WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class Robert S. Garcia, 23, killed during World War II, was accounted for on April 14, 2025.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Garcia was assigned to the battleship USS California, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of approximately 102 crew members, including Garcia.
From December 1941 to April 1942, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.
In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. In addition to the approximately 43 casualties from the USS California initially identified after the attack, the laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 39 men from the USS California at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On Oct. 6, 1949, a military board classified Garcia as non-recoverable.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Milam's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa
Milam's personnel profile can be viewed at SK3 ROBERT STILLMAN GARCIA - Service Member Profile.