KEFFER; HOWARD VERNE
UNITED STATES NAVY
WORLD WAR II
CA
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank RM3
Service Number 4121961
Location Hawaiian Islands
Date of Loss 12/07/1941
Unit USS Oklahoma; UNITED STATES NAVY RESERVE

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdzjEAC

On January 11, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Radioman Third Class Howard Verne Keffer, missing from World War II.

Radioman Third Class Keffer, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, was aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when it came under attack by Japanese aircraft. He was killed in the attack, and while his remains were recovered from the ship following the incident, they could not be individually identified at the time. RM3 Keffer was initially interred as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2015, modern forensic techniques prompted the reexamination of unidentified remains from the Oklahoma, and RM3 Keffer was eventually identified from among them.

Radioman Third Class Keffer is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1460079/uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-keffer-h/

News | March 7, 2018

USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II Accounted For (Keffer, H.)

Navy Radioman 3rd Class Howard V. Keffer, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, has now been accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Keffer was assigned to the 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 Keffer.

In 2015, DPAA disinterred remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.

Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Keffer's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1715179/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-keffer-h/

Press Release | Dec. 17, 2018

USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Keffer, H.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Radioman 3rd Class Howard V. Keffer, 26, of Los Angeles, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Jan. 11, 2018.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Keffer was assigned to the 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 Keffer.

From December 1941 to June 1944, 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 (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Keffer.

In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis.

To identify Keffer’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched his family, as well as circumstantial evidence and dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,766 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Keffer’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Navy Casualty Office at (800) 443-9298.

Keffer will be buried July 23, 2019, in the Punchbowl.

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, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Keffer’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XdzjEAC

Howard Verne Keefer