An Open Letter from the Families and Surviving Members of the USS Arizona BB39,

To the DPAA,

You may not know us personally, but we are direct family members, extended family, and surviving members of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, and believe me when we tell you… We. Know. You. We were totally and completely aghast at the department’s decision to group inter the unknown bodies that perished on the USS Arizona that day, without being identified. How in good conscience  could the department even consider such actions?

Did these men not die for our freedom? Did they not risk their lives and pay the ultimate sacrifice so that our country could live in peace against two regimes that sought to enslave Americans? By interring them without identification you are not only branding them as not worth the time and effort of identification essentially stripping them of their only identity, but you are DIRECTLY depriving family members, relatives, friends all the way down the line, closure, an ending to their loved one’s stories. These families have no idea where their loved ones ended up, but an UNMARKED unknown grave in the middle of Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii.

With your current decision on the table, these family members have absolutely NO say on whether they want their loved ones cremated and placed aboard the USS Arizona. What if they have a family plot, and a 19 year old sailor wished to be buried next to his mother, father, brother… You have currently taken that choice away from them. It’s just plain WRONG. These 85 men that are currently in Punchbowl Cemetery deserve to be known.

Every day, we see progress being made in the field of genetics, DNA and identification. Why can we not put this to use in the case of the USS Arizona unknowns? Why is the USS Arizona not being given the same respect and honor as those who are currently being identified with the USS Oklahoma? The DPAA has already identified sailors from the USS California, and USS West Virginia, but all of a sudden the USS Arizona isn't worth it?  We beg the DPAA to reconsider their double standard of operations and identify ALL the unknowns who were aboard the USS Arizona. Give them the same respect and honor as we have with countless other unknows in the past. They sacrificed their freedom, their lives, and we cannot stand idly by while the DPAA dishonors great men.

USS Arizona Survivor Ken Potts

“These are my shipmates, my brothers, my family. Let their families decide where they go. Identify MY shipmates and lay them to rest with identity, dignity, and honor. The DPAA should be ashamed of themselves, what the hell are they thinking.”

USS Arizona Survivor Lou Conter

“Family comes first, and I agree with Ken, let their kin decide where their loved ones go. No one, not even the government has a right to bury them without first identifying them. Once we know who they are, seek out the wishes of their family.”

Please reconsider your actions.

Signed

Direct Descendants, Family, Relatives, Friends of USS Arizona Survivors.