Indiana Pearl Harbor veteran’s remains to be returned home
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – The remains of a Navy veteran from Indiana who died in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor are being returned to his home state.
The Evansville Courier and Press reports that George James Wilcox was 19 when a Japanese torpedo sunk his ship, the USS Oklahoma. He was among more than 400 people killed.
Wilcox had been buried in a mass grave until the Department of Defense identified his remains this year using DNA testing.
The department has identified the remains of 100 sailors from the USS Oklahoma by comparing their DNA to living family members.
Wilcox’s remains will be returned to Indiana this month. His family expects to host a funeral on Dec. 16. He’ll be buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, near his father’s grave, in Evansville.