Sailor Killed In Pearl Harbor Attack Interred At Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — A young sailor in the U.S. Navy who perished in Pearl Harbor has finally been laid to rest.

U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Walter Stein, 20, of Cheyenne, Wyoming was buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Stein was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor while serving aboard the USS Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Defense said.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, on Dec. 7, 1941, Stein was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft.

Authorities said the USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Stein.

From December 1941 to June 1944, officials said Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

However, authorities said Stein's remains were not officially identified until April 16, 2021 — about 80 years after his death.

Between June and November 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis.

To identify Stein’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis as well as closely examined mitochondrial and autosomal DNA.

Ultimately, a match was made.

Patrick McGuire, Stein’s nephew, received the U.S. flag from Stein’s funeral service.