19-year-old WWII sailor identified after 80 years through DNA evidence
The body of a World War II sailor who went missing during the attack on Pearl Harbor has finally been identified, officials said.
David Walker, a black sailor from Norfolk, Va., was assigned to the USS California on Dec. 7, 1941 when the Hawaiian naval base was struck, causing the ship to catch fire and flood, the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said
Walker, 19, was one of 103 crewmen killed.
His body was identified through DNA analysis.
Only 42 men were initially identified after the attack.
In 1947, 39 additional bodies were identified.
The remains of Walker and the other crewmembers were considered “non-recoverable,” per the agency.
Exhuming bodies in 2018, defense forensic scientists were able to use anthropological and dental analysis as well as mitochondrial DNA analysis to identify Walker.
Walker dropped out of high school to enlist in the segregated navy roughly a year before he died, according to reports.
Walker will be buried Sept. 5 in Arlington National Cemetery.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
