Photo: Getty Images
On December 7, 2021, the nation will honor a milestone anniversary that changed the course of American history. The day will mark 80 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor killed 429 crewman on the USS Oklahoma. Now, 79 years later, one of the crewman has been identified as a sailor from North Carolina.
According to WGHP, Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward E. Talbert, a 19-year-old originally from Albemarle, was on board the USS Oklahoma in Hawaii during the attack, but his remains as well as those of his fellow crewman were unidentified and buried in the Halawa and Nu'uanu cemeteries. In 1947, the remains were disinterred in hopes of identifying them, but only 35 were identified.
Fast forward a few decades to 2015, and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed the unidentified remains for an anthropological analysis, which led to Talbert's remains finally being identified. Many other sailors from around the country have also been identified and returned to their homes.
Talbert's remains will finally return home to Albemarle 80 years later where he will be buried on March 26, 2022, the news outlet reports. After being considered "missing" all this time, his name in the Courts of the Missing will be marked by a rosette to indicate that he has been identified.