USS Arizona Operation 85

Happy to have one of our own to serve as the Chaplain of the USS Arizona disinterment ceremony on December 7, 2026 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

USS Arizona Family Member selected for Ceremony Invocation Operation 85 Announces USS Arizona Family member and Retired US Army Chaplain Brian D. Ray for USS Arizona Ceremony Invocation

Kevin Kline was honored to speak today at DPAA’s All Hands Agency meeting before more than 800 agency employees and to receive the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Superior Public Service Award Medal from DPAA Director Kelly McKeague.

Because of the work of the USS Arizona Operation 85, the disinterment and identification process for 141 Pearl Harbor Unknowns is now moving forward, beginning this December 7th — exactly 85 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

What an incredible three-year journey this has been.
www.USSArizona.navy

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that the 60% threshold of DNA Family Reference Samples has been met for the USS Arizona (BB-39) Unknown Identification Project.

Reaching this 60% threshold allows DPAA to formally request and begin planning the disinterment of potentially 141 unknowns currently buried in multiple potentially commingled graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. The official start date for this effort will be announced once the disinterments have been approved by the Department of War.

DPAA extends its sincere appreciation to USS Arizona family member Kevin Kline, grandnephew of 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. DPAA also thanks the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Casualty Offices, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, and the many families whose participation and willingness to provide Family Reference Samples made this progress possible.

Reaching this milestone does not conclude the search for additional USS Arizona and associated Pearl Harbor family members who may be able to provide viable DNA Family Reference Samples. DPAA, Operation 85, and the service casualty offices continue to encourage any family member who may be related to a missing USS Arizona crew member to participate in this ongoing effort.

DPAA’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our nation’s missing personnel from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf Wars.

DPAA remains committed to working across all past conflicts as we continue the mission of providing the fullest possible accounting for missing Department of War personnel to their families and our nation.

Today, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially announced that the 60% DNA Family Reference Sample threshold has been met for the USS Arizona Unknown Identification Project.

After three years of hard work, this milestone allows the next phase of the mission to move forward and brings us one step closer to restoring the names of the USS Arizona unknowns buried as “Unknown.”

This happened because families stepped forward. It happened because people believed this mission mattered. And it happened because Operation 85 refused to accept that identifying these heroes was “impractical.”

We are deeply grateful to the many families who participated, to our volunteers, to AFDIL, to the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy Casualty Offices, and to Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency for helping move this project to this point.

But this is not the finish line.

We still need more USS Arizona and associated Pearl Harbor family members to come forward and participate. If you are a family member, or know someone who may be related to a missing crew member, please visit www.USSArizona.navy and complete the family member portal.

If you have already received a DNA kit, please complete and return it immediately.

Unknown No More. 🇺🇸

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Our-Stories/Article/4467534/fulfilling-our-nations-promise-dna-threshold-to-disinter-uss-arizona-unknowns-m/

In the wake of Pearl Harbor, some U.S.S. Arizona families turned grief into sacrifice—rejecting death payments, buying war bonds, and giving even more to the nation their sons died defending.

Pearl Harbor Families and Their Sacrifice - The U.S.S. Arizona Operation 85 USS Arizona families responded to Pearl Harbor with sacrifice, war bonds, and extraordinary devotion to country.