Arizona
Remains of USS Arizona crew buried as unknowns after Pearl Harbor to be identified
The Navy and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) have dropped their initial opposition to disinterring the graves of battleship Arizona crew members buried more than 80 years ago as unknowns for possible identification and return to their families.
In a late Thursday release, DPAA announced that the Operation 85 advocacy group led by family member Kevin Kline had met the 60% threshold of DNA Family Reference Samples for the number of crew members thought to be buried in the commingled graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the “Punchbowl.”
Although DPAA initially opposed the USS Arizona (BB-39) Unknown Identification Project, DPAA extended “its sincere appreciation” to Kline, grandnephew of Arizona crew member Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Robert Edwin Kline, “and the ‘Operation 85’ team for their devoted efforts over the past three years to locate and connect enough USS Arizona families to help reach this important milestone.”
Last November, Operation 85 announced that they had reached the required 60% threshold for the Arizona, meaning 643 families. However, it has awaited DPAA confirmation since then.
In a phone interview with Military Times Thursday, Kline, who runs a real estate company in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his wife, Elizabeth, said the threshold agreement was a long time coming. He became obsessed with the possibility of identifying the unknowns after attending a DPAA update to the families in Norfolk, Virginia, three years ago.
But he had to go up against a March 2022 report to Congress regarding the cost to identify those buried as unknowns.
“Identifying the Sailors and Marines buried in the [Punchbowl] will cost the Navy and the Marine Corps casualty program offices approximately $2,700,000 for just their portion of the larger effort,” the Navy report said.
While the Navy Department, DPAA and other agencies “agree that the identification of the 85 Unknowns associated with USS ARIZONA and buried at [the Punchbowl] is feasible, it will require significant resources and an inordinate amount of time,” the Navy report said.
In addition, “Pursuing this effort will give false hope to the vast majority of USS Arizona families that their loved one may be identified,” the Navy report said.
However, in the effort to track down families and get their permission for DNA samples, “we turned a hard ‘No’ to a ‘Yes,’ Kline said.”
“It’s wonderful and we’re very excited to have hit this milestone” that will allow exhumations to begin,” Kline said. “But I feel like the work is not done yet, we still have new families to find,” he said. “But it’s much easier now knowing that the DPAA and everybody else is on board and I’m not just a rogue family member doing this alone anymore.”
Kline said that he and other family members were surprised to learn that there were crew members — including his great uncle, Gunners Mate 2nd Class Robert Edwin Kline, who died aboard the Arizona at age 22 — who were not entombed in the Arizona when it was sunk on Dec. 7, 1941.
His great uncle and others may have been blown clear of the ship by the force of the eight bombs that hit the Arizona from Japanese attack planes, Kline said, or by the huge explosion of the Arizona’s ammunition compartment.
The battleship suffered more loss of life than any American ship during the attack, its 1,177 dead comprising nearly half the 2,403 killed at Pearl Harbor.
Of the ship’s dead, 277 of its sailors and Marines are buried in Honolulu’s National Memorial of the Pacific. The identity of at least 85 of those men remain unknown to this day.
Kline’s great uncle and others could be among the remains of those recovered by Navy divers after the war before the mission was deemed too dangerous.
“Growing up in our family — we knew our uncle was never found [because] he was in the ship. That’s where everybody always thought where he was,” Kline said.
The hull of the 608-foot Pennsylvania class battleship Arizona now rests at the bottom of Pearl Harbor as the final resting place for more than 900 of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who were killed on Dec. 7, 1941.
Above the hull, without ever touching it, is the gracefully stunning Arizona Memorial, officially known as the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, managed by the National Park Service.
The sloping roof of the memorial’s design, crafted by Austrian-American architect Alfred Preis, was intended to convey the profound symbolism of war and remembrance. The roof “sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expressing initial defeat and ultimate victory” in World War II, Preis said after the 1962 dedication of the memorial.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
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