GA Native Killed In Pearl Harbor Attack To Be Buried In Arlington

BALL GROUND, GA — A Georgia native who served during the attack on Pearl Harbor will be buried Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery after more than 80 years, according to media reports.

Navy Shipfitter 3rd Class John M. Donald was serving aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) during Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to his service member profile on the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's website.

11Alive reported Donald was 28-years-old at the time of his death and was born in Ball Ground.

His remains were recovered from the ship after he was killed in the attack, according to the POW/MIA profile. The remains could not be identified at the time of his death.

Donald was initially buried in Hawaii's National Memorial Cemetery under "unknown," but modern forensic resources aided the Navy in identifying Donald's remains, according to the profile.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and 11Alive reported Donald was identified in 2018.

Donald is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, according to his POW/MIA profile.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2,008 Navy members died in the Pearl Harbor attack. More than 700 were wounded.

Patch is awaiting a response from the Navy for more information.