Missouri man’s remains come home 81 years after his death at Pearl Harbor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – An effort greater than a decade within the making has introduced a Missouri man dwelling 81 years after he was killed within the assault on Pearl Harbor.

The stays of Seaman First Class Wilbur Francis Newton arrived at Kansas Metropolis Worldwide Airport on Tuesday thank to a United States Division of Protection venture to determine the greater than 400 crewmen killed on the USS Oklahoma through the assault at Pearl Harbor.

For his household, if the trouble had come a lot later, this may not have occurred.

The kids of Newton’s cousins recalled what they realized as youngsters about him.

“My mother talked about Wilbur a number of instances once I was rising up,” mentioned Jane Perkins. “I believe it’s important to get somewhat older to actually understand the importance of somebody dying in Pearl Harbor. I keep in mind it was in junior excessive when it actually hit me.”

“I knew that my father had a primary cousin who bought killed at Pearl Harbor. Till 7 months in the past, I couldn’t have advised you what his title was,” mentioned Robin Deeds.

Newton was amongst greater than 2,000 killed that day: December 7, 1941. The trouble to determine his stays got here not from his household however the Division of Protection company often called The Protection POW/MIA Accounting Company (DPAA)

Late final 12 months, Newton’s oldest dwelling relative, a cousin in nursing care, bought the decision that Newton’s stays had been recognized. Deeds is the son of that cousin and took over from there as a consequence of his father’s superior age.

“After 80 years, you surrender after a sure period of time,” mentioned Deeds.

“We weren’t actively pursuing this. I thank God in Heaven that there are individuals who had been,” mentioned Perkins.

The stays of these killed had been buried in a mass grave in Hawaii.

In 2015, the DPAA started exhuming the stays of these killed, however they started reaching out to kin for DNA samples earlier than then. The timing was important to having the identification come by for Newton’s household.

Researchers want maternal DNA to get a match, and the final dwelling relative on Newton’s mom’s facet died in 2012. The Navy managed to achieve her earlier than she died.

“I’m a believer and I consider God’s timing is ideal,” Perkins mentioned.

Newton’s stays arrived at KCI late Tuesday afternoon.  The US Navy supplied army honors as he was transferred from the airplane to the funeral hearse for a burial this weekend in Mound Metropolis, Missouri.

Deeds was tasked with choosing out a casket, a burial website and date. One other cousin began researching the place others within the household had been buried.

Solely after getting the decision from the Navy did Newtons’ cousins’ youngsters be taught his dad and mom had a grave and marker put aside for him subsequent to theirs — bought earlier than their deaths within the late Forties.

“It’s peaceable, lastly, greater than closure even, I imply it’s peaceable to know that he’s going to be there in a plot chosen by his dad and mom together with his dad and mom. The marker that’s already there put up by his dad and mom, it’s the place he belongs,” mentioned Perkins.

“This story is 80 years within the making. And by no means thought that this might ever occur,” mentioned Deeds.

The cousins agreed that the Saturday earlier than Memorial Day can be a becoming day for his burial. Each Deeds and Perkins remarked that the method has introduced the dwelling era of cousins nearer. Greater than 50 of them will likely be on the funeral service on Saturday, a few of whom haven’t seen one another for many years.

Newton’s obituary and repair data might be discovered right here.

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