‘A very emotional day’: Arcola pays tribute as lost sailor finally laid to rest

Jack Krumm
·2 min read
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ARCOLA, Ill. (WCIA) — Hundreds of American flags were waving in the wind in Arcola for a very special ceremony on Saturday.

Charles D. Brown enlisted in the Navy in 1938. He was just 19 years years old when he started working aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia. Brown was among the 2,400 men that were killed during the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The U.S. Navy was unable to identify him, so he was buried in Hawaii as an unknown. In 2022, a Department of Defense search resulted in a DNA match: Charles Darling Brown of Arcola, Illinois.

READ MORE: Arcola sailor returns home 80 years after death at Pearl Harbor

He was one of many identified.

“It’s just amazing that the effort was made to get that closure. From identifying the remains, to getting them shipped here for the service — just for one person that died decades ago, you know, at a young age — it’s awesome,” said Navy veteran and Brown’s great-great nephew, Eli Singer.

Hundreds of people, including friends and family, gathered to put Brown next to his siblings and parents after 82 years. Janis Walk is Brown’s great niece.

“They wanted so very, very much to bring him back home. And they worked really hard to get him here,” she said. “It was a long process, discovering who the DNA belonged to. And now, I’m meeting cousins, relatives that I’ve never known before. So it’s a very emotional day.”

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Singer was in the Navy for 22 years.

“It’s absolutely humbling. Everything — from the flags on the drive in, to the people taking the time to come out of their homes and stand at the side of the road to honor a hero,” he said. “It’s one of the things I just love about this country. I really do. It’s just absolutely humbling and I’m honored to be a part of that.”

It was a homecoming long overdue for a young man who gave it all.

“It’s wonderful that he’s here with this family. They will probably be having a nice time in the cemetery tonight,” Walk said.

Brown will be buried right outside the town where he was raised.

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