{"id":116245,"date":"2025-04-09T13:05:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T17:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/?p=116245"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:34:14","slug":"object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 90: Pearl Harbor Unknowns Marker"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image116245_a646cd-d6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:600px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_a646cd-d6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 figure{max-width:600px;}.kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 .image-is-svg, .kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image116245_a646cd-d6 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image116245_a646cd-d6\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2327\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=1400,722\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=1400,722\" alt=\"A grave marker at the National Cemetery of the Pacific for two unknowns who died aboard USS Arizona during the December 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. (VA) \" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-116241\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%272327%27%20height%3D%271200%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%202327%201200%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%272327%27%20height%3D%271200%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=300,155 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=600,309 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=768,396 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=1400,722 1400w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?resize=1536,792 1536w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg 2327w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 2327px) 100vw, 2327px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>A grave marker at the National Cemetery of the Pacific for two unknowns who died aboard USS Arizona during the December 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. (VA) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The flat granite markers for the unknowns inscribed with their place of death and the ship they served aboard would not exist but for the efforts of one resolute sailor who survived the devastating surprise attack on the U.S. fleet at <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/featured-stories\/doris-miller\/\">Pearl Harbor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the morning of December 7, 1941, Seaman 1st Class Raymond D. Emory was reading the newspaper aboard USS <em>Honolulu<\/em> (CL-48), docked at Pearl Harbor\u2019s Navy Yard near Battleship Row, when he heard general quarters sound. Springing up a ladder, he was deafened by machine gun fire when he got topside and thought to himself, \u201cThis is a really good drill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emory, who manned a machine gun during the attack, was forever marked by what he witnessed. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a day in my life that I haven\u2019t thought about that day,\u201d he said in a 2015 interview.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image116245_b17660-ee.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image116245_b17660-ee .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:260px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_b17660-ee.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_b17660-ee .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image116245_b17660-ee figure{max-width:260px;}.kb-image116245_b17660-ee .image-is-svg, .kb-image116245_b17660-ee .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image116245_b17660-ee .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image116245_b17660-ee\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1880\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=1028,1400\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=1028,1400\" alt=\"Seaman 1st Class Raymond Emory survived the Pearl Harbor attack. Decades later, his relentless lobbying led the government to add ship names to the unknown markers and exhume the remains of those who could potentially be identified. (findagrave.com)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-116242\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271880%27%20height%3D%272560%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201880%202560%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271880%27%20height%3D%272560%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=220,300 220w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=441,600 441w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=768,1046 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=1028,1400 1028w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=1128,1536 1128w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg?resize=1504,2048 1504w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-2-Ray-Emory-FindaGrave-scaled.jpeg 1880w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1880px) 100vw, 1880px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Raymond Emory survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. He later lobbied the government to add ship names to the markers of the unknowns interred in the Punchbowl cemetery.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Half a century later, when Emory visited the <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-36-president-clintons-v-j-day-speech\/\">National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific<\/a>, also known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cem.va.gov\/cems\/nchp\/NMCP.asp\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cPunchbowl,\u201d<\/a> in Honolulu, Hawaii, he found to his chagrin that the gravesites of his fallen comrades merely identified them as <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/65-6x6-unknown-grave-markers\/\">unknowns<\/a> from December 7, 1941. This spurred the former sailor to begin a lobbying campaign to have the government add ship names to the markers and exhume the remains of those who could potentially be identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emory became a one-man research army, spending countless hours digging into the original burial records. He soon discovered that the paucity of detail on the markers stemmed from the fact that most of the Pearl Harbor dead were originally buried at Nuuanu and Halawa Naval Cemeteries. They were subsequently reinterred at the Punchbowl in 1949, but the original burial records were not consulted when this happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emory\u2019s research showed that, even when the deceased could not be identified, the name of the ship the body was recovered from was easily ascertained. Yet, this information was not included on the grave markers. With dogged determination, Emory walked the cemetery grounds with a pencil and clipboard in hand, finding 265 gravesites containing 653 remains. He was then able to match each one with the historical records, thus making it possible to include the ship\u2019s name on each stone.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image116245_3dea39-6b.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image116245_3dea39-6b .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:444px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_3dea39-6b.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_3dea39-6b .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image116245_3dea39-6b figure{max-width:444px;}.kb-image116245_3dea39-6b .image-is-svg, .kb-image116245_3dea39-6b .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image116245_3dea39-6b .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image116245_3dea39-6b\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-3-Original-Marker.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"575\" height=\"307\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-3-Original-Marker.jpg?w=575\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-3-Original-Marker.jpg?w=575\" alt=\"Original markers for the Pearl Harbor unknowns only listed the number buried at the site and their date of death. (VA)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-116243\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27575%27%20height%3D%27307%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20575%20307%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27575%27%20height%3D%27307%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-3-Original-Marker.jpg?resize=300,160 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-3-Original-Marker.jpg 575w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Original markers for the Pearl Harbor unknowns only listed the number buried at the site and their date of death. (VA)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Armed with this information, Emory took his findings to several government agencies but was frustrated by the slow response. He then enlisted the aid of U.S. Representative Patsy T. Mink of Hawaii. Thanks to her intervention, the National Defense Authorization for fiscal year 2001 included a section stipulating the \u201caddition of certain information to markers on graves containing remains of certain unknowns from USS <em>Arizona<\/em> who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In August 2001, over 70 unknown markers were replaced with ones that included \u201cUSS <em>Arizona<\/em>\u201d and \u201cPEARL HARBOR.\u201d By November 2002, 177 replacement stones had been installed that included the names of other Navy vessels that sank at Pearl Harbor: <em>California<\/em>,<em> Curtiss<\/em>, <em>Nevada<\/em>, <em>Oklahoma<\/em>, <em>Pennsylvania<\/em>, <em>Utah<\/em>, and <em>West Virginia<\/em>. When asked how he felt, Ray replied, \u201cat least now they can tell where [those killed at Pearl Harbor] came from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image116245_5fc507-b8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:555px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_5fc507-b8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 figure{max-width:555px;}.kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 .image-is-svg, .kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image116245_5fc507-b8 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image116245_5fc507-b8\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"280\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png?w=624\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png?w=624\" alt=\"USS Oklahoma, circa 1940. The battleship capsized on December 7, 1941, leading to the death of most of its crew. Recent analysis of their remains has resulted in the identification and reburial of over 350 sailors and Marines. (Naval History and Heritage Command)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-116244\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27624%27%20height%3D%27280%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20624%20280%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27624%27%20height%3D%27280%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png?resize=300,135 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png?resize=600,269 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-4-USS-Oklahoma-C-1940.png 624w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>USS Oklahoma, circa 1940. The battleship capsized on December 7, 1941, leading to the death of most of its crew. Recent analysis of their remains has resulted in the identification and reburial of over 350 sailors and Marines. (Naval History and Heritage Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Emory lived to see the fruition of his second wish as well. In 2015, the Pentagon began to exhume around 400 sailors and Marines from USS<em> Oklahoma<\/em> who had been buried as unknowns at 45 gravesites. Since then, the Defense <a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/100-objects\/object-38-national-pow-mia-memorial\/\">POW\/MIA<\/a> Accounting Agency (DPAA) has identified 362 unaccounted crew members of <em>Oklahoma<\/em>. Additionally, DPAA analyzed the remains of 25 sailors from USS <em>West Virginia <\/em>and determined the identity of 20 of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, Ray decided to leave his Hawaii home to move back to Idaho after the death of his wife. Before departing, he paid one last visit to Pearl Harbor and was shocked to find more than 500 sailors formed in an honor cordon, cheering and praising the grizzled old Veteran for what he had accomplished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRay, you\u2019re the man that did it. There\u2019s nobody else. If it wasn\u2019t for you, it would have never been done,\u201d the Navy\u2019s liaison told Emory during the brief ceremony. On August 20, 2018, Ray passed away and was interred at Honolulu\u2019s Diamond Head Memorial Park, fewer than ten miles from the Punchbowl and the Pearl Harbor victims he spent his final years honoring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seamen 1st Class Raymond Emory survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Decades later, his research and advocacy led the government to add ship names to the markers of the Pearl Harbor unknowns interred in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":116241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 90: Pearl Harbor Unknowns Marker","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?w=300","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/04\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg"},"articleSection":"History of VA in 100 Objects","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Department of Veteran Affairs"}],"creator":["Department of Veteran Affairs"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA History","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-04-09T17:05:17Z","datePublished":"2025-04-09T17:05:17Z","dateModified":"2026-03-04T22:34:14Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Object 90: Pearl Harbor Unknowns Marker\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/object-90-pearl-harbor-unknowns-marker\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg?w=300\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/department.va.gov\\\/history\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/090-1-PH-Unknown-Marker.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"History of VA in 100 Objects\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Department of Veteran Affairs\"}],\"creator\":[\"Department of Veteran Affairs\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"VA History\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[],\"dateCreated\":\"2025-04-09T17:05:17Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-09T17:05:17Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-04T22:34:14Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/department.va.gov\/p.js"},"meta_box":{"external_links":"0","endorsement":"0","subheading":"","featured_image_alt_text":"","byline":"Jimmy Price, Historian, National Cemetery Administration","author_title":"Historian, National Cemetery Administration","external_source":"","external_source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116245"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116275,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116245\/revisions\/116275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}