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Flags ordered to half-staff in honor of Kentucky serviceman killed during World War II

Billy Johnson
Billy Johnson
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Flags ordered to half-staff in honor of Kentucky serviceman killed during World War II
Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered flags at all state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff on Monday in honor of a Kentucky serviceman killed during World War II.The remains of Navy Fireman 1st Class Billy Johnson, 22, of Caney, were recently identified.Officials said Johnson was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941.The attack resulted in the death of 429 crewmen, including Johnson.In September 1947, members of the American Graves Registration Service were tasked with identifying the fallen soldiers but the staff was only able to confirm the identities of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at the time, officials said. The unidentified were buried and a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable.According to a press release, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma unknown remains sometime between June and November 2015. Scientists were able to positively identify Johnson using anthropological and DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.A rosette will be placed next to Johnson's name on the Walls of Missing at the Punchbowl in Hawaii to indicate he has been accounted for. Officials said there are still 72,692 service members unaccounted for from World War II, of which approximately 30,000 are assessed as possibly recoverable.Johnson will be buried in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered flags at all state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff on Monday in honor of a Kentucky serviceman killed during World War II.

The remains of Navy Fireman 1st Class Billy Johnson, 22, of Caney, were recently identified.

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Officials said Johnson was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941.

The attack resulted in the death of 429 crewmen, including Johnson.

In September 1947, members of the American Graves Registration Service were tasked with identifying the fallen soldiers but the staff was only able to confirm the identities of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at the time, officials said. The unidentified were buried and a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable.

According to a press release, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma unknown remains sometime between June and November 2015. Scientists were able to positively identify Johnson using anthropological and DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

A rosette will be placed next to Johnson's name on the Walls of Missing at the Punchbowl in Hawaii to indicate he has been accounted for.

Officials said there are still 72,692 service members unaccounted for from World War II, of which approximately 30,000 are assessed as possibly recoverable.

Johnson will be buried in Santa Fe, New Mexico.