USS Oklahoma Sailor Accounted For From World War II (Talbert, E.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward E. Talbert, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Aug. 5, 2021.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Talbert was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Talbert.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Talbert’s personnel profile can be viewed at

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgDSEA0.

On August 6, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman First Class Edward Everette Talbert, missing from World War II.

Seaman First Class Talbert entered the U.S. Navy from North Carolina. On December 7, 1941, he was a crew member aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when the ship came under surprise attack from Japanese forces. The Oklahoma capsized as a result of torpedo hits during the attack, and SEA1 Talbert was among those killed in the incident. His remains were eventually recovered from the ship; however, they could not be identified at the time, and were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them using advances in forensic techniques. SEA1 Talbert's remains were disinterred and accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for as part of this effort. Laboratory analysis led to the successful identification of SEA1 Talbert's remains.

Seaman First Class Talbert is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Edward E Talbert