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Remains Of WWII Sailor From Stockton Killed At Pearl Harbor Officially Accounted For, Navy Says

STOCKTON (CBS13) — The remains of a World War II-era sailor from Stockton who was among those killed in the Pearl Harbor attack has officially been accounted for, officials announced on Friday.

Navy Water Tender 1st Class Charles E. Hudson was serving on the battleship USS Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941. Torpedo hits during the attack caused the ship to capsize, killing 429 crewmen - Hudson among them.

Throughout the war, the remains of the crew members killed in the attack were recovered. The remains were then interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu cemeteries.

After the war, work continued with recovering and identifying the remains of personnel. At the time, laboratory staff was unable to confirm the identities of dozens of men from the USS Oklahoma. Those unidentified remains were then interred in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

However, in 2015, work began again to try and identify the men. The remains were exhumed and a variety of techniques - including anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA - were employed.

Thanks to that work, Hudson's remains have now been accounted for. Hudson's name remains recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the memorial, but a rosette is now being placed next to his name to show that he has been found.

Hudson's remains are now set to be buried on Sept. 10 at the National Memorial Cemetery.

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