WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the service of Navy Fireman 1st Class Edward D. Johnson, a Hurdsfield, North Dakota native who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of Johnson, 24, were accounted for on September 29, 2020. Johnson was serving on the USS Oklahoma when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
“The Greatest Generation’s legacy of service and sacrifice will never be forgotten and Edward D. Johnson is no different,” said Hoeven. “Edward, who perished along with 428 others on the USS Oklahoma during the attacks on Pearl Harbor, reminds us yet again of the bravery and sacrifices made during WWII. We are grateful for the DPAA and their work in identifying Edward. We join his family, his fellow veterans and North Dakotans in honoring his sacrifice.”
Hoeven helped advance legislation in 2014 that created the DPAA, and since that time, he has worked to support the agency as it seeks to locate and bring home the remains of missing service personnel. In 2015, the DPAA exhumed unknown remains from the USS Oklahoma that had been buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl. The DPAA identified Johnson’s remains using DNA and other historical evidence. Johnson will be buried in the Punchbowl in October.
