The United States government may soon move to disinter the remains of unidentified USS Arizona crew members who perished in the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, following a key DNA-related milestone, officials announced recently.
DNA Milestone Achieved
Before the announcement, officials determined that enough family reference samples had been collected for comparison with DNA from remains, along with medical and dental records, to individually identify at least 60% of the battleship crew members slated for disinterment, according to a Friday statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Next Steps
It remains unclear when disinterments might begin, the DPAA statement noted, as approval from the Pentagon is still required. Nonetheless, reaching the 60% threshold allows the agency to formally request and begin planning the disinterments, marking a significant breakthrough for the project aimed at conclusively identifying USS Arizona crew members killed at Pearl Harbor but not readily recognizable.
Background of the Attack
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor killed over 2,400 American military members, including 1,177 USS Arizona crew members. Hundreds remain entombed within the Arizona, which lies where it sank and is considered one of the most hallowed sites in the United States, prompting the nation's entry into World War II.
Many of those recovered from the Arizona's wreckage were burned beyond recognition and buried as "unknowns" in nearby cemeteries, according to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. In 1947, 170 of those unknown service members were exhumed, and over 100 were identified. However, dozens were declared "unrecoverable" and reburied at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Operation 85's Role
Among the Arizona's unaccounted dead was Robert Edwin Kline, a US Navy gunner's mate second class. His grandnephew, Kevin Kline, founded Operation 85 in 2023, a civilian-led, privately funded organization dedicated to identifying the Arizona's remaining unknowns. The effort sought to replicate the success of a prior project that identified over 360 crew members from the USS Oklahoma who died during Pearl Harbor and were previously unaccounted for.
The DPAA's statement specifically thanked Kevin Kline and Operation 85 for their devoted efforts over the past three years to locate and connect enough USS Arizona families, helping reach this milestone. The agency added that this brings closer the disinterment of potentially 141 unknowns currently buried in multiple, possibly commingled graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
The DPAA also asked any family members related to missing Arizona crew members to assist identification efforts by contacting Operation 85.
Reactions
In a New Year's Eve 2025 statement published on social media by Operation 85 and attributed to Kline, he referred to identifying the Arizona's last unknowns as a "calling." Kline later reposted the DPAA's announcement, writing, "Well, it's about time!" with a smiley-face emoji. A separate statement from Operation 85 thanked families, volunteers, and military officials involved in the effort.
Operation 85's statement said Friday's developments materialized "because families stepped forward ... people believed the mission mattered, and ... [the organization] refused to accept that identifying these heroes was 'impractical'."
