A groundbreaking scientific effort by the Pentagon has expanded the military’s capacity to finally identify wartime casualties from generations ago
There were six sets of siblings who died at Pearl Harbor on the, including two sets in which one sibling was identified after the attack, and one was unaccounted for until now. Among the unknowns was a set of twins, the Blitz brothers, 20, of Lincoln, Neb.
Ultimately, it was dental records that were most crucial in the case of the twins. “That was the only way we were able to individually identify them.” But once that material is in hand, it raises the prospect of using DNA from “anyone who was within four generations of the missing service member as a reference,” McMahon said. Ideally, the lab seeks living relatives for DNA but “in theory,” McMahon says, “we could use bone samples from a missing individual’s great-grandparent to obtain nuclear DNA.”
The Barber brothers — Leroy, Malcolm and Randolph — were laid to rest in New London, Wisc., on Sept. 11 by their only surviving brother. In October, the Navy buried George Gooch, 22, in his hometown of Laclede, Miss.; Walter Belt, 25, of Cleveland, Kan.; Leslie Delles, 21, of St. Charles, Ill.; Walter Stein, 20, of Cheyenne, Wyo.; and William Shafer, 20, of Alhambra, Calif. Last month, Keefe R. Connolly, 19, was laid to rest in Markesan, Wisc.
“We, your children of every nation, turn to you in this pandemic,” the Garcia family prayed before a traditional feast in honor of their fallen sailor. “Our troubles are numerous, and our fears are great. Grant that we might deposit them at your feet, take refuge in your Immaculate Heart, and obtain peace, healing, rescue, and timely help in all our needs.”
“I’m so glad they did this for us,” said a smiling Lilla Garcia, one of Jesus Garcia’s two sisters-in-law who attended his funeral. “We never expected that he was going to come [home].”
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