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News Release

Press Release | March 10, 2021

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Malek, M.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Michael Malek, 17, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Feb. 24, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Malek was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Malek.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Malek’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000Xe04EAC.