USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Robertson, J.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 2nd Class Joseph Morris Robertson, 18, killed during World War II, was accounted for on June 18, 2020.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Robertson was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Robertson.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or

https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Robertson’s personnel profile can be viewed at

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgXAEA0

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ROBERTSON; JOSEPH MORRIS
UNITED STATES NAVY
WORLD WAR II
State KY
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank SEA2
Service Number 2797547
Location Hawaiian Islands
Date of Loss 12/07/1941
Unit USS Oklahoma; UNITED STATES NAVY
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgXAEA0

On June 18, 2020, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman Second Class Joseph M. Robertson, missing from World War II.

Seaman Second Class Robertson entered the U.S. Navy from Kentucky. On December 7, 1941, he was a crew member aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) when it was attacked by Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Oklahoma capsized in the attack, and Seaman Second Class Robertson was among those killed in the incident. His remains were eventually recovered from the vessel; however, they could not be identified at the time, and were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to exhume and reexamine unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma using advances in forensic techniques. SEA2 Robertson's remains were disinterred and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory as part of this effort. Laboratory analysis led to the successful identification of SEA2 Robertson's remains.

Seaman Second Class Robertson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Joseph M Robertson