Family Wants USS Oklahoma Sailor's Remains Returned-- Part 1

From the Dec. 5, 2013, New Hampshire Union Leader "Family wants remains of Swanzey sailor killed at Pearl Harbor returned for NH burial" by Paul Feely.

On December 7, 1941, Third Class Fireman Edwin Hopkins, 19, was aboard the USS Oklahoma and died during the attack. Now, 72 years later, his second cousin is fighting to have his remains brought back to New Hampshire to be buried by his parents.

His remains have been identified according to Tom Gray of Guilford, Ct., and he deserves more than a co-mingled grave marked "Unknown" at the National Memorial Cemetery on Oahu, better known as the Punch Bowl.

In 1943, Hopkins' remains and 381 others were recovered from the stricken USS Oklahoma and buried in mass graves at Halawa and Nu'uana cemeteries on Oahu. In 1949, the Army Graves Registration Service disinterred the graves to id the remains. They recommended that the remains of 27, including Hopkins, be further researched for identification.

--GreGen