Chief Pharmacist's Mate James Cheshire (right), who died at the age of 40 during the December 7 th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, will have his remains buried in Arlington National Cemetery on July 22nd. Members of Cheshire’s family currently live in South Carolina.
The Chief Pharmacist's Mate served on the USS Oklahoma, a battle ship that was hit by several Japanese torpedoes during the country’s attack on Pearl Harbor. With its port side torn open over much of its length, the ship rolled over and sank to the bottom of the harbor. Over 400 crewmembers, including Chief Pharmacist's Mate Cheshire, died during the attack.
Salvage efforts at Pearl Harbor concentrated on the least damaged ships first, so the Oklahoma ended up being one of the last ships to receive attention in March of 1943. W hen the ship was finally righted in 1944, 429 Sailors' remains were recovered. Of these, only 35 were able to be identified. The remains of 388 unidentified Sailors and Marines were first interred as “unknowns” in two cemeteries. Over the years, some of the remains have been disinterred in an attempt to identify more personnel. On January 28th, 2021, the 300th “unknown” was identified.
Chief Pharmacist's Mate Cheshire’s remains were identified in 2018 and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on July 22nd.
