Hundreds Attend Service for USS Oklahoma Unknown Andrew Schmitz in Richmond, Va.

From March 6, 2020, 6 News CBS Richmond, Va.  "Hundreds gather to bury Richmond sailor killed in Pearl Harbor" by Greg McQuade.

His remains arrived in Richmond Thursday night and a funeral service was held Friday.

And, no one in attendance had ever met him.  he had moved away from Richmond in the 1930s.  He was just 26 when he died when Japanese torpedoes slammed into his ship on Dec. 7. 1941.  His remains were identified using DNA last fall.

After the service, his funeral procession stretched for a mile and as it rolled past Grange Hall Elementary School, some 900 students waved small U.S. flags.

He was buried at Virginia's Veterans Cemetery with a full military ceremony, including a 21-gun salute.

There are still some 200 sailors from the USS Oklahoma who are awaiting to be identified.

It is good to see that Virginia still cares for at least some of the veterans.  Sad to say that so much of the state is shunning its Confederate ones.

--GreGen