Remains of Hampton Roads sailor identified after dying in Pearl Harbor attack; mother’s grief published in decades old article
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – For 82 years, Mess Attendant 3rd Class (Matt3c) David Walker’s name was listed at the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl in Honolulu, Hawaii. His remains were finally identified in November 2023.
Walker joined the U.S. Navy from Virginia and served aboard the Tennessee-class battleship USS California (BB-44).
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Walker, who was from Norfolk, died at age 19, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese aircrafts.
An unknown newspaper article the government published said Walker lived on Elm Avenue in Portsmouth. It also said he attended I.C. Norcom High School and cut his education short to enlist.
The article’s headline is, “Little Mother Who Had No News Tells a Headline Story.” The article said Walker’s mother, Edna Lee Ward, wanted her son’s photo published in the article.
“I don’t know any news of my son,” the woman said in the article. “You see he was killed in action at Pearl Harbor.”
She told the reporter on Jan. 2 she received a telegram saying her son was missing. Then sometime later, she was informed he died.
The date of the attack was Dec. 7, 1941. Walker was assigned to the battleship USS California, which was docked at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor.
“The USS California sustained multiple torpedo and bomb hits, which caused it catch fire and slowly flood. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 103 crewmen, including Walker,” DPPA said in a press release.
DPPA said from Dec. 1941 to April 1942, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the crew members who were killed. They were buried in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries in Hawaii.
In Sept. 1947, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) dug up the remains of the soldiers after being tasked with recovering and identifying the fallen U.S. personnel. The remains were transferred to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks.
“In addition to the 42 casualties from the USS California initially identified after the attack, the laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 39 men from the USS California at that time,” said DPPA.
Following that, AGRS buried the remains of the unidentified members at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
“In October 1949, a military board classified the remains of the unresolved crew members, including Walker, as non-recoverable,” said DPPA.
Then in 2018, DPPA exhumed 25 USS California Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis. Walker was included in that analysis.
“To identify Walker’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis,” said DPPA.
On Nov. 27, 2023, Walker was identified.
Walker’s name spent decades on the Walls of the Missing at Punchbowl, along with others missing in WWII. The DPPA said a change will be made to his memorial.
“A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for,” DPPA said.
Walker will be buried on Sept. 5, 2024, at the Arlington National Cemetery.
Family can use this link to reach out to learn about Walker’s information.
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