LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky sailor has been identified more than 80 years after he was killed in World War II.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Navy Seaman 1st Class Elmer P. Lawrence of Park City, Kentucky was assigned to the USS Oklahoma battleship.
The ship was hit multiple times by a torpedo in Pearl Harbor and resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 crewmembers including Lawrence.
Between 1941 and 2023, officials have been working to identify remains found in the wreckage.
Lawrence was originally part of the group who where unknown or unrecoverable. He along with others have been interred at the Halawa and Nu'uanu Cemeteries in Hawaii.
Thanks to DNA analysis, Lawrence was properly identified on Feb. 1, 2021.
Lawrence’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific), along with the others who are missing from WWII.
Now, a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Lawrence will be properly buried in Smiths Grove, Kentucky on July 22.
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