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News & Stories
News | Aug. 26, 2016

Sailor Killed in World War II Accounted For (Sollie)

Navy Water Tender 1st Class Walter H. Sollie, killed in the attack on the USS Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941, has now been accounted for. The USS Oklahoma (BB-37) arrived in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 6, 1940, and spent the next several months participating in exercises and conducting patrols. On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, a fleet of Japanese carriers launched formations of dive bombers, torpedo planes and fighters against the vessels moored in the shallows of Pearl Harbor. The USS Oklahoma suffered 429 casualties as it quickly capsized due to damages sustained from multiple torpedoes. The majority of the casualties (Sailors and Marines) were never identified. During efforts to salvage the vessel, Navy personnel collected a large number of remains representing as many as 400 individuals. Most of these were later buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency personnel exhumed these remains and as a result in advances in forensic and analytical capabilities, were able to identify Sollie. Interment services are pending. Welcome home and rest in peace, Petty Officer Sollie.

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Public Affairs Contact Information


Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency PAO
Washington, D.C.
2300 Defense Pentagon
Attn: Outreach and Communications
Washington, D.C. 20301-2300
Email: dpaa.ncr.oc.mbx.public-affairs@mail.mil