Naval officer from Pearl Harbor attack identified and laid to rest at Punchbowl
By Shanila Kabir
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (KITV) — Navy Fire Control man Jack Breedlove was laid to rest today at Punchbowl.
His remains were finally identified after he was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor more than 80 years ago.
He was only 19 years old at the time.
Breedlove was one of the 429 crewmen killed on the USS Oklahoma Battleship and among the 388 military personnel that couldn’t be identified.
“We’re here to honor the service and sacrifice of FC Breedlove, a young man who even before the storm clouds of war burned on the horizon, he enlisted in 1939 and then perished in 1941, as those storm clouds burst upon us,” said Scott Ruston, Deputy Commander of the Naval Education and Training Command.
Most of the remains that are identified from the USS Oklahoma are sent back to their closest family members on the mainland. However, officials say many families choose to have their remains buried at PunchBowl – next to their shipmates.
“Families of sailors of young men in 1941, the next of kin are elderly themselves now. The family wasn’t able to make the trip out here to Hawaii but it was their desire that FC Breedlove be buried here in Punchbowl where he laid for the past 80 years,” said Ruston.
Scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used dental records to identify Breedlove and the experts at Armed Forces Medical Examiners used a DNA analysis.
“This is just an example of the significance of the USS military and their commitment to the families of trying to bring back their loved ones,” said Gene Maestas, PIO of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Breedlove’s name has been listed on the Walls of the Missing at Punchbowl.
Maestas says another crew member was identified from USS Oklahoma, a marine. He will also be buried at Punchbowl next to his team members this week.
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