Remains of WWII Sailor to Be Buried 84 Years After Pearl Harbor

The remains of Royle Bradford Luker, a 17-year-old sailor killed during the Pearl Harbor attack, are finally going home for a proper burial after more than 84 years. Luker will be buried with full military honors on May 30 in Plainview, Arkansas. He will rest alongside his parents, including his father, a World War I veteran.

Luker served as a Fireman Third Class on the USS West Virginia. He died during the surprise attack on December 7, 1941. His obituary states that he gave his life in service to his country.

His identity was confirmed decades later through modern forensic testing and DNA analysis, which matched his remains with DNA from living relatives. This development allowed for the arrangement of his burial.

“As a Fireman Third Class in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia, he gave his all and was killed in the line of duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941,” his obituary from Cornwell Funeral Homes stated.

Luker’s service earned him several military honors, including the Purple Heart and the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. Other awards mentioned in his obituary include the Gold Star Veteran designation, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.

He was one of 106 crew members who died when the USS West Virginia was hit during the attack. For decades, his unidentified remains were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where his name appeared on the Courts of the Missing.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reports that Luker was officially accounted for on May 29, 2024, after authorities exhumed multiple caskets for forensic and DNA testing.

Royle Luker was the son of George F. Luker, a World War I veteran, and Nettie Estelle David Luker. His family remembered him with pride and love. He is survived by two nephews, Donald Bradford Henderson and John Luker, and a niece, Becky Downen Lensing.

“More than 80 years later, DNA from Royle Luker and a family’s willingness to share their DNA bridged the gap between loss and knowing,” his obituary stated. “He will now be returned home and laid to rest.”

The USS West Virginia was moored at Ford Island in 1941 when Japanese aircraft attacked. The battleship suffered multiple torpedo hits, eventually sinking to the shallow harbor floor.

Bonny Chu is a Breaking and Trending News Writer for Fox News Digital.