WWII sailor’s remains to be reinterred at his hometown

WASHINGTON — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Jan. 5 that Navy Fireman 3rd Class William L. Barnett, 21, of Fort Scott, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 14, 2020.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Barnett was assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS West Virginia sustained multiple torpedo hits, but timely counter-flooding measures taken by the crew prevented it from capsizing, and it came to rest on the shallow harbor floor. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 106 crewmen, including Barnett.

During efforts to salvage the USS West Virginia, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crewmen, representing at least 66 individuals. Those who could not be identified, including Barnett, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

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