits during the assault and later sank in shallow water at Ford Island.

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,400 Americans and brought the United States into World War II.

The Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to use modern DNA and forensic testing to identify US military personnel who were previously listed as missing or unknown from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Luker is survived by two nephews, Donald Bradford Henderson and John Luker, and a niece, Becky Downen Lensing, according to his obituary.

References: Fox News, NY Post