Lawson was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. It was docked at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Multiple torpedo hits caused the USS Oklahoma quickly capsize. Lawson was one of 429 crewmen killed in the attack.
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From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu cemeteries.
In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma, according to the DPAA. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains for analysis.
DPAA scientists used dental and anthropological analysis to identify Lawson’s remains. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System assisted in using mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 were killed. There are 72,738 of those Americans are still unaccounted for from World War II.
Lawson’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing in Hawaii, along with the others who are missing from WWII. Since Lawson has been accounted for, a rosette will be placed next to his name.
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