Sailor returns home after 77 years

Seventy-seven years to the day, a Mississippi sailor was returned home for a proper burial. Calhoun County, Miss., native Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Durell Wade was one of 429 sailors killed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma during the Dec. 7, 1941, sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was buried with full military honors at North Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Kilmichael on Dec. 7. Among attendees was Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, several of Wade’s family members, retired and current military personnel and representatives from Naval Air Station Meridian. A funeral detail from NASM also participated in the ceremony. Wade’s remains were positively identified through improvements in DNA identification technology. The technology used is known as mitochondrial and Y-chromosome analysis. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) used this scientific analysis, along with dental, anthropological and circumstantial evidence to confirm the identities of USS Oklahoma sailors. Among attendees were Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, several of Wade’s family members, retired and current military personnel and representatives from Naval Air Station Meridian. A funeral detail from NASM also participated in the ceremony. Cmdr. J.P. Falardeau, executive officer of NAS Meridian, spoke to the importance of the event and the greater importance of remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor. “It’s a very humbling experience to be a part of something as truly impressive and meaningful as bringing home a sailor from that infamous day in 1941.” (Source: Starkville Daily News 12/10/18)