The USS "Oklahoma" Identification Project

Abstract

This unique case report outlines the historical and present-day analyses to identify the nearly 400 individuals who were casualties on the USS Oklahoma when it was hit on 7 December 1941 during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The project is ongoing, but 152 identifications based on dental, anthropological, and DNA evidence have been made as of 9 August 2018. The remains were buried in 62 caskets and 46 graves, and DNA and anthropological analyses have revealed them to be extensively commingled across 60 of the caskets. No individual identified to date has had remains originating from a single casket. The background of the assemblage, extent of commingling, and other challenges encountered are discussed.