SOLOMON; JAMES CLEVE
UNITED STATES NAVY
WORLD WAR II
TX
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank S1c
Service Number 3562770
Location Hawaiian Islands
Date of Loss 12/07/1941
Unit USS Oklahoma; UNITED STATES NAVY
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgPGEA0

On September 26, 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman First Class James Cleve Solomon, missing from World War II.

Seaman First Class Solomon entered the U.S. Navy from Texas and served aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37). He was aboard the ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and was one of the men killed when it capsized after being torpedoed. His remains were recovered from the ship following the attack, but could not be identified at the time and were interred as unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2015, advances in modern forensics prompted the reexamination of remains buried at the cemetery, and SEA1 Solomon's remains were identified during this examination.

Seaman First Class Solomon 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/1395456/uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-solomon-j/

News | Dec. 13, 2017

USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II Accounted For (Solomon, J.)

Navy Seaman 1st Class James C. Solomon, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, has now been accounted for.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Solomon 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 Solomon.

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

DPAA is appreciative 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.

Solomon’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/News-Releases/Article/1568139/funeral-announcement-for-uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-solomon/

Press Release | July 6, 2018

Funeral Announcement For USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II (Solomon, J.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, accounted-for from World War II are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Navy Seaman 1st Class James C. Solomon, 23, of Forestburg, Texas, accounted for on Sept. 26, 2017, will be buried July 14, in his hometown. On Dec. 7, 1941, Solomon 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 Solomon.

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, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Solomon.

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 Punchbowl for analysis.

To identify Solomon’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, as well as anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.

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

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 72,906 (approximately 26,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. Solomon’s name is recorded on the Courts 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 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.

James C Solomon